20 Facts Every Selena Quintanilla Super Fan Should Know
The late Mexican singer Selena Quintanilla Perez has remained a legendary musical icon for many of us
Photo: Flickr/hellboy_93
The late Mexican singer Selena Quintanilla Perez has remained a legendary musical icon for many of us. She still lives in our hearts and is a role model who many women and young girls still look up to whether it’s through listening to her music, living by her quotes and philosophies, or emulating her beauty and style looks. It’s been 24 years since the Tejano artist passed and yet she is more relevant, honored, and celebrated with each day. Seriously, how many other departed artists can remain on the Billboard charts, sell out anything that holds their imagery, and still break records left and right even after they’re gone?
Now that so many people are Selena super fans these days, we dig some digging and rounded up everything you need to know about the reina — you know, in case you don’t already know. From personal deets, like her favorite colors and what nail polish she used, to major career milestones and ways she continues to dominate the music industry and pop culture in general. Sure, you may know a lot of these facts, but you’d be surprised what you might not actually know. Read on, and enjoy our collection of Selena fotos y recuerdos!
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Selena’s Birthday
The first thing any mega Selena super fan should know is her birthday — duh! It’s the day we all should be playing her music and celebrating her life! Chances are you’ll find a bunch of Selena-inspired events planned for this day, as well as social media flooding with tributes to La Reina de Tejano music.
Selena Quintanilla was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas. She is the daughter of Marcella and Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., and the youngest sibling (she has an older sister, Suzette, and brother Abraham III, known as A.B.). She would have been 47-years-old this year.
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Selena Has Had Seven #1 Hit Songs
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Be prepared to be impressed. Selena had not one, not two, but seven number one hit songs. These topped Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart are:
– “No Me Queda Mas”
– “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”
– “Tu Solo Tu”
– “Fotos Y Recuerdos (Back on the Chain Gang)”
– “Amor Prohibido”
– “Buenos Amigos” (with Alvaro Torres)
– “Dondequiera Que Estes” (with Barrio Boyzz)
Now, if you are a true superfan, you’ll recognize all these songs, and know the lyrics! If you don’t already, take a listen to these great Selena jams.
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She Has Her Own Museum
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There have been many iconic people in history, but not all of them have gotten their own museum. But Selena has one and not a lot of folks know about it. Located at 5410 Leopard Street (a super cool street name, by the way), in Corpus Christi, the Selena Museum was created by the star’s family, as a way to honor her. There, you will find several of her stage outfits, her Faberge egg collection, and many other Selena treasures. If you’re ever in the area you’ll definitely want to check this out!
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Albums Selena Has Released
The next Selena fact you should know is how many albums she released during her illustrious career. Selena’s solo studio albums are:
– Selena (1989)
– Ven Conmigo (1990)
– Entre a Mi Mundo (1992)
– Amor Prohibido (1994)
– Dreaming of You (1995)
Any Selena fan should listen to these, backward and forwards, and around the corner. There are also several compilation albums, remixed albums, and boxed sets that have been released, as well as the Selena film soundtrack.
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Her Favorite Lipstick
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Selena Quintanilla isn’t just a musical great, she also is a major source of fashion and beauty inspiration. She was right on-trend with the major beauty trends of the 1990s, and her beauty looks have proven timeless, recreated time and time again by MUAs, beauty bloggers, and Selena fans everywhere. Naturally, we’d want to know exactly what brands and colors Selena wore, so we can buy these products, or find matching dupes. Selena’s favorite lipstick is Chanel Brick. The color has since been discontinued, but Ev Curl Girl found a match with Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Brick.
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Selena Has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Selena was honored with her Hollywood star in the category of Recording, on November 3, 2017. In true Selena fashion, a record was broken at the star ceremony, when 4,500 fans showed up to celebrate with the Quintanilla family, widower Chris Perez, and Eva Longoria (also a Corpus Christi native). Selena’s is the 2,622nd star, and located at 1750 N. Vine Street, in front of the historic Capitol Records Building.
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She Won a Grammy
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A Grammy is a major highlight in the career of a musician. During her career, Selena Quintanilla was nominated for two Grammys, winning one. In 1994, she won for Best Mexican-American Album for Live, making her the first Tejana to ever win in that category (another Selena first!). The following year, Selena was nominated for Best Mexican-American Performance for Amor Prohibido.
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Several Brands Have Immortalized Her
Selena’s memory and awesomeness has been kept alive through the countless products that feature her likeness, signature, favorite colors, lyrics, and more. No matter how many items come out, we want them all. Notably, Forever 21 recently launched a Selena collection, and MAC had its biggest success with their own collection honoring the star. It’s safe to say that anything Selena-themed is more than likely to sell out — and quickly.
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Google Honored Selena with a Google Doodle
Google Doodles are the company’s way of celebrating important people and events, sharing information on the topic with the entire world. Selena was honored with her very own Google Doodle on October 17, 2017. It celebrates the same day, in 1989, when Selena released her first album, Selena. The artwork is accompanied by the cutest short animated video, which depicts Selena’s musical start with her family and her road to stardom.
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Selena Had Her Own Boutiques
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In addition to singing, and some acting, Selena was also a fashion designer. Her boutique, Selena, Inc. which included a hair and nail salon, had two locations. The first store, which served as the headquarters, was opened in 1994 in Corpus Christi; a San Antonio locale followed. Selena designed clothes with designer Martin Gomez and designed and created several of her iconic on-stage looks herself.
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Quintanilla Was a Spokesperson for Coca-Cola
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What happens when two pop culture giants meet? You get an epic moment in history! Selena Quintanilla became a spokesperson for Coca-Cola in 1988 or 1989 and continued reppin’ for the soda until her death. Being tied to such a big brand is evidence of what a megastar the Tejana was and still is.
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She Got Her Own MAC Collection
If you’re a Selena fan, you know about her wildly successful collection with MAC Cosmetics. You might have been one of the over 37,000 people who petitioned the beauty brand to create a Selena collab. If you were lucky, you got your hands on an item (or several) from the 13-piece collection. Products were named after Selena jams, such as “Amor Prohibido,” “Techno Cumbia,” and “Como La Flor,” and quickly sold out (some sources say in minutes). The MAC Selena collection is the brand’s biggest-selling launch — ever.
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Madame Tussauds Created Two Wax Figures of Selena
Madame Tussauds is a famous wax museum, with locations worldwide, where celebrities of all kinds are immortalized. Selena not only has a wax likeness of her in the Hollywood location, but also one in New York City. If you’re ever in any of these areas, you should definitely plan to visit!
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Selena’s Favorite Colors
Whether it’s a T-shirt, tote bag, vinyl record, or anything else having to do with Selena, chances are, they will all be in purple, with touches of black. The royal color (how fitting!) was one of Selena’s favorite colors, as was black.
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People en Español Launched Because of Her
Selena’s life and legacy are both filled with amazing achievements and accomplishments. A fun fact a lot of folks don’t know is that when she passed, People magazine ran an issue with the singer on the cover. Both the first and second runs of this issue sold out; this prompted People to create and launch People en Español.
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Selena Has Her Own Official Day in Texas
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Weeks after her death, then-Texas Governor George W. Bush declared that April 16, 1995 (Selena’s birthday) was Selena Day. A state House bill, which was filed on February 26 of this year, if passed, would make April 16 Selena Day in Texas every year. We’re praying that this happens!
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Selena’s Favorite Flower
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There are certain things which serve as identifiers for Selena. You have the colors purple and black, her iconic signature, her timeless outfits, legendary beauty looks — and her favorite flowers. Selena loved long-stemmed white roses. Every Selena fan should know this essential tidbit!
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Selena’s Nail Polish
Another Selena beauty fact we were able to uncover is the exact shade of one of her favorite nail polishes. The legend wore L’Oreal Creme nail polish in Sangria (257), a wine-colored hue. In the film Selena, for accuracy, Jennifer Lopez also wore this exact same nail color.
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Selena is the Best-Selling Female Latin Artist in History
This Selena fact isn’t much of a surprise. The Queen of Cumbia and Tejano is the best-selling female artist in Latin music history, selling over 65 million albums (as of 2015). Dreaming of You sold 175,000 copies in a single day, setting a record (then) for a female vocalist.
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Selena’s Favorite Makeup Brands
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Previously, we mentioned how Chanel Brick was Selena’s favorite lipstick. In addition to being a Chanel lover, the star also loved Maybelline, as well as Elizabeth Arden.
