HR300 - Paying tribute to the life and legacy of Selena Quintanilla Pérez on April 16, 2025, the 54th anniversary of her birth.

      H.R. No. 300       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, April 16, 2025, marks the 54th anniversary of the   birth of the internationally acclaimed queen of Tejano music,   Selena Quintanilla Pérez; and          WHEREAS, The daughter of Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla,   the former Selena Quintanilla was born in Lake Jackson in 1971; she   demonstrated exceptional talent as a young child and soon began   performing with her father's group, Los Dinos, which also featured   her brother, A. B., and her sister, Suzette; after becoming the   lead singer, she took the band to a new level, and in 1987, the   charismatic teenager was named Performer of the Year and Female   Vocalist of the Year at the Tejano Music Awards; and          WHEREAS, Selena brought a joyous, youthful flamboyance to the   stage, and she deftly blended traditional Tejano music with   elements of other Latin genres and mainstream pop, creating   cross-generational appeal; EMI Latin signed her to a major   recording contract in 1989, and her career began to take off with   the release of a compilation album, Personal Best , and then Ven   Conmigo , whose title track became the first Tejano record to go   gold; finding happiness as well as success through music, she   married the guitarist of Los Dinos, Chris Pérez, in 1992; and          WHEREAS, Two years later, Selena Live earned the singer her   first Grammy Award, for Best Mexican American Performance; her 1994   album, Amor Prohibido , received a Grammy nomination, won the Tejano   Music Award for Album of the Year--Orchestra, and in 2015 was listed   by Billboard magazine as one of the Essential Latin Albums of the   Past 50 Years; to date, Amor Prohibido has sold 2.5 million copies;   and          WHEREAS, Selena's fame continued to grow as she toured the   United States, Mexico, and other Latin American countries; she drew   more than 60,000 people to her performance at the 1995 Houston   Livestock Show and Rodeo, the highest attendance for a lineup that   featured some of the top country stars of the day; while gaining   greater recognition as an artist, she also launched a clothing   business and a boutique, and she made time to assist charitable   groups and youth initiatives, among them D.A.R.E., the Texas   Prevention Partnership, the Coastal Bend AIDS Foundation, and the   Houston Area Women's Center; and          WHEREAS, Poised for mainstream success, Selena was working on   her English-language debut when she was slain on March 31, 1995, at   the age of 23; the tragedy resonated so widely in the Hispanic   community and beyond that the New York Times carried the news on its   front page and People magazine published a special commemorative   issue; when her record company released a posthumous bilingual   collection of old and new material, Dreaming of You , it sold 175,000   copies the first day, soared to the top of the Billboard 200 chart,   and then held the number one spot on the Top Latin Albums chart for   44 consecutive weeks; her story was told in a hit movie, a stage   musical, and numerous books; in 2011, the U.S. Postal Service   issued a memorial stamp; more than two decades after her death, she   has remained a cultural icon, and the MAC cosmetics line created in   tribute to her signature style sold out completely the day it   launched in 2016; at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, a celebration   of her life and legacy, Selena y Los Dinos , received the   U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling; and          WHEREAS, Selena did not live to realize all her dreams, but   she continues to inspire others to reach for their own, and she will   forever hold a special place in the history of Texas music, as well   as in the hearts of those who loved her; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas   Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life and legacy of Selena   Quintanilla Pérez and commemorate the 54th anniversary of her   birth.     González of Dallas   Hunter   Villalobos     ______________________________   Speaker of the House                 I certify that H.R. No. 300 was adopted by the House on March   6, 2025, by a non-record vote.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House