A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Today marks 30 years since the death of Selena Quintanilla-Perez. The queen of Tejano music died at the peak of her popularity after she was shot in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the president of her fan club. Texas Public Radio's Marian Navarro has the story of Selena's legacy.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "AMOR PROHIBIDO")
SELENA: (Singing in Spanish).
MARIAN NAVARRO, BYLINE: Grammy Award-winning artist Selena Quintanilla-Perez blazed a trail that has long endured far beyond her music career. Her songs can be heard playing at quinceaneras and family gatherings all across the country. Little girls celebrate their birthdays by throwing Selena-themed parties. From her bright red lipstick to her joyful personality, Selena continues to influence a new generation of Latinas. They point to her as a symbol of empowerment, who unflinchingly embraced her culture and identity. Nine-year-old Trinity Gomez says she's been listening to Selena's music all her life.
TRINITY GOMEZ: She inspired a lot of people to sing and to dance and to be very confident.
NAVARRO: Gomez is part of the Danzavida De San Antonio Dance Company, which keeps Selena's music and dance alive through tribute performances. Krystal Diaz-Mendez is the company's owner and artistic director.
KRYSTAL DIAZ-MENDEZ: She's just, like, a magnet to the younger generation and our youth.
NAVARRO: Girls ages 3 to 17 in Diaz-Mendez's dance company now don the singer's iconic purple jumpsuit while dancing to hits like "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom."
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
NAVARRO: Selena's iconic 1995 concert at the packed Houston Astrodome was her last major performance, a month before she was killed. The concert became a touchstone in pop culture, with hundreds of millions of views on YouTube. So what is it that makes her stand out to newer generations? Diaz-Mendez says it's because of the artist's authenticity and her tenacity.
DIAZ-MENDEZ: Even a little young girl from Texas, if she had the ability to make such an impact on people all over the world, then why can't I do it myself?
NAVARRO: At only 23, Selena became the first female Tejano artist to win a Grammy, broadening the reach of the genre to other audiences. Sonya Aleman teaches a Selena-centered course at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Aleman uses the queen of Tejano music in her classroom to discuss Mexican American identity.
SONYA ALEMAN: When you play her, when you know her, when you sing to her, when you dance to her, it's an affirmation of their Mexican American - or Tejano - identity.
NAVARRO: Growing up, Selena's dominant language was English, yet her success came singing in Spanish. She powered on when she misspoke in Spanish interviews and often laughed it off with a smile on her face. Aleman says the singer's bicultural and bilingual identity resonates with her students.
SONYA ALEMAN: A good number of them are non-Spanish speakers. And so they point to Selena as someone who has helped them accept that aspect about their identity.
NAVARRO: Nine-year-old Trinity agrees.
TRINITY: It's very inspiring to me. Like, as it's hard for me to speak Spanish, that's how it was for her.
NAVARRO: Trinity's mother, Graciela, says it's been empowering to share her own love of Selena with her three daughters and to see them embrace Selena. She says the singer has become a connecting force in their family.
GRACIELA RAMIREZ-GOMEZ: They want to know more about her, they want to be more confident, they want to be joyful. And everybody is just together, comes together, and is enjoying Selena as a whole. So to me, it's just something really beautiful to experience as a parent.
NAVARRO: Selena's career was cut short, but younger generations of girls embrace her legacy and aspire to achieve what she was unable to do in life.
For NPR News, I'm Marian Navarro in San Antonio.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BIDI BIDI BOM BOM")
SELENA: (Singing in Spanish). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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