Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a joyful, jubilant, free-spirited Mexican-American singer-songwriter. She grew up in Lake Jackson, Texas and made enormous contributions to the second wave of Tejano music, or la onda chicana (Chicano wave). The only difference between Tejano and Chicano music is that Tejano is the Spanish word for Texan and Chicano refers to Mexicans in general. The Tejano genre of music can also be referred to simply as Tex-Mex music. “All Tejano groups rely upon 3 common genres for their repertoires - polca-ranchera, the balada, and the cumbia” (Peña 185). Selena’s music uses all three sub-genres, as we shall see later on. In the second half of her life, Selena moved to Corpus Christi, TX where she stayed until her death. “Corpus …show more content…
“Another key element in the birth of Tejano was the exposure of young Mexican-American boys and girls to rock and roll” (Patoski 14). Teenagers during this time enjoyed listening to artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, etc. Artists took the catchy, upbeat tune of rock and roll and added a cultural twist to it. This was sometimes referred to as música alegre- joyous, exuberant music, which matched Selena’s personality. So, in a way, Tejano music is like Mexican rock and roll. Since this time period was the late 80s/early 90s, teens could only listen to music on the radio or on portable Walkman devices, though the radio was more easily accessible. “What is unique about Selena’s era of Tejano music is that it became commertionalized as a recording genre, through music awards and a boom in radio stations that were specifically named “Tejano”” (Vargas 183). This is the positive effect of radio music: it allows for a widespread audience and allows music to gain popularity much faster. “Perhaps the most inhibiting factor to the development of a regional sound was radio, the most important form of mass communication in Texas Spanish-speaking communities” (Patoski 16). Radio did not allow for music to be separated by regions. Therefore, Tejano music could not be exclusively for …show more content…
Although Spanish was the native tongue of her parents, Spanish was not her first language. Growing up in Texas, there was not really a need to learn Spanish. In 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded land to the United States that once belonged to Mexico.Brown people in South Texas were treated unfairly by racists, similar to how blacks were treated. As expected, “at school, English and only English was spoken” (Patoski 7). So, her father, Abraham Quintanilla, taught his children Spanish so that they could sing in Spanish and have a correct accent. He had coached them to be able to sing phonetically. Being apart of a band himself, The Dinos, he was more strict about his children being involved in music. “Her father nurtured and cultivated her talent through hard work and hours of practice” (Patoski 36). Selena was “raised to sing pop and country songs and the occasional traditional Mexican song to please her father” (Patoski 5). She states how easy it was for her to
Many of their fans have crossed the border illegally, or have relatives that have done so. The song goes into saying, “Mis hijos son grandes y no les entiendo-- no hablan español,” translating into “My children are grown but I do not understand them-- they do not speak Spanish,” (1:14). A study done by the Pew Research Center reveals that the number of Latinos in the United States that speak Spanish is slowly decreasing (Krogstad and Lopez), which shows that this is an all too real issue facing those among the Latino community. This particular occurrence is becoming too common for many families because as they push to fit into the American way of living, their roots may sometimes get lost in translation. It is one thing to not be able to properly communicate with your children, but it is another to not be able to talk to them because of a language
My first knowledge of her came from the movie that was produced about her life. This movie included her childhood, her rise to fame, her relationships with her family and her husband, and her untimely death. She was a stunning flower that bloomed very young and kept growing with no sight on stopping. She had a gorgeous appearance. She had big brown eyes, ever changing hair styles, and a petite figure. Her husband was just as cute. A smaller guy but not too small. Selena and Chris fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. I developed a deep admiration for these two people and the things they experienced in their youth. I was always looking to learn more about their lives and what happened in Selena's tragic end that shook the world. After finding out that her widow wrote a book about her life, I was excited to get it and begin reading. I wondered if the movie had been completely valid. What did the movie leave out? How did Chris felt about her death? How does he feel now about all that transpired after Selena's death since this was not a perspective that the audience got to clearly see the movie? So, I went immediately, to buy the
Selena Quintanilla Pérez was a famous woman Tex-Mex singer. Her life was filled with music, singing, joy, and fame. She had many accomplishments in her musical career. Unfortunately, she lived a short life and her music career wasn't as long as she would've hoped. Shot by her fan club president, Selena died at the age of 23. She may not have had a long music career, but she will go down as one of the most famous woman Tejano singers in history, known as the “Queen of Tejano Music”.
Barrera 2 Selena Quintanilla-Perez was an artist in the Tejano music industry that contributed to revolutionizing the style of music in the United States today. The Tejano music genre originated from Texas, but it may be called Tex-Mex because of its Mexican background. Selena absolutely loved her fans, so she went to great lengths to keep her fans happy. (Angelfire 2) Her rise to stardom was also very successful thanks to the support and persistence from her father.
Her death caused a large amount of suffering to her millions of fans around the world. Thousands gathered at nearby gas stations to mourn and light up candles to honor this great person. Yolanda Saldivar was not justified to cause this tragic moment because the Quintanillas had treated her with respect and provided her with a job. Her unthoughtful and vicious action caused many to lose an honored artist that was considered the Madonna of Tejano music. Although Selena’s death brought her even more global recognition, no one can replace the music that moved many. Many were disappointed to lose such a talented artist at just 23 years
Known as the “Queen of Tejano” and the “Mexican Madonna”, Selena Quintanilla-Perez was the adored Latin singer who sadly did not get to live to see all of the success of her career. One of her most famous quotes is, “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever but to create something that will (PhilosIblog, 2014).” That is just what Selena did and she made sure that her legacy would live on for years. Selena surely left a her mark in this world with the help of her family, in her short lived 23 years. Selena was an amazing singer, she even made it very far in a genre of music that was dominated by men. Selena Quintanilla-Perez is an influential person because of her loving personality, her music career, her determination to succeed in a genre that was only men, and her success with her music that will never stop playing even if she is not here.
The traditions my parents instilled in me at a young age are important to me. They are part of my Latin culture and identity. One of the most important traditions that I value the most is our devotion to “La Virgen de Guadalupe” (The Virgin of Guadalupe), and although I don't go to church or share a specific a religion, I believe in La Virgen as a protector and a guardian figure and maintain her presence in my daily life.
Known as “La Reina De Tex-Mex” and often referred to as the Mexican Madonna, Selena Quintanilla Perez touched the hearts of many people; and continues to touch the hearts of people long after her passing. Selena was a Hispanic singer, songwriter, spokesperson, model, and actress who is credited for including ‘Tejano music’ (a fusion of Columbian cumbia, pop, R&B sung in Spanish) genre into the mainstream music scene ("Selena Biography", n.d.). Through her music, beauty, and unconditional kindness, Selena has left an undying legacy for as she once said, "The goal isn't to live forever the goal is to create something that will."
Selena is a very inspirational film in my opinion. Within the film we see that there is a sense of finding, understanding, and dealing with Latin identity. Selena’s father was a second generation Mexican American, in which during his time the Spanish language was not accepted and thus was punished if it was heard. Thus, Abraham having the ability to teach his kids (third generation Texans) Spanish while they were young only spoke to them in English. However, due to her talent and expectations from society, Selena learns to speak and sing phonetically in Spanish, with the help and coaching from her father, and hence she becomes very fluent in the language. Furthermore, I can say that Spanish language is one issue that arises in the Americas
Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...
Selena, “Le Reina de Tejano”, was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson. She was the youngest of three children of Abraham Quintanilla Jr. and Marcela, his wife. At a young age, Abraham had a strong passion for music that he still has. During the 1950s and 1960s, him and his friends made a group called “Los Dinos” and played at nightclubs and restaurants. Even though his passion for music, he gave it up when he got married and earned a job at Dow Chemical as a shipping clerk.
To help me understand and analyze a different culture, I watched the film Selena. The film tells the life story of the famous singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Not only does it just tell personal stories from her life, it also gives insight to the Mexican-American culture. Her whole life she lived in the United States, specifically in Texas, but was Hispanic and because of that both her and her family faced more struggles than white singers on the climb to her success. Even though the film is a story about a specific person, it brought understanding into the culture in which she lived. Keeping in mind that these ideas that I drew about the Mexican-American culture is very broad and do not apply to every single person in the culture, there were very obvious differences in their culture and the one that I belong. Mexican-American culture identifies with their family rather than individualized or spiritual identities and the culture has gone through significant changes because of discrimination and the changing demographics of the United States.
Like many Chicanos, she developed a strong sense of cultural belonging. This is primarily due to discrimination amongst neighboring Mexicans, whites, and anyone in between. Latinos and latinas would attack her, saying “...cultural traitor, you’re speaking the oppressor’s language, you’re ruining the Spanish language” (Anzaldua 412). It was this ethnic struggle that drove her to latch onto her cultural background so strongly. In the personal narrative “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua, Anzaldua states “When other races have given up their tongue, we’ve kept ours. We know what it is to live under the hammer blow of the dominant norteamericano culture” (Anzaldua 419) when referring to the resilience of her native people. She states this in response to other cultural groups having abandoned their language, meanwhile they retained theirs. The Chicanos are aware of the harsh standards of North American society. By saying “When other races have given up their tongue, we’ve kept ours,” she means that even when other ethnicities have been pushed to eliminate their languages, her ethnicity stayed strong; they refused to cave in. Likewise, when Anzaldua states “We know what it is to live under the hammer blow of the dominant norteamericano culture,” she draws pride from her culture’s ability to fend off even the most suffocating adversities. In this way, Anzaldua conveys
Anzaldua also refers to herself as a “Chicana” which refers to an American woman of Mexican descent. Chicano, also is an American man of Mexican descent. She says the Chicanos speak Standard English, Working Class and Slang English, Standard Spanish, Standard Mexican Spanish, North Mexican Spanish Dialect, Chicano Spanish, Tex-Mex, and Pachuco. She refers to Chicano Spanish and Tex-Mex to be close to her heart. Everyone can relate to having a certain dialect or slang that says a lot about them or is close to their heart.
In Pat Mora's "Elena" the person telling the story is from Mexico originally and moved to El Paso, Texas. She tells how her whole life has been changed due to this move. Right from the start you can tell the tone is negative because the speaker says "My Spanish isn't good enough"(L...