She’ll forever be known as La Reina de la Musica Tejana… And, now Selena Quintanilla is an official Texas legend.
The late Tejano singer was among the five iconic women who were inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame over the weekend.
Along with the rest of Selena’s many historic accomplishments — like introducing the Tejano genre into mainstream music — she was notably recognized by the Texas governor for “shattering stereotypes and expectations, proving the impossible is always possible.”
Her sister Suzette Quintanilla accepted the award on behalf of Selena and her family.
“My sister once said that the goal isn’t to love forever, but to create something that will. Today is a testament to those words. I stand up here today with so many emotions and all of these beautiful memories in my heart that I would love to share with you guys but that would take a long time,” she said as she held back the tears. “As you all know Selena was such a unique person who embodied so much for being so young. Selena was a very kind and caring person that had an infectious smile and laughter.”
A Grammy winner and owner of a clothing line and a boutique-salon, Selena was shot and killed by the founder of her first fan club on March 31, 1995 at the age of 23. The Texas-born singer was a pioneer for many artists as she seamlessly crossed over from the Spanish market and into the English market.
Before her untimely death in 1995, she had started work on an English-language crossover album. Dreaming of You was released posthumously and became the best-selling Latin album of all time, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and selling 175,000 copies on its very first day of release.
Shortly after her death, the star’s story was brought to life in the biopic Selena starring Jennifer Lopez.
Most recently, MAC Cosmetics launched their Selena-inspired make up line, which sold out online in a matter of hours. The highly anticipated collection, which includes lipsticks, eye shadows and blush, is now available in MAC stores.