#themicrophone

"We went through a hard time, and we had to turn to music as a means to putting food on the table. And we’ve been doing it ever since. No regrets either.” - Selena Quintanilla-Perez

“When you get hard work you get success, and we put a lot of years into it.” - Selena Quintanilla-Perez

Why should we live

With such a hurry?

Living is so dear -

I did not wish to live

What was not life.

Reality is fabulous -

Indeed something true and sublime.

Music and poetry

Would resound.

If a man

Should walk through this town,

And see only the reality -

This is always exhilarating and sublime.

Let us not be upset and overwhelmed.

Let us settle ourselves

Through poetry and philosophy and religion

Let us call reality

And say

This is no mistake.

Let us call reality

To my fans,

Thank you. Thank you for supporting me from the day I first started creating music con Los Dinos. From the first day I started, I knew that music was what I loved. I loved to create music and entertain people and perform for an audience. I thank every single audience member that had come to watch me at my performances. Every one of you, and I truly mean everyone, has inspired me to keep performing and keep entertaining. And all of you know that very well. Anyone who knows me knows that I am so grateful for my fans and all that you have given me as an individual as well as a performer on stage, as my true self comes out to greet you for you have come to see me.

My life is now gone, and I can’t be there to perform for you guys, my second family, anymore. But that does not mean I can’t give this advice to you:

Love what you do. I know I did. I loved what I did and I was blessed with an entire fan-base that supported every decision I made, from making authentic Tejano music to mixing into the United States American culture and making albums in the English language. Only Gloria Estefan had achieved this the most successfully at the time I was living. And I really looked up to her. She loved what she did, which is what I want everyone to follow. Loving what you do is what gives you your passion to create and work and make yourself and others happy. And this is how you achieve, by setting goals that you would love to accomplish. Goals were set for me by the music industry and my father as well, but that made me work harder. Loving what I do only made this task easier, so I was able to accomplish, be happy, and keep my morals. Oh! That’s another thing. Remember your morals. Remember what you stand for, and believe. Remember where you come from and remember your family. You can’t forget your upbringing and the blessings you’ve had. Your family is there to support you in whatever you do. Live your life, be brave in the face of adversity, and continue to be happy.

And with that, I say my last goodbye to you, my fans, my entire life, and what I live for. I love every one of you, and don’t forget that.

With love,

My teacher said to write

A poem, so

I appear now, in the dead of night

And reap what I sow.

I ask myself about the possibilities,

All the possibilities

Of how to express my tireless thoughts.

Thoughts that sprint and struggle

In my mind, where I only exist to learn

My thoughts I must juggle.

These are the thoughts that control

Who I am, or what I am, or how I am,

Or what I think, and why I think the way I do.

How is it possible to contain all these thoughts

On a paper, to let myself

And those who seek out

The truth in me as I do myself?

To be me

On a tiny sheet of white paper -

Is is true, is it possible,

To contain the life force and inner workings

Of an individual of millions of cells,

And millions of thoughts,

And millions of actions and words and

The interconnectedness of an entire entity

On this blank sheet of paper?

I guess not,

For these thoughts that you see

Are purely me

But they couldn’t truly be me

If all you see is one small branch

Upon a branch, upon a branch,

Upon a tree, upon a tunnel

Of roots that connect in millions.

What is your name?

My full name is Selena Quintanilla-Pérez.

How old were you when you died?

I died at the age of 23.

How did you die?

I was shot by my closest friend and manager, Yolanda Saldívar.

Where did you die?

I died in Corpus Christi in Texas. I was shot at the Days Inn hotel.

Why were you killed?

Financial papers had not been turning up correctly. My manager, Yolanda, has been managing the papers, and we knew things weren’t turning up right. Even before this, I was getting complaints from my employees at the boutique that they were being mistreated and yelled at by Yolanda. They had a terrible experience working at the boutique. I should have known. I thought she was one of my closest friends.

My father and I had tried confront her. We really did. We had tried to meet before, again and again but she kept pulling up her rape story. So we took her to the hospital - no sign of rape. I could not believe she was lying to me, me and my family, me and my trust and her. All of the things she had done for me, like advice and tending to my needs and helping me whenever I needed. I couldn’t believe everything was gone because of her greed for my money. My money! I was so furious but I didn’t want to be. I didn’t want to lose my best friend. Instead, I lost my life.

Who did you leave behind?

I left my family, my band, my love of living adventurous all behind. Most importantly, I left the love of my life behind - Chris Pérez. I left behind the house of my dreams with the life that I lived so wildly. I left behind all my fans that I loved. Every one fan that supported me - I never overlooked anyone. They are what made me who I am and what I stand for.

What did you love about life?

I loved living wild and adventurous. My performances were my entire life. Every show was different, and I loved that - it was never the same thing. The shows were adventurous.