A Tribute To Selena Quintanilla Perez: The Top 5 Reasons You Should Tattoo Selena Onto Your Forearm
5 January 2009, 12:25 PM. By Alex Alvarez
TNT re-ran Selena, the film about the life and tube tops of slain singer Santa Selena Quintanilla-Perez, and we got all teary-eyed with nostalgia and jenkem fumes.
Selena means a lot of things to a lot of people - more so now, probably, than while she was alive and performing. The outpouring of grief after the young singer was shot and killed by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club, was more a testament to what Selena represented — especially to young Latinas — than any single song or video she may have made. Saldívar is still serving her 30 year prison sentence and probably making loads of new friends.
Selena may not have gained international fame, or even U.S. fame beyond her fervent Latino fans, but she made it clear that with a lot of hard work, a Latina could break through into the pop world - her album Selena Live! won Best Mexican-American Album at the 36th Grammy Awards. Which is totally a reason to have a complete stranger’s likeness permanently inked onto your flesh.
No one can really predict of what have lay in the cards for Selena. But we do have the legacy and body of work she left behind. So, without further ado, here are our Top 5 Reasons You Should Tattoo Selena Onto Your Forearm:
5. All the cool kids are doing it.
Firme.
4. Four words: “Bidi bidi bom bom.”
3. Dying young ensured she would not go the way of Britney or Lindsay, leaving her fans focusing on her successes and her potential - not her missteps.
To wit:
vs.
2. She inadvertently launched Jennifer Lopez’s career.
Don’t lie. You’ve seen Selena at least eight times. And, if your formative years were anything like ours, at least five of those times were during “rainy day” P.E. classes with the rest of the eighth grade. Without Selena, there would be no J. Lo. Not only did Selena help pave the way for future crossover stars (more on that later), but this is probably the only movie in which Jennifer Lopez was even remotely watchable. Plus, be real. This is the hottest Jennifer’s ever looked, no?:
1. She crossed over between dance, American pop, Tejano music and love ballads before Shakira, Ricky Martin or Paulina Rubio even learned to lace up their leather chaps.
Do these artists owe their fame and careers to Selena? Probably not. But its important to single out those who came before us, especially in an industry that has proved time and time again to have no understanding of what to do with or how to promote Latino artists. Categories like “Best Caribbean / Latin / Hispanic / Tropical Music Played By A Man With A Mustache Whose Name Ends In Z” prove the music industry fails to understand what we’ve always known: That performers like Selena did and will continue to defy categorization.
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I’ve had some good times listening to Selena back in the day….
My parents have a video somewhere of me with friends lipsinging to “Como La Flor”,”El Chico del apartamento 512″ and “La Carcancha”
Thanks for the memories Selena!
I think I’ll just stick to wearing my t-shirt and creating my shrine on her birthday.
I will always love Selena.
Ahhh those were the days. Bootleg “in memory of selena” shirts being sold on the side of road within an hour of her dying. So industrious those Mexicans.
best selena bootleg t shirt i saw for sale was in nuevo laredo a month after her death: the faces of selena, kurt cobain, and john lennon w/ the words ‘gone but not forgotten’ written over them in old english font, 5 bucks. what a deal.
Selena was a bit chola-ish, no?
I agree. It’s the only time Lopez did good in a movie, and she looked great back then.
Yesh, Fredo. I look at that face and I see only the chola aspirations.
Aside, I thought I was the only one who saw that airing of Saleeenas and for some bizarre reason remembered that ‘Edward James Olmos’ Complexion’ joke made on Guanabee.
I have to wonder how many little girls are named after Selena; dressed like her; made to sing her songs at community talent shows, etc. but actually have no idea who she was. I really want that kurt cobain t-shirt though.I bet they would have sold at the Selena boutique. Too bad it closed like 10 years ago.
I was in Corpus Christi over the summer and the Selena boutique was still open. In fact, her sister was in the shop and pointed out some new shoes to me.
I didn’t actually buy anything because they were all out of the Selena dolls.
I loooooove Selena! all the latinas in my fourth grade class were devastated after she passed. “Si me vuelvas a llamar” is my shit still.
AND jennifer lopez was totes at her best for the movie.
I wasnt born when selena was alive, But I love her and her music, Im 8 years old.
I love selena she was mi idol dude!!!!
help us before itz to late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! don’t let them close selena boutique
Hola que tal aqui dejando un mensaje a mi garn idolo de la musica mexico-americana, es la mejor cantante que eh coniocido muy sencilla y con una maganifica voz, es la mejor la recordaremos por siempre existira en nusestro corazones, me eh involucrado tanto como fanatica que he conseguiso un sin numero de videso de ella y tan solo con unos cuantos años de escucharla cantar ,e facino y eh sido su fiel admiradora.
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Selena Vive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love you selena! when I watched the movie I cried! a million times!
i luv selena …r.i.p…dead bt nt 4gotten…viva moterrey
We love you Selena!
You bitches at Guanabee always throwin shade at her, tsk tsk.
love the site though!
I am a big fan of Selena!!!
I wasnt alive when she was, but I mish i was!
I have never heard anyone sing as well as Selena does, she is my idol!
I am mexican/american too, and i am glad.
Everytime i see the movie of her i always cry and i have seen it like a million times!
I hope Yolanda Saldavar is in jail 4 life but i dont think that she is gonna be.
I LOVE YOU SELENA
I was in the third grade when Selena died. I live in Houston, I remember school being cut out and the tv turned on for us all to watch. They let us out early and omg it was a horrible night. I could only imagine how devastated the family was. My all goes out to each n everyone of them. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU SELENA COMO LA FLOR MI AMOR!!!!
I will always remember the day Selena was killed,I was with my mom at the grocery store and I had a portable cassette player listening to her cd Amor Prohibido and saw her face on the news paper I burst out crying ,I still hurt every April 1,I still have my posters,cd’s,cassettes,Selena was so big even before she passed,I remember Pepsi Musical & Furia she sang Bidi bidi bom bom,in that black long sleeve top and the green skirt open in the front,I went the next day and had my hair the same way,and My name is Selena also.
ive always thought about gettin a selena tat on my arm. prolly left outter forearm. as a mexican american musician, she is one of the biggest inspirations to me.
*mexican american TEXAN musician :)
a texican if you will.