SAN ANTONIO – Selena Quintanilla, her music, image and legacy all still live on today.
Twenty-eight years ago Selena was tragically shot and killed on March 31, 1995 in Corpus Christi, Texas by her former fan club manager.
In a clip from KSAT’s newscast the day after she died on April 1, 1995, Jessie Degollado visited Selena’s recording studio and her hometown, where she was especially loved and missed.
One fan in the news clip is seen mourning the loss of Selena outside the Tejano star’s childhood home in the Molina neighborhood, in Corpus Christi.
“We can’t believe this happened to Selena, that’s why we had to come here to make ourselves believe she is really gone,” the fan told Degollado.
Selena may be gone, but she is not forgotten. Her legacy lives on through her music, her make-up line and her famous movie, where Jennifer Lopez plays Selena.
She is also immortalized throughout several murals in San Antonio. In 2020, her family had big plans to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her death with a concert at the Alamodome. Unfortunately, it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
KSAT spoke to some of her family members before the event was supposed to happen.
Chris Perez, who was married to Selena when she died, told KSAT that it wasn’t until several years after her death that the realization came about how big of an impact she made and is still making on people’s lives.
”But now that people have learned the story and understand how hard it was and the work she put into it, the work her family put into it and what she stands for now,” Perez said. “I get it. Like what she means to people and what she represents.”
Selena’s sister Suzette Quintanilla explained her sister’s legacy best, in Selena’s own words.
”I don’t want to misquote my sister, but she said the goal isn’t to live forever, but create something that will and I truly believe that she has done that, without even realizing what she left behind,” she said.