The world is mourning today over the loss of an iconic singer 20 years ago. March 31 refreshes the memory of the late iconic star Selena Quintanilla-Perez, who was killed at the age of 23 in 1995.
Selena, who was also called Mexican-American Madonna, rose to fame after winning the Tejano Music Awards' best female vocalist as a teenager. In the following years, the star won the award for nine times, including two posthumous wins.
Apart from being a Grammy award winning performer, Selena was also a fashion icon and a role model for the whole generation. After sweeping Latino music in its stride, the singer was about to make her mark internationally when her life was cut short.
When she died, Selena has just recorded her first album in English and was highly expected to be an international star.
"She only recorded four songs for the album, we had to scramble to fill it with songs she had recorded years before," her father Abraham Quintanilla told Fox News Latino in a telephonic interview recently.
The sudden tragic death of Selena shocked the world and almost 60,000 mourners drew to her funeral in Corpus Christi. The star was shockingly shot dead by Yolanda Saldivar, the president of the official Selena fan club and the self-proclaimed biggest fan of the star.
Saldivar was hired to manage the Selena's boutique and other merchandise. It was soon found that Saldivar was cheating on money and as eventually fired from her job. In a meeting schedule between Selena and Saldivar where she promised to return some of the boutique's financial documents, things went out of control and Saldivar shot the singer and fled. Saldivar was later arrested and currently serving a life prison term, eligible for parole in 2025, TIME reported.
Selena is still remembered as one of the most iconic singers to date. On the occasion of her 20th anniversary, the fans are flocking to Corpus Christi at her grave site and memorial statue on North Shoreline Boulevard to celebrate her life and remember the legendary singer.