NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Thirty years later Tejano music legend Selena Quintanilla-Perez was murdered at age 23. regional mexican music now celebrated on the world stage – no doubt the result of her endless influence.
There have been several celebrations for the “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” singer this year, including the upcoming Netflix documentary “Selena y Los Dinos.” Now there's another reason to celebrate the singer known to fans as Selena: The Grammy Museum will open a special pop-up exhibit dedicated to the Latin music icon in 2026.
“Selena: From Texas to the World” runs from January 15 to March 16 at the museum in downtown Los Angeles.
The exhibition was organized in close collaboration with Suzette Quintanilla, Selena's sister and president of Q Productions. Personal artifacts from the Selena Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas will be on display. The exhibition will be the first time these items have been shown outside of Selena's home state.
Suzette Quintanilla “really carefully selected the items that we are excited to display in the pop-up,” Suzette Quintanilla said. Grammy Museum curator Kelsey Goeltz in an interview with The Associated Press. “Selena's legacy isn't going anywhere. The conversation is still ongoing. So, you know, why not let the fans see some more?”
All of the items in the Grammy Museum pop-up were sourced directly from the Selena Museum, with the exception of the guitars, which were loaned from the personal collection of Chris Perez, lead guitarist for Selena y Los Dinos, who was married to the singer.
About 15 items came from the Selena Museum, Goeltz said.
“I think the most eye-catching (item) will be her Grammy dress that she wore to the 1994 Grammy Awards when she won Best Mexican-Mexican-American Album. It's a very beautiful white beaded dress,” she says. “And the leather outfit she wore on the cover of (her 1994 album) 'Amor Prohibido', the ruffled collar, the hoop earrings. It's little things like the hoop earrings that make Selena Selena. We also get the microphone she used in her last performance, which still has her lipstick on it.”
“It’s so intimate and it’s so important to bring it to Los Angeles,” she continued.
It's a fitting home for Selena's exhibition: in 2017, she received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At that time, in accordance with The crowd was the largest in Walk of Fame ceremony history, breaking the 1998 record set by spectators at the unveiling of Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez's star, a Hollywood Chamber of Commerce spokesman said.
Selena's Grammy and Lifetime Achievement Awards will be on display at the Grammy Museum, as well as hand-drawn clothing designs from the singer's teenage years.
All descriptions in the exhibition will be available in English and Spanish, reflecting Selena's biculturalism and bilingualism. Visitors can also expect a “fan interaction moment,” Goeltz says. “We really want to create an interactive experience.”
“It is incredibly important to share these treasured items for the first time outside of our Selena Museum, at the iconic Grammy Museum in Los Angeles,” Suzette Quintanilla said in a statement. “Selena and our band were very proud to receive a Grammy for our live concert. This exhibition is a wonderful tribute to her spirit, her culture and the unwavering love she had for her fans.”
Selena's superstardom came in the early 1990s when her unique blend of Tejano, pop, cumbia and other musical styles emerged in huge hits like “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” “Como la Flor”, “Amor Prohibido”, “No Me Queda Mas” and “Tu Solo Tu”.
Known as the Queen of Tejano, Selena broke barriers for women in Latin music. She opened the floodgates for a new generation of contemporary Latino artists who would go on to enjoy enormous popularity among mainstream American audiences. She often sang in Spanish and spoke English, reflecting a cross-cultural identity that resonated with listeners.
In 1997 biographical film about her life, “Selena” quickly became a classic and propelled the leading actress' career. Jennifer Lopez.
Selena was murdered by her fan club president Yolanda Saldivar in 1995. Saldivar is serving a life sentence in Texas. She was denial of parole in March of this year.
