Selena Quintanilla

Selena Quintanilla is a singer known as the 'Queen of Tejano Music.’ She was killed by the president of her fan club. She was an American singer, songwriter, spokesperson, model, actress, and fashion designer. She ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting a music genre into the mainstream market. Her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century.

The murder happened on March 31, 1995 in Corpus Christi, Texas. She was shot and killed by the founder of her fan club who is Yolanda Saldivar. Yolanda had previously shown signs of disturbed behavior: she had a criminal record and had been embezzling money. On the day of the murder, Selena met Saldivar at a hotel to discuss money that had gone missing; Yolanda showed up with a gun and shot Selena, fatally wounding her. An estimated 100,000 mourners showed up to Selena’s public viewing at the convention center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Fans were saddened when the news of Selena's death was released by the media. Selena's death has been compared to those of Elvis Presley and John Lennon. Selena's death was called Black Friday by some Texans. George W. Bush declared April 16 as "Selena Day" in Texas. The event has gone on to become known as one of the darkest days in music history and helped to increase Selena's popularity in the United States.

Selena did not believe her best friend could do something like that and tried to maintain their friendship. However, by March, 1995 Saldivar and Selena's friendship had begun to crumble. Selena and her husband, Chris Perez, visited Saldivar to get the missing documents that she had stolen. Saldivar failed to give Selena all the documents. The next day, Selena and Saldivar met secretly at Saldivar's motel room, where Selena asked for the rest of the documents. Saldivar then claimed that she was raped in Mexico, and Selena took her to a local hospital where doctors found that Saldivar was lying. This caused Selena to end her friendship with Saldivar, and when Selena turned to leave the motel room, Saldivar took a gunfrom her purse and shot Selena in the back. Selena was taken to a local hospital, but was declared dead. Saldivar went to her pickup truck and threatened to commit suicide, but gave herself up after nine hours.

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