Bill Text: TX HR94 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Paying tribute to the life of Selena Quintanilla Pérez on March 31, 2017, the 22nd anniversary of her passing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-02-27 - Reported enrolled [HR94 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR94-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Paying tribute to the life of Selena Quintanilla Pérez on March 31, 2017, the 22nd anniversary of her passing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-02-27 - Reported enrolled [HR94 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR94-Introduced.html
| 85R4577 SMJ-D | ||
| By: Alonzo | H.R. No. 94 | |
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| WHEREAS, A Texas star was forever dimmed with the tragic | ||
| passing of the internationally acclaimed queen of Tejano music, | ||
| Selena Quintanilla Pérez, on March 31, 1995, and the solemn | ||
| anniversary of her death offers an opportunity to reflect on the | ||
| career and artistry of this singular entertainer; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The daughter of Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla, | ||
| the former Selena Quintanilla was born in Lake Jackson in 1971; she | ||
| demonstrated exceptional talent as a young child and soon began | ||
| performing with her father's group, Los Dinos, which also featured | ||
| her brother, A. B., and her sister, Suzette; after becoming the lead | ||
| singer, she took the band to a new level, and in 1987, the | ||
| charismatic teenager was named Performer of the Year and Female | ||
| Vocalist of the Year at the Tejano Music Awards; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Selena brought a joyous, youthful flamboyance to the | ||
| stage, and she deftly blended traditional Tejano music with | ||
| elements of other Latin genres and mainstream pop, creating | ||
| cross-generational appeal; EMI Latin signed her to a major | ||
| recording contract in 1989, and her career began to take off with | ||
| the release of a compilation album, Personal Best, and then Ven | ||
| Conmigo, whose title track became the first Tejano record to go | ||
| gold; finding happiness as well as success through music, she | ||
| married the guitarist of Los Dinos, Chris Pérez, in 1992; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Two years later, Selena Live earned the singer her | ||
| first Grammy Award, for Best Mexican American Performance; her 1994 | ||
| album, Amor Prohibido, received a Grammy nomination, won the Tejano | ||
| Music Award for Album of the Year--Orchestra, and in 2015 was listed | ||
| by Billboard magazine as one of the Essential Latin Albums of the | ||
| Past 50 Years; to date, Amor Prohibido has sold 2.5 million copies; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, Selena's fame continued to grow as she toured the | ||
| United States, Mexico, and other Latin American countries; she drew | ||
| more than 60,000 people to her performance at the 1995 Houston | ||
| Livestock Show and Rodeo, the highest attendance for a lineup that | ||
| featured some of the top country stars of the day; while gaining | ||
| greater recognition as an artist, she also launched a clothing | ||
| business and a boutique, and she made time to assist charitable | ||
| groups and youth initiatives, among them D.A.R.E., the Texas | ||
| Prevention Partnership, the Coastal Bend AIDS Foundation, and the | ||
| Houston Area Women's Center; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Poised for mainstream success, Selena was working on | ||
| her English-language debut when she was slain on March 31, 1995, at | ||
| the age of 23; the tragedy resonated so widely in the Hispanic | ||
| community and beyond that the New York Times carried the news on its | ||
| front page and People magazine published a special commemorative | ||
| issue; when her record company released a posthumous bilingual | ||
| collection of old and new material, Dreaming of You, it sold 175,000 | ||
| copies the first day, soared to the top of the Billboard 200 chart, | ||
| and then held the number one spot on the Top Latin Albums chart for | ||
| 44 consecutive weeks; her story was told in a hit movie, a stage | ||
| musical, and numerous books; in 2011, the U.S. Postal Service | ||
| issued a memorial stamp; more than two decades after her death, she | ||
| has remained a cultural icon, and the MAC cosmetics line created in | ||
| tribute to her signature style sold out completely the day it | ||
| launched in 2016; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Though her life was cut tragically short, Selena | ||
| Quintanilla Pérez left an indelible mark on the world through her | ||
| vast achievements as a musical performer, and she continues to be | ||
| fondly remembered and deeply missed by the adoring family, friends, | ||
| and fans she left behind; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Selena Quintanilla | ||
| Pérez on March 31, 2017, the 22nd anniversary of her death. | ||
