Abraham Quintanilla, father of late Tejano singer Selena, dies at 86

Abraham Quintanilla, begetter and manager of the precocious Tejano popular icon Selena Quintanilla, has died. He was 86.

“It’s with a dense bosom to fto you guys cognize that my Dad passed distant today,” Quintanilla’s son, A.B. Quintanilla III, wrote connected his Instagram relationship connected Saturday. The origin of decease has not been disclosed to the public.

As patriarch of the celebrated Mexican American euphony family, Quintanilla played a captious relation successful the improvement of his girl Selena’s career. After her tragic decease successful 1995, helium dedicated his beingness to safeguarding her bequest and overseeing superior power implicit her estate. This included managing the rights to her image, sanction and likeness — astatine times, to arguable ends.

Born successful Corpus Christi, Texas, successful 1939, Quintanilla began his euphony vocation arsenic a subordinate of the singing radical the Dinos successful 1956, a Chicano stone radical that was met with radical discrimination. In 1 instance, a nine proprietor paid the radical not to execute aft realizing they were Mexican American youth; but the radical was besides sidelined by its Mexican counterparts for not making Spanish-language music.

Quintanilla’s exasperation informed a existent punctuation that was aboriginal made celebrated by histrion Edward James Olmos, who played Quintanilla successful the 1997 “Selena” biopic: “We person to beryllium much Mexican than the Mexicans and much American than the Americans, some astatine the aforesaid time. It’s exhausting!”

Quintanilla would yet measurement distant from the radical successful the 1960s to commencement a household with Marcella Samora, whom helium met successful Tacoma, Wash., portion serving successful the U.S. Air Force. The household rapidly grew pursuing the births of A.B., Suzette and Selena. In them, helium saw the imaginable to fulfill his ain dreams of philharmonic stardom.

With A.B. connected bass, Suzette connected drums and Selena arsenic the tender vocalist, the trio would often execute astatine the household restaurant, PapaGayo’s, which aboriginal closed pursuing the 1981 recession. The household was forced to merchantability their location successful Lake Jackson, Texas, and determination to Corpus Christi. In bid to marque ends meet, Selena y Los Dinos would execute connected thoroughfare corners, household parties and different societal functions. Under the guidance of their father, who assumed the presumption of set manager, Los Dinos yet signed with Freddie Records successful 1984.

Selena was met with overmuch skepticism from an aboriginal property arsenic a young miss successful a male-dominated genre, including by their archetypal statement head, Freddie Martinez. Still, Los Dinos persevered successful the Tejano euphony scene, hopping from statement to statement earlier the radical yet released 8 albums nether Manny Guerra’s autarkic labels, GP Productions and Record Producer Productions. With aggregate albums nether her belt, Selena was past capable to predominate the Tejano Music Awards; she won the rubric of Female Vocalist of the Year successful 1987.

Selena yet caught the attraction of Jose Behar, the erstwhile caput of Sony Music Latin, who saw her crossover entreaty — contempt Selena’s superior connection being English — and signed her to EMI Latin (Capitol Records) successful 1989. This led to the merchandise of her astir career-defining hits crossed 5 albums, specified arsenic “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido,” “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” and the posthumously released ballad, “Dreaming of You.”

Following Selena’s execution successful 1995 — by Yolanda Saldivar, the erstwhile president of her instrumentality nine — Quintanilla became a fierce protector of her image, which was often sensationalized by the public.

Because of the grisly and highly publicized quality of Selena’s death, Quintanilla felt that the movie needed to beryllium made sooner than later, successful bid to bash justness to his daughter’s legacy, said “Selena” manager Gregory Nava successful a 2025 interrogation with De Los.

“For me, arsenic a filmmaker, I wanted to truly archer a existent story,” said Nava. “I had conflict, not truly with the family, but with Abraham. Her begetter was precise protective of her.”

Tensions flared astir erstwhile Nava began to signifier the communicative of the singer’s elopement with guitarist Chris Perez, whom she joined successful 1992.

“You can’t enactment connected the surface that it’s close for a young miss to disobey her father,” Nava recalled Quintanilla saying.

“Isn’t it a much important constituent to marque that she is doing what she knows is right? And [that] she’s doing the close happening due to the fact that she knows she loves Chris and Chris loves her?” Nava responded.

Eventually, Quintanilla relented. “I conjecture if I person to look atrocious to marque Selena look good, I’ll bash it,” Nava recalled him saying. “He has a brushed heart. He yet saw that was the close happening to do, but it took hours of heated discussion.”

Although Suzette has said that the 1997 biopic came excessively soon successful her eyes — and prompted disapproval of her father, who immoderate viewed arsenic money-hungry and opportunistic — she yet stood by his decision, stating that determination was a unit wrong the household to power the communicative astatine the time.

Nava agreed.

“Abraham was precise omniscient successful pushing it done quickly,” helium said. “Selena brought america each together, and it cemented her bequest successful a affirmative way. All the negativity was dispelled by that movie. You spot that successful the movie and you consciousness it.”