Selena's legacy lives on in these young Latina musicians

Monday marks 30 years since the tragic decease of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez changed the satellite of Latin euphony forever. And yet, successful that time, it feels arsenic though her bequest arsenic the “Queen of Tejano” ne'er faded away. One tin effort to measurement her interaction successful the tangible: successful the fig of posthumous albums sold, successful aggregate documentaries, a Netflix TV bid astir her beingness and the 1997 biopic that catapulted Jennifer Lopez to fame.

But to recognize the gravity of a prima arsenic monolithic arsenic Selena, is besides to look astatine thing that’s harder to enumerate: the traces of her voice, her benignant and her ambition successful today’s Latin artists.

What I telephone “The Selena Generation” is comprised of artists who came of property successful the years aft the singer’s death. Most of them ne'er had the accidental to bargain her records erstwhile they debuted oregon spot her execute live, yet still, her power connected them is unmistakable. This cohort includes established stars similar Karol G and Becky G, arsenic good arsenic rising talents similar Estevie, Gale, Angelina Victoria and Vanita Leo, among others. For galore of them, determination was nary clip earlier Selena. She’s conscionable ever been a portion of their lives.

Becky G connected the acceptable of her euphony video “Otro Capítulo,” filmed successful Elysian Park successful Los Angeles.

(Jill Connelly/De Los)

“I’ve been listening to and watching videos of Selena performing earlier I could adjacent signifier memories,” Becky G tells De Los. Born and raised successful Inglewood, Calif., she says her parent was ever playing Selena’s euphony successful their house. Over the years, the Mexican American vocalist has performed aggregate Selena medleys, and included a Selena-inspired song, “Otro Capítulo,” connected her astir caller album, “Encuentros.”

For Becky, the precocious singer’s vocation trajectory is “the blueprint.” Selena’s way from performing astatine restaurants, clubs and weddings crossed South Texas to drafting record-breaking crowds astatine the Houston Astrodome, arsenic a pistillate successful Tejano music, wasn’t conscionable aspirational — it was revolutionary. “She broke barriers,” Becky G says. “She took our euphony to places we ne'er thought successful our wildest dreams it would reach. She showed younger generations, including myself, that we could beryllium connected signifier 1 day, too.”

It’s hard to ideate what Latin euphony mightiness look similar contiguous without Selena’s success. Though artists similar Gloria Estefan and Lisa Lisa had enjoyed mainstream popularity successful the U.S. during the Latin “boom” of the ’80s, Selena’s ascent arsenic a Mexican American from Texas was thing much novel. The precise genre she was occupying told the communicative of a portion that, similar Selena herself, had been shaped by aggregate cultures.

Selena was a mosaic of the Tex-Mex identity. She sang chiefly successful Spanish — a connection she wasn’t fluent successful — portion adding successful dashes of country-western benignant to her wardrobe, portion modeling her performances aft American popular stars similar Janet Jackson and Madonna. With a foothold successful the cultures connected some sides of the border, she bridged the spread betwixt them by being 100% herself, charting a way that hadn’t antecedently existed for others similar her.

“Today, Latin artists are dominating charts, collaborating with planetary superstars, and selling retired arenas, and I deliberation we beryllium a batch of that to Selena,” says Estevie. The Gen Z cumbia prima has drawn comparisons to the “Tejano Madonna” since bursting onto the country successful 2021.

And portion Selena whitethorn person been achingly adjacent to achieving the crossover occurrence of her dreams erstwhile she was killed successful 1995, the scope of her power grew successful her death. To this day, her last album, “Dreaming of You,” remains the best-selling Latin medium of each clip successful the U.S., and the archetypal predominantly Spanish-language medium to debut astatine No. 1 connected the Billboard 200. “She proved that Latin euphony could transverse implicit without losing its essence,” Estevie tells De Los. “She showed that women could lead, and beryllium unapologetically themselves successful a male-dominated industry.”

(Juli Perez/For De Los)

Her powerfulness was evident to Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, Gale, from the archetypal clip she watched the “Selena” film. Now 31, she remembers spending hours arsenic a kid performing Selena’s songs successful her surviving room, practicing and perfecting her routines.

“I was instantly hooked,” she says. “She was my archetypal emotion successful music; her voice, her energy, her power. Selena showed the satellite that Latin women beryllium connected large stages. She made maine consciousness similar I could bash this too.”

Like Gale, Chicago-born música Mexicana vocalist Angelina Victoria was mesmerized by the 1997 biopic, catching glimpses of her aboriginal aforesaid successful the communicative of a small miss who grew up to go a star. When she was older, she saw footage of the singer’s historical show astatine the Houston Rodeo successful 1995. “Watching that for the archetypal clip gave maine chills,” she remembers. “Her confidence, her smile, her vocals, creation moves — the mode she commanded the signifier was truthful electrifying. She made it look effortless, but you could archer that each note, each move, came from the heart.”

At 22 years old, Victoria is successful the midst of trying to found herself arsenic an artist. Still, she’s arrogant to proclaim Selena arsenic her biggest inspiration due to the fact that of however she navigated the complexities of her Mexican American heritage. “Before her, determination was a cognition that Latin artists had to enactment successful their lane,” Victoria tells De Los. “She paved the mode for artists similar maine to clasp our civilization portion inactive evolving our sound. She made it wide that being successful betwixt 2 worlds is simply a strength, not a limitation.”

Earlier this month, portion performing astatine South By Southwest successful Austin, Victoria told the assemblage she couldn’t permission Texas without “singing a small Selena,” and launched into a crowd-pleasing medley of “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido” and “Baila Esta Cumbia.” She wasn’t alone; the aforesaid day, San Antonio-based cumbia vocalist Vanita Leo, 22, wowed the assemblage astatine Austin’s Volstead Lounge with an impassioned show of “Si Una Vez.”

It could beryllium seen arsenic a hazard for emerging artists to screen specified a legendary singer, particularly for a assemblage successful Selena’s location state; but beyond expressing their genuine admiration for her, it’s besides a mode to beryllium their mettle. Selena’s vocals, and her signifier presence, are intolerable to beryllium phoned in.

“Performing a Selena screen successful Texas is electric,” Leo tells De Los. “There’s ever a monolithic reaction. Her euphony is woven into the cloth of our culture, and you tin consciousness however overmuch she inactive means to radical the infinitesimal you commencement singing. It’s a reminder that her bequest isn’t conscionable astir the songs — it’s astir the joy, pridefulness and practice she gave our community.”