Veinticinco

Last month, during the Superbowl Halftime show, (If you have been living under a rock and have not seen it, click here) my jaw dropped in awe as I saw one of the most entertaining performances in my life! Shakira doing a belly dance and that thing with her tongue and J.Lo showing of her killer bod and her amazing pole dancing skills. I was obsessed, for a a full month I would watch this performance over and over in a day and do it again the next day. Yes, there was a lot of controversies surrounding this performance (from people who are probably jealous of these 2 wonderful human beings who are in their 40's and 50's who can still do all those things) but let's all be open minded and see this performance for what it is : Pure hard work.

Anyway, enough about that. This post is actually about someone who made such a huge impact on the Latino music scene and probably made it all possible to make these 2 fine latinas to be known worldwide.

I am a big music fan. Even at such a young age, I would listen to the radio (mostly pop, soul and a lot of r&b) all day to pass time. I love music so much that one summer (I think I was 7), my mom enrolled me for voice lessons (even if I begged to get piano lessons). I was asked to pick a song that I would sing during practice. Every Saturday, my mom would take me to these lessons and I only sang 1 thing which is : Kapag Tumibok ang Puso by Donna Cruz. I would sing this over and over for an hour until my coach begged me to choose another song (Unfortunately, I sound that bad). I am aware of that and did not pursue it further but one thing never left me, the passion I have in listening to good music. Any music in any language as long as it made me feel something, I would listen to it. There are just something about listening to music that soothes me (especially when I'm stressed).

It was the summer of 1995, school's out. Nothing much to do but read, rent movies and listen to music. A song came to the radio that caught my attention. It was Selena's Dreaming of You. Back then, there are not much on regular TV but local shows, local gossips, local news, and non translated Spanish telenovelas. There was one channel that shows US TV (mostly E! news and very old black and white type Hollywood movies, the classics) and a few months back, they reported about Selena who was gunned down by a deranged fan. As the web back then is not as informative as it is now, all you see on TV is all you know about anything entertainment related. You cannot just go on the web and find more details on what you've seen (let alone watch it again and again). While I was listening to the song, I was so filled with so much emotions. Then I remembered all that I've heard on TV about her. How she died and who killed her and everything. And the worst thing about her murderer is that she kept on tainting the image of Selena after death which made the people of Texas hate her even more. I keep wishing I've known about her before she died. I would constantly call my favorite radio station and request her song because I want her to shoot to number 1. When I finally got the chance to buy her last album (with only has 6 English songs and the rest are her previous Spanish hits) I would listen to the full album when I wake up in the morning and before I sleep at night. Even if I have bought the album, our radio would still be on 24/7 so I can hear her on the radio. I would listen to her Spanish songs and would always wonder why does her releases sounds so old (like something your grandpa would listen to). Although it's her dream to release an all english album, it was only until her death that her dream finally came true. Her Spanish releases are mostly Tejano music which is popular in Texas and Mexico. Their band is the family business and she's the star of the show. I mostly enjoyed her cumbia songs because of it's fun and upbeat tunes.  Her album became a morning ritual and it came to a point that I almost understand what she was saying (Seriously, I live and breathe her and her music. All 13 songs, 6 on side A and 7 on side B. Then dreaming of you would be on repeat on some occasion.) I do listen to other artists (Like the Spice Girls) but not as much as I listen to her. Her voice is unique. It's full of emotion and personality. No auto tune, just pure, angelic talent of Selena. Who would have predicted that her last performance would be Selena Live at the Astrodome. I just watched this whole concert last night and you would really how natural it is for her to perform. 

Today, 31st of March marks Selena's 25th Death Anniversary. She died when she was 23 years old and she is celebrated longer than her lifespan. She blasted the door open to all latino artists to the mainstream market, including Selena Gomez (who was named after her.). I always wondered how her career would have turned out if she survived that day and how would it affect all those people out there who have made a career for themselves because of her death. 

I'm glad that now with all this technology around us, her family still shares her legacy to the world. There are so many of it on you tube and now that we are on quarantine, I can't help but watch her performances and her interviews. I used to not listen to her Spanish songs but now I love it more than English releases. I feel like I've gotten to know her better and really enjoyed everything that she has done before her death. Her voice (and her fashion sense) transcends through time. Larga vida a nuestros corazones Selena, la Reina de la música Tejano.

I cannot decide which of her performances are the best because they are almost all are, so I'll just leave 2 of my favorites from the Astrodome performance. Let me know which songs are your favorite in the comments below.