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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, April 16, 2021, marks the 50th anniversary of the |
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birth of the internationally acclaimed queen of Tejano music, |
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Selena Quintanilla Pérez; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla, |
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the former Selena Quintanilla was born in Lake Jackson in 1971; she |
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demonstrated exceptional talent as a young child and soon began |
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performing with her father's group, Los Dinos, which also featured |
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her brother, A. B., and her sister, Suzette; after becoming the lead |
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singer, she took the band to a new level, and in 1987, the |
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charismatic teenager was named Performer of the Year and Female |
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Vocalist of the Year at the Tejano Music Awards; and |
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WHEREAS, Selena brought a joyous, youthful flamboyance to the |
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stage, and she deftly blended traditional Tejano music with |
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elements of other Latin genres and mainstream pop, creating |
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cross-generational appeal; EMI Latin signed her to a major |
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recording contract in 1989, and her career began to take off with |
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the release of a compilation album, Personal Best, and then Ven |
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Conmigo, whose title track became the first Tejano record to go |
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gold; finding happiness as well as success through music, she |
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married the guitarist of Los Dinos, Chris Pérez, in 1992; and |
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WHEREAS, Two years later, Selena Live earned the singer her |
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first Grammy Award, for Best Mexican American Performance; her 1994 |
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album, Amor Prohibido, received a Grammy nomination, won the Tejano |
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Music Award for Album of the Year--Orchestra, and in 2015 was listed |
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by Billboard magazine as one of the Essential Latin Albums of the |
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Past 50 Years; to date, Amor Prohibido has sold 2.5 million copies; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Selena's fame continued to grow as she toured the |
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United States, Mexico, and other Latin American countries; she drew |
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more than 60,000 people to her performance at the 1995 Houston |
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Livestock Show and Rodeo, the highest attendance for a lineup that |
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featured some of the top country stars of the day; while gaining |
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greater recognition as an artist, she also launched a clothing |
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business and a boutique, and she made time to assist charitable |
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groups and youth initiatives, among them D.A.R.E., the Texas |
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Prevention Partnership, the Coastal Bend AIDS Foundation, and the |
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Houston Area Women's Center; and |
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WHEREAS, Poised for mainstream success, Selena was working on |
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her English-language debut when she was slain on March 31, 1995, at |
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the age of 23; the tragedy resonated so widely in the Hispanic |
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community and beyond that the New York Times carried the news on its |
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front page and People magazine published a special commemorative |
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issue; when her record company released a posthumous bilingual |
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collection of old and new material, Dreaming of You, it sold 175,000 |
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copies the first day, soared to the top of the Billboard 200 chart, |
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and then held the number one spot on the Top Latin Albums chart for |
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44 consecutive weeks; her story was told in a hit movie, a stage |
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musical, and numerous books; in 2011, the U.S. Postal Service |
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issued a memorial stamp, and in 2016, the MAC cosmetics line created |
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in tribute to her signature style sold out completely the day it |
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launched; and |
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WHEREAS, Selena did not live to realize all her dreams, but |
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more than two decades after her death, she continues to inspire |
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others to reach for their own, and she will forever hold a special |
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place in the history of Texas music, as well as in the hearts of |
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those who loved her; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of the birth of |
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Selena Quintanilla Pérez. |