Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, known professionally as Selena, was an American singer. Referred to as the "Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. In 2020, Billboard magazine put her in third place on their list of "Greatest Latino Artists of All Time", based on both Latin albums and Latin songs chart. Media outlets called her the "Tejano Madonna" for her clothing choices. She also ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting the Tejano genre into the mainstream market.
Tejano music, also known as Tex-Mex music, is a popular music style fusing Mexican and US influences. Typically, Tejano combines Mexican Spanish vocal styles with dance rhythms from Czech and German genres – particularly polka or waltz. Tejano music is traditionally played by small groups featuring accordion and guitar or bajo sexto. Its evolution began in northern Mexico.
Norteño or Norteña, also música norteña, is a subgenre of regional Mexican music. The music is most often based on duple and triple metre and its lyrics often deal with socially relevant topics, although there are also many norteño love songs. The accordion and the bajo sexto are traditional norteño's most characteristic instruments. Norteña music developed in the late 19th century, as a mixture between local Mexican music and Austrian-Czech-origin folk music.
Selena y Los Dinos was an American Tejano band formed in 1981 by Tejano singer Selena and her father Abraham Quintanilla. The band remained together until the murder of Selena in 1995, which caused the dissolution of the band in the same year. When Selena was signed with EMI Latin, EMI president José Behar told Selena that "the world wanted Selena, not Selena y Los Dinos." Selena then began releasing her solo studio albums under her name and her own logo title Selena instead of Selena y Los Dinos. Before Selena was signed with EMI, the band had sold more than 80,000 copies in the state of Texas.
Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by regions. Subgenres include banda, duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico music, Norteño, Sierreño, Tejano, and Tierra Caliente. It is among the most popular radio formats targeting Mexican Americans in the United States.
Entre a Mi Mundo is the third studio album by American singer Selena, released on May 6, 1992, by EMI Latin. The label endeavored to bolster Selena's popularity within the Latin music market in the United States with this release. Selena's brother, A. B. Quintanilla sustained his role as the singer's producer and, in collaboration with Selena y Los Dinos members Pete Astudillo and Ricky Vela, composed tracks for the album. The ensuing recording encompassed an eclectic array of songs, attributable to the members' diverse backgrounds, which facilitated the modernization of the sundry genres they explored. Entre a Mi Mundo is a Tejano cumbia album that encapsulated Selena's quintessential sound, characterized by engaging tunes harmonized with her distinctive, plaintive vocals and a relaxed, danceable cumbia beat. The album incorporates musical inspirations from power pop, R&B, disco, rock, funk, and synthesized Tejano music.
La Mafia is an American five-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas, and has charted a course as a Latin music band.
Los Kumbia All Starz are an American musical group from Corpus Christi, Texas, created by A.B. Quintanilla. Kumbia All Starz are not to be confused with Los Kumbia Kings although some members are originally from Los Kumbia Kings. Their 2006 debut album Ayer Fue Kumbia Kings, Hoy Es Kumbia All Starz reached number one on United States Billboard's Latin Pop Albums chart, number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, and number sixty-eight on the United States Billboard 200. The album spawned two charting singles, "Chiquilla" and "Parece Que Va a Llover" single sung by Ricky Rick.
Pedro Astudillo, known as Pete Astudillo, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Referred to as "the Latino Babyface", he is regarded as the mastermind behind Selena's sound, as he collaborated or coauthored the singer's top-selling and most popular recordings that cemented him into music history. Astudillo wrote or collaborated on some of the most popular Tejano music songs of the 1990s and was inducted into the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame in 2019. His impact on the United States Latin music scene lies in his role as a songwriter collaborator, according to Billboard magazine.
Alberto Cortez was an Argentine singer and songwriter. Cortez and his wife Renée Govaerts lived in Madrid.
Armando Ramos was an American professional boxer and the former two-time WBC and WBA Lightweight Champion. He was born in Long Beach, California. Armando "Mando" Ramos was one of the most popular fighters in Southern California during the 1960s. Ramos was an outstanding amateur.
Mazz is a Tejano band originally from Brownsville, Texas. The band was known for their idiosyncratic and innovative form of Tejano cumbia which made them distinguishable among their counterparts. Mazz became one of the most popular Tejano music bands during the genre's 1990s golden age. Mazz won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Tejano Album in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and in 2009, the most wins for a Tejano musician. They landed their first major recording contract with EMI Latin in the early 1990s, before switching to Freddie Records in 1999. Joe Lopez and Jimmy Gonzalez formed Mazz in 1978 before disbanding and creating smaller bands throughout their careers. Gonzalez was known for blending a variety of genres into his basic Tejano sound, a formula he continued to use up until his final release, Porque Todavía te Quiero (2018). Gonzalez was pronounced dead in San Antonio, Texas on June 6, 2018, after suffering from low blood sugar as a result of his diabetes.
Los Palominos are a Tejano group from Uvalde, Texas.
Regional Mexican Airplay is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. It was established by the magazine on October 8, 1994, with "La Niña Fresa" by Banda Zeta being the first number-one song on the chart. The chart mainly focuses on the styles of music from the different rural regions of Mexico such as mariachi, norteño, and banda, as well as the Mexican-American community in the United States such as Tejano. These genres are collectively referred to as "regional Mexican" under the Latin music umbrella.
Cruz Martínez is an American record producer, songwriter and musician. He is a former member of the Tejano band La Sombra. In 1999, he joined the cumbia music group Los Kumbia Kings, created by A.B. Quintanilla. In 2007, he created the band Los Super Reyes. He is married to Alicia Villarreal.
Mando Fresko born in Los Angeles raised in South Gate, California to a Mexican family is an American Radio Host, DJ, Actor, Television Host and Entrepreneur. At the early age of 14, he began to deejay his high school's talent shows and dances. He graduated from South Gate High School in South Gate, California.
The 5th Lo Nuestro Awards ceremony, presented by the Univision and Billboard magazine, honored the best Latin music of 1992 and 1993 and took place on May 20, 1993, at a live presentation held at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. The ceremony was broadcast in the United States and Latin America by Univision.
Elida Reyna also known as Elida is a Mexican American Tejano music singer.
The 6th Lo Nuestro Awards ceremony, presented by the Univision, honored the best Latin music of 1993 and 1994 and took place on May 19, 1994, at a live presentation held at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. The ceremony was broadcast in the United States and Latin America by Univision.
Freddie Records is an American independent record label founded in Corpus Christi, Texas on November 1, 1969, by musician Freddie Martinez. Originally functioning as a recording studio and distributor for Martinez, the label expanded its roster to include other Tejano musicians to avoid financial failure. The label commenced producing albums for an array of artists, including Ramon Ayala, Agustin Ramirez, Oscar Martinez, and Joe Bravo. Ayala became the best-selling act of the label, sustaining the financial stability of Freddie Records throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The label sponsored a Little Joe concert in 1978 and recorded it for their Live for Schlitz album. It led to a ban on future events in the area, though the album remained a lucrative live recording for Freddie Records for two decades. As Tejano music's popularity surged, Freddie Records augmented its foundation by incorporating an additional 6,000 square feet for a second studio and production facility replete with updated MCI equipment capable of accommodating cassette tape and 8-track formats and instigated a release schedule of two albums per month on average.
