Monday marks 30 years since the tragic death of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez changed the world of Latin music forever. And yet, in that time, it feels as though her legacy as the “Queen of Tejano” never faded away. One can try to measure her impact in the tangible: in the number of posthumous albums sold, in multiple documentaries, a Netflix TV series about her life and the 1997 biopic that catapulted Jennifer Lopez to fame.
But to understand the gravity of a star as massive as Selena, is also to look at something that’s harder to enumerate: the traces of her voice, her style and her ambition in today’s Latin artists.
What I call “The Selena Generation” is comprised of artists who came of age in the years after the singer’s death. Most of them never had the chance to buy her records when they debuted or see her perform live, yet still, her influence on them is unmistakable. This cohort includes established stars like Karol G and Becky G, as well as rising talents like Estevie, Gale, Angelina Victoria and Vanita Leo, among others. For many of them, there was no time before Selena. She’s just always been a part of their lives.
Becky G on the set of her music video “Otro Capítulo,” filmed in Elysian Park in Los Angeles.
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
“I’ve been listening to and watching videos of Selena performing before I could even form memories,” Becky G tells De Los. Born and raised in Inglewood, Calif., she says her mother was always playing Selena’s music in their house. Over the years, the Mexican American singer has performed multiple Selena medleys, and included a Selena-inspired song, “Otro Capítulo,” on her most recent album, “Encuentros.”
For Becky, the late singer’s career trajectory is “the blueprint.” Selena’s path from performing at restaurants, clubs and weddings across South Texas to drawing record-breaking crowds at the Houston Astrodome, as a woman in Tejano music, wasn’t just aspirational — it was revolutionary. “She broke barriers,” Becky G says. “She took our music to places we never thought in our wildest dreams it would reach. She showed younger generations, including myself, that we could be on stage one day, too.”
It’s difficult to imagine what Latin music might look like today without Selena’s success. Though artists like Gloria Estefan and Lisa Lisa had enjoyed mainstream popularity in the U.S. during the Latin “boom” of the ’80s, Selena’s ascent as a Mexican American from Texas was something more novel. The very genre she was occupying told the story of a region that, like Selena herself, had been shaped by multiple cultures.
Selena was a mosaic of the Tex-Mex identity. She sang primarily in Spanish — a language she wasn’t fluent in — while adding in dashes of country-western style to her wardrobe, while modeling her performances after American pop stars like Janet Jackson and Madonna. With a foothold in the cultures on both sides of the border, she bridged the gap between them by being 100% herself, charting a path that hadn’t previously existed for others like her.
“Today, Latin artists are dominating charts, collaborating with global superstars, and selling out arenas, and I think we owe a lot of that to Selena,” says Estevie. The Gen Z cumbia star has drawn comparisons to the “Tejano Madonna” since bursting onto the scene in 2021.
And while Selena may have been achingly close to achieving the crossover success of her dreams when she was killed in 1995, the scope of her influence grew in her death. To this day, her final album, “Dreaming of You,” remains the best-selling Latin album of all time in the U.S., and the first predominantly Spanish-language album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. “She proved that Latin music could cross over without losing its essence,” Estevie tells De Los. “She showed that women could lead, and be unapologetically themselves in a male-dominated industry.”
Cumbia pop star Estevie on Selena’s influence in music: “She showed that women could lead, and be unapologetically themselves in a male-dominated industry.”
(Cat Cardenas)
Her power was apparent to Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, Gale, from the first time she watched the “Selena” film. Now 31, she remembers spending hours as a kid performing Selena’s songs in her living room, practicing and perfecting her routines.
“I was instantly hooked,” she says. “She was my first love in music; her voice, her energy, her power. Selena showed the world that Latin women belong on big stages. She made me feel like I could do this too.”
Like Gale, Chicago-born música Mexicana singer Angelina Victoria was mesmerized by the 1997 biopic, catching glimpses of her future self in the story of a little girl who grew up to become a star. When she was older, she saw footage of the singer’s historic performance at the Houston Rodeo in 1995. “Watching that for the first time gave me chills,” she remembers. “Her confidence, her smile, her vocals, dance moves — the way she commanded the stage was so electrifying. She made it look effortless, but you could tell that every note, every move, came from the heart.”
At 22 years old, Victoria is in the midst of trying to establish herself as an artist. Still, she’s proud to proclaim Selena as her biggest inspiration because of how she navigated the complexities of her Mexican American heritage. “Before her, there was a perception that Latin artists had to stay in their lane,” Victoria tells De Los. “She paved the way for artists like me to embrace our culture while still evolving our sound. She made it clear that being in between two worlds is a strength, not a limitation.”
Earlier this month, while performing at South By Southwest in Austin, Victoria told the audience she couldn’t leave Texas without “singing a little Selena,” and launched into a crowd-pleasing medley of “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido” and “Baila Esta Cumbia.” She wasn’t alone; the same day, San Antonio-based cumbia singer Vanita Leo, 22, wowed the crowd at Austin’s Volstead Lounge with an impassioned performance of “Si Una Vez.”
It could be seen as a risk for emerging artists to cover such a legendary singer, especially for a crowd in Selena’s home state; but beyond expressing their genuine admiration for her, it’s also a way to prove their mettle. Selena’s vocals, and her stage presence, are impossible to be phoned in.
“Performing a Selena cover in Texas is electric,” Leo tells De Los. “There’s always a massive reaction. Her music is woven into the fabric of our culture, and you can feel how much she still means to people the moment you start singing. It’s a reminder that her legacy isn’t just about the songs — it’s about the joy, pride and representation she gave our community.”