Wonder Woman of the Week: Selena

This week's Wonder Woman is an all too overlooked musician that- before her unfortunate demise- helped desegregate pop music to be more inclusive of Latinx musicians. Selena made a massive name for herself before her death as a serious contender for several pop music awards and was on track to be known as one of the greatest pop artists of all time. Her murder via a lunatic fan however prevented Selena from ever reaching her full potential, but audiences still remember the "Tejano Madonna" as the incredibly talented bilingual singer that bridged the divide in American music and forever changed the landscape of the role of Hispanic-Americans in the United States.

Selena Quintanilla was born in 1971 in Texas to a Tejano family (a Hispanic People of Texas). Selena entered the music scene with her siblings in 1980 as a family band playing traditional Tejano bands; but even after recording in 1982, most venues refused to allow a Latinx musician to perform by white club owners and for being a female musician by male Tejano club owners. Things changed after 1987 though when Selena one her first of nine consecutive Tejano Music Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year. In 1989, Selena produced her first solo album and kept her brother around as lead songwriter and producer.

Selena went on to produce two more albums in 1992 and 1993, but her 1994 album Amor Prohibido helped launch the young artist into mainstream American audiences. Most American music historians attribute the album to the beginning of the golden age of Tejano music in the United States. In 1995, one of Selena's fans killed the singer- ending a career that may have had no limits. After her death, Selena's final record premiered on the Billboard Top 200- making Selena the first Latinx artists to earn the honor. As of 2015, Selena remained the top selling female Latinx artists of all time.