The powerful voice of the Superrestrela of Tejana music Selena Quintanilla-Pérezknown only as SelenaIt is still an element that resists homes and Latin parties almost 30 years after his death.
The mourning that involved fans immediately after the tragedy has become over the years into a celebration of the cultural icon that occurs every year, on the days before their birthday in April. But this year, the tribute is accompanied by a sense of relief, because Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who shot and killed Selena in a motel room in Texas, had its first attempted conditional freedom denied.
“Today we are grateful that Texas’s Indult and Conditional Freedom Board has chosen to deny Casting Freedom for Yolanda Saldivar,” said Quintanilla’s family and Selena’s husband, Chris Pérez, in a shared joint statement on their social media platforms.
“Although nothing can bring Selena back, this decision reaffirms that justice continues to prevail for the beautiful life that has been taken from us and millions of fans around the world too early,” the family added to the statement.
Saldívar, 64, She is serving a life -arrest sentence for the murder of the singer in 1995. She is serving a sentence in a prison in Gatesville, Texas.
In the weeks preceding the decision of the Conditional Freedom Board, some fans talked about the possible liberation of Saldivar, while others remained focused on celebrating Selena’s life and legacy – very similar to the singer’s family.
“If I’m a fan of Selena y los Dinos I say to be, I think this is the most important part.… They (Selena’s family) are celebrating her life and celebrating her legacy,” said Stephanie Bergara, singer and songwriter country and Tejana and singer of Tribute Bid Bidi Bido, based on Texas.
Selena’s parents, their sister and band members joined fans and film industry members earlier this month, when “Selena Y Los Dinos”, a new documentary about the singer’s life, debuted at the Austin festival. Weeks earlier, the film was screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and won the US Special Documentary Jury Award for Archive Narration.
“It has been a big inspiration, especially for Latin women like me,” said Roberta Rooms, a fan who attended the exhibition, to CNN Keye’s affiliate. “She gave us the mindset that we can do anything.”
Can Yolanda Saldivar ask for parole again?
Saldivar entered Selena’s life as a fan and then became the president of the singer’s fan club and even managed some of her clothes boutiques.
On March 31, 1995, the “Queen of Tjana Music” – which was known for her first name – was meeting with Saldivar on a motel in Corpus Christi when the fan threw it into her. They were discussing Selena’s concerns that Saldivar was diverting money from the singer, according to a statement during the trial of the murder.
Selena was 23 years old and her first English album was about to be released.
Saldivar was convicted of first degree murder and life imprisonment. Her case was put in a review for parole in recent months on the basis of the time she served in prison, which began when she was first arrested, and because the crime she was convicted allowed the consideration of conditional freedom, according to the Texas Criminal Justice Department.
Saldivar had the conditional freedom denied last Thursday (27), After your case is reviewed by a three -member panel, according to the Texas Board of Indult and Conditional Freedom.
“After a complete analysis of all available information, which included any confidential interviews conducted, the parole panel determined denying parole to Yolanda Selting and schedule its next probation of parole for March 2030,” the board said in a statement.
The Texas Board of Indult and Conditional Freedom states that it considers crime, the “medical and psychological historical and how the offender has adapted and behaved in prison.” But the process is not “simple”; Other factors, such as public outrage, as well as the remorse and accountability of the offender, are also considered in the decision, said Helen Anne Gaebler, senior research lawyer at William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law at the University of Texas Law School.
“The process of conditional freedom – is not simple. It’s very individual. It’s widely based individually, and circumstances play an important role,” said Gaebler.
In his experience representing women in the process of proofreading parole in the center of Texas, Gaebler said he believed that there is often a dependence on “historical factors and little attention or focus on present and future factors.”
“For example, we often have individuals with parole repeatedly denied because of the nature of crime. This is one of the foundations that conditional freedom can be denied. But this is a static factor that will never change,” said Gaebler.
In the case of Saldivar, the Conditional Board of Freedom cited the nature of the crime as the reason for its denial.
“The registration indicates that the offense in question has elements of brutality, violence, aggressive behavior or conscious selection of the victim’s vulnerability, indicating a conscious disrespect for the life, security or property of others, so that the offender represents a continuous threat to public security,” said the conditional freedom board in a statement.
In Texas, tens of thousands of cases are revised for parole every year, as well as indulgers, requests for medical release and revocation of parole. In 2023, 64,785 cases were considered for parole and about 34% were approved, according to an annual statistical report of the Texas Board of Indult and Conditional Freedom.
Selena’s legacy
Decades after his murder, Selena remains an icon for her characteristic looks; A unique sound that mixed Tjano, Dance-Pop and R&B; And for putting the Mexican American experience prominently.
Bergara, the singer of the Tribute Band, was only 8 years old when Selena was killed and never had a chance to see her live. However, Selena’s image on stage, captivating large crowds, is recorded in her memory.
“She was the first person I saw on television that it seemed like my relative,” Bergara said. “She was immediately so identifiable to me and so identifiable to people around the world now.”
The Tribute Band A Selena, which originally intended to make a unique presentation, has now tours through large cities across the country for over a decade and saw how the singer’s legacy is being transmitted through generations.
“We do shows all the time when mothers my age appear, and their daughters appear, and they are dressed as Selena, and love Selena as much as their mothers loved,” said Bergara.
Selena continues to captivate the public, as evidenced by her star on the Hollywood Fame, granted in 2018, a Netflix miniseries inspired by her life in 2020 and the launch of a second collection of Mac Cosmetics inspired by her in her the same year.
She was also postponed posthumously with the prestigious National Arts Medal in 2023 by former President Joe Biden, the highest honor granted to artists by the federal government.
In Corpus Christi, where Selena and her family lived, the iconic singer is honored in countless ways. Fans can visit the Mirador de la Flor memorial and its royal bronze statue, the Selena Museum and the city’s auditorium, which was renamed in its memory.
Sonya M. Alemán, professor at the University of Texas in San Antonio, has been teaching since 2020 a course focused on Selena and her lasting impact on society. Her students interviewed hundreds of Selena fans and learned why she remains a cultural symbol despite the generational differences.
“Her legacy has not diminished. On the contrary, it’s strengthening,” said Alemán. For those who experienced Selena’s life and death, her connection with the singer is clearly defined – they attended autograph shows and sessions and admired her as a pioneer and a proud Tejan, Alemán explained.
For younger fans, many of whom were born at the turn of the century, Selena’s music means home. His songs were a basic element at family events – Quinceañeras, Asada meat and family meetings.
“When they think of Selena, they think at home, think of family,” said Alemán.
To Alemán, Selena’s lasting legacy is a proof of the “resounding and constant need not only to raise it, but to see each other.”
“She is still loved and is still a story and a person that people want to continue to remember and keep their legacy alive,” said Alemán. “I also think this means that the community to which it belonged, with which it identified itself, is still thirsty for representation.”
For fans such as Bergara, the celebration of Selena’s life that takes place every year around his birthday on April 16, should not be overshadowed by developments in the case of Saldivar.
“I don’t want to give her any attention,” Bergara said. “I just don’t think it’s worth it, and what we should focus on is 30 years of Selena, 30 years of your iconic life being celebrated.”
The Quintanilla family and her husband said, after the conditional freedom of Saldivar being denied, that Selena “lived with joy, she was selfless and continues to raise generations with her voice and spirit” and asked fans to remember it.
“We will continue to celebrate Selena’s life – not the tragedy that took it from us – and we ask that everyone who loves her do the same,” they said.
