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Mariscal 1
How Selena Influenced Modern-Day Society
Juan Ramón Mariscal
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a tejano-pop artist growing in popularity in the 1990’s. She was
fatally shot and murdered by her fan-club manager and her death was mourned by many people of
different ages and ethnic backgrounds. While her death and movie made her grow in popularity, her
legacy continues to live on and inspire people today. Although she was becoming known in the music
industry, she also influenced people through fashion; she owned her own fashion boutique, Selena Ect,
and designed her on stage costumes. She was also had an impact in the Latino-American community and
showed women that it was possible to be a part of a male-dominated music industry. Overall, she was a
major influence for women, music, fashion and the Latino-American community.
Selena was a big influence of today’s music; She was able to combine Latin music and pop
music. Chron writes, “Selena was a multi platinum crossover pop star who changed how the world
perceived Tejano Music”. Selena brought a new sound to mainstream pop music and she was one of the
first Latina artists to debut in the mainstream pop charts. She opened a door for future latina pop stars
such as: Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Selena Gomez etc. Raul A. Reyes from NBC news states, “Her
fusion of musical genres won her a wide and enduring fan base”. She had a huge variety in genres in her
music from Pop, to Cumbia, to Mariachi and even to Afro-Caribbean which made her have a large fan
base. She was able to create sounds that many people identified with and enjoyed. Reyes added, “ she
signaled across a lot of cultural identities” She had very many different sounds to her music that made it
unique. Selena’s music influenced music by having a variety of different genres in her music and creating
unique sounds.
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Although Selena introduced a new sound to mainstream pop music, she was also an inspiration to modern
day artists. One of the artists who was influenced by selena was Jennifer Lopez, who also
played the role of Selena in her movie. In an interview Lopez pointed out that she was a huge impact on
her life and career. She added, “It was a great thing for her to be my mentor, and it was a great thing to
have her teach me so much how to navigate this business, but also how to navigate through life.”
Although Lopez never met Selena, she stated that Selena was a major part of her life. Playing the role of
Selena was her first major role and allowed her to enter the music industry. While, Selena influenced
many latin artists, she also was an inspiration for many other artists of different races; She was also able
to influence African-American pop- singer, Beyoncé. In an interview she said, “even though I didn't know
exactly what she was saying- it helped me in the studio with my pronunciation. I think she is a legend. I
admire her. She was so talented” This proves how influential Selena was in the music industry because
she was able to break racial barriers and influence artists other than latinos or spanish speakers. Beyoncé
is one of today’s biggest pop stars so it is an outstanding thought that Selena was able to inspire many
women of other cultures to enter the music industry. Selena continues to break racial barriers and inspire
While Selena influenced music, she also was an inspiration for fashion. She was known for for
designing clothes and on-stage costumes; she even had her own boutique. According to MySanAntonio,
“Her crop tops were a major fashion staple of the 1990’s”. She was part of making the crop top a major
trend of the 1990’s and today they are still popular. The fact of Selena making trends is a huge inspiration
because this trend is still relevant today, while most trends tend to fade away within less than a year.
When Selena was not working on her successful music career or designing trendy clothes, she was
working on managing her boutique. According to Greg Smith “She was so captivated by fashion that she
had a clothing line -- certainly not the first celebrity to do so, but long before the practice became
common”. She was one of the first celebrities to own a fashion line, but influenced future celebrities to do
so. Nowadays most celebrities have clothing lines, but selena was one of the first to do so. She was
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able to do something she enjoyed, make money but most importantly, she influenced celebrities to have
clothing lines and made it common. Selena influenced fashion clothing wise by being a part of popular
Another way that selena influenced fashion was cosmetically. M.A.C introduced a new limited
edition Selena palette to their brand. On their website, they write, “Your overwhelming passion and
excitement inspired the creation of M.A.C Selena and is the reason for its sell-out”. Although, Selena had
a clothing line, she was able to have a M.A.C makeup palette inspired by her image. It is said that it was
sold out within minutes. As of a matter of fact, many people attempted Selena’s “famous updo”.
MyStatesMan reports, “During the 1990’s many young girls sported the Selena look, recreating her
famous updo for proms and quinceñeras”. Selena's famous updo refers to the hairstyle that she wore at the
1994 grammys. This look was used by many young women and became a trend for many years to come.
Many young women used this hairstyle when they attended elegant events. Selena influenced fashion not
only with clothing, but also with makeup and elegant hairstyles.
Selena influenced the the Latino-American community by demonstrating that it was a good thing
to embrace both, american and latino cultures. Selena didn’t grow up speaking spanish but learned
throughout her childhood, while singing spanish songs. Throughout her career, she showed how much of
a good thing it was to be a latino-american. Chron claims, “Selena was the first cross-over tejano singer
who embraced American culture as well as her Mexican roots. Her bilingual music and presence has
influenced many second third generation Mexican-Americans and hispanics”. She demonstrated how
good being both mexican and american is. Presently, it still may be a struggle to identify as both, Mexican
and American, Selena continues to inspire today. Monica Nevarez admits, “Selena showed me how
beautiful it is to be a Mexican-American and to be proud of it”. Monica was ignorant of her hispanic
roots and saw it as a bad thing but because of Selena, she was able to overcome that struggle
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and learned to embrace her mexican heritage. Selena taught many Latino-Americans to embrace both
cultures.
Lastly selena influenced the latin america by being a role model to young Latino-Americans.
Selena was a positive role model for many young Latino-Americans. According to the Houston
Chronicle,"Selena took the Mexican-American experience and elevated it very proudly, and she never
compromised her heritage". She showed the young Latino-American community to be proud of who you
are and promoted latino pride. This is good for young people who are insecure about their heritage
because it taught self worth and to be proud of who you are. She not only showed Latino-Americans to
be proud of the heritage but used her fame to be a good role model, unlike other celebrities. She was able
to be a positive latino role model and was more relatable to latino americans. According to Telegraph, “
In a world constantly bombarded with images of Hispanics as gang members, pregnant teens and high
school dropouts, Selena was to her fans and to the Hispanic community a refreshing role model who
focused a spotlight on the finest points of being Hispanic”. This was good for many young Latino-
Americans to have a good role model to look up to when there are influences out there such as: Miley
Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Kanye West etc. She was able to eliminate stereotypes of what
mexicans are like and showed that everyone was not characterized by stereotype, but rather their own
characteristics. Selena was a good role model for Latino-Americans because she was a positive latino
In conclusion, Selena has been an influence on modern day society by impacting music, fashion,
and the latino american community. She was among one of the first crossover pop stars. She created
trends and designed her own clothes, but also inspired a makeup line by her.; She also made her famous
updo a popular hairstyle. But as well, was a good role model for Latino-Americans because she
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promoted latino pride and was a positive latino figure. Selena continues to inspire and touch people today
in many areas.
Works Cited
Blay, Zeba. "17 Artists Inspired By The Divine Glory Of Queen Selena Quintanilla." The Huffington
Camilo Smith on March 31, 2015 at 1:44 PM. "10 Things Selena Influenced, including Tejano Pop
"MAC Selena Line Sells out Online as Fans Await Store Arrivals Thursday | Texana." Dallas News. 03
Reyes, Raul A. NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.
"Selena's Signature Style Impacted Beauty, Fashion." Mystatesman. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "The Original Selena: The Influence the Late Singer Has Had on Celebrity."
Smith, Chron.com Camilo. "10 Things Selena Influenced, including Tejano Pop Music." Connecticut
Steiner, Amanda Michelle. "Jennifer Lopez Cries Talking About Selena on Today Show: VIDEO."
Valdivia, Pablo. "15 Reasons Selena Quintanilla Is An Inspiration To Us All." BuzzFeed. Web. 27 Mar.
2017.
Vincent, Alice. "Selena: The Mexican Madonna." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 31 Mar. 2015.