Editor's note: This essay has been updated in celebration of Selena Quintanilla's birthday week. The late Queen of Tejano would have been 49 years old on April 16, 2020.
I was 8 years old when I was hit with the terrible news that my favorite singer, my idol, was dead. I couldn’t understand it.
On March 31, 1995, Selena Quintanilla was shot dead by the president of her fan club. She was 23 years old.I vividly remember the day it happened.
It was Friday and my mother picked me up early from school, a little after 2 p.m. I didn’t know why I was going home early until my mom broke the news in the car: “Selena has been hurt.” As a second-grader, I didn’t fathom the seriousness of her words, but I could tell from her flushed cheeks and puffy.
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