The father and representative of the popular Tejano music singer Selena, Abraham Quintanilla, has died at the age of 86, as announced by his son, AB Quintanilla III, through his social networks. “It is with great regret that I inform you that my father passed away today,” the musician published this Saturday on his Instagram account. The causes of his death have not been revealed.
Born on February 22, 1939 in Corpus Christi, Texas, Abraham II was a musician who began in the group Los Dinos in 1956, before retiring from the stage in the late sixties to start a family with his wife Marcella. Upon realizing his daughter Selena’s vocal talent, he came out of retirement to promote his musical career.
Quintanilla formed Selena y Los Dinos, a family band that also included his other children, AB and Suzette Quintanilla, and achieved great success in the late 1980s. Acting as manager and guide, Quintanilla navigated the challenges of the male-dominated Tejano circuit, booking shows, shaping the group’s image and overseeing every aspect of its development.
In 1995, Selena, known as the queen of Tex-Mex and symbol of Latin identity, was murdered at the age of 23 by Yolanda Saldívar, former president of the artist’s fan club. After the tragedy, Quintanilla became the main guardian of his daughter’s artistic and cultural legacy. He was executive producer of the biographical film Selena (1997), in which he was played by Edward James Olmos and his daughter by Jennifer Lopez; while in the 2020 Netflix miniseries Selena: The seriesQuintanilla was played by Ricardo Chavira.
Abraham Quintanilla continued to be heavily involved in virtually all album releases, documentaries, and tribute projects related to his daughter’s life and work. Last November, Netflix released a new documentary about the queen of Tex-Mex titled Selena and Los Dinos: The Legacy of a Familyan intimate look at his rise with the family band, using previously unreleased home videos and family archives.
“What surprised me most when reviewing the archives was the level of family involvement,” explains Mexican filmmaker Isabel Castro, who was in charge of the documentary. “I knew they had worked together, but I didn’t imagine to what extent. AB III (Abraham Isaac Quintanilla, Selena’s brother) was a brilliant producer; Suzette, a key piece in the band; Marcella (her mother), the heart that held everything. Together they built that sound that is still heard everywhere. Selena was only 23 years old, but in that short time they created more hits than many artists in their entire careers.”
Shortly after Selena’s death, Quintanilla and her family founded the Selena Foundation, a charity dedicated to helping children in crisis. Through his record company, Q-Productions, he continued to produce and mentor new talents in music and film.
In 2021, Quintanilla published his memoirs, A Father’s Dream: My Family’s Musical Career. “This story takes the reader on the journey of his life, one that reflects the positive and negative experiences of a self-made success. (…) From the sublime joys of fatherhood, to the achievement of creating a musical empire and surviving its failures, (the book) shares the unexpected life events that make up each of our lives,” details the book’s synopsis. Although he was often a controversial figure, Abraham Quintanilla remained a central architect of Selena’s rise and a staunch defender of her legacy.
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