Abraham Quintanilla:
The father of Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla Jr., Abraham Quintanilla Jr., who shaped her career and guarded her legacy for almost thirty years after her passing, has passed away. At 86, he was.
Abraham Quintanilla III, his son, announced the news on Saturday morning. He published a picture of his father on Instagram along with the words, “It is with a very heavy heart that I have to tell you all that my dad passed away today.” The cause of death was not made public right away.
Abraham Quintanilla was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on February 22, 1939. He was raised in a Mexican American home and started his musical career as a child. Before quitting the band in the late 1960s to concentrate on providing for his family, he joined the singing group The Dinos in 1956 and gained early experience as a vocalist and songwriter.
In the end, that choice would alter the history of Latin music. Abraham founded Selena y Los Dinos, a family band that also featured siblings Abraham Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla, after realizing his youngest daughter, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, had a gift for singing.
As the group’s manager and mentor, Quintanilla overcame the difficulties of the male-dominated Tejano music scene by scheduling performances, establishing the group’s reputation, and managing all facets of their growth.
Selena y Los Dinos had grown to be a significant force in Tejano music by the late 1980s, which helped pave the way for Selena’s crossover success and her ascent to prominence as one of the most renowned Latin musicians of all time.
On March 31, 1995, Yolanda Saldívar, the former president of Selena’s fan club and manager of her boutique, Selena Etcetera, killed Selena at the age of 23, shattering Quintanilla’s life as well as the music industry. Quintanilla took on the role of chief caretaker of Selena’s musical and cultural heritage following the tragedy.
In the 1997 biographical film Selena, in which Jennifer Lopez played his daughter and Edward James Olmos played him, he was an executive producer. Nearly every record release, documentary, and commemorative project pertaining to Selena’s life and career includes Abraham. Ricardo Chavira played his role in the 2020 Netflix drama Selena: The Series.
Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy, a new documentary that Netflix aired in November, provides a close-up view of Selena’s ascent with her family band through never-before-seen home recordings and family archives.
Quintanilla and his family founded the Selena Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to aiding underprivileged children, soon after Selena passed away. He continued to produce and train up-and-coming musicians and filmmakers through his record label, Q-Productions.
Quintanilla’s memoir, A Father’s Dream: My Family’s Journey in Music, was published in 2021.
Even though he was frequently contentious, Abraham Quintanilla continued to be the main force behind Selena’s ascent and a steadfast supporter of her legacy.