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Selena: Como la Flor
The soaring and ultimately tragic saga of Selena Quintanilla Perez, Queen of Tejano Music and role model to young latinas, whose untimely death cut short a life destined for stardom.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 14, 2014
An overall decent book, probably the best biography on her out there. (Too bad there aren't more.) This book's greatest value is in driving home the point that Selena was NOT a "Mexican musician", the Latin Madonna or anything else. Through extensive research, Patoski establishes both Selena and her genre - Tejano music - as thoroughly American, uniquely Texan, creations. He's clearly into the history of Texas radio and maybe spends a little too long going into the specifics, but he manages to weave a lot of back into how it relates to Tejano and to Selena herself.
What keeps me from rating it higher is Patoski's treating the accounts of plastic surgeon Ricardo Martinez, who alleges he had some secret deeper relationship with Selena, as undisputed fact when the man has been established as a liar. Basically, if you have Yolanda Saldivar backing up this guy's story, you know it's garbage. It kind of makes me suspicious of other things in the book presented as "facts." And it makes me understand why the Qunintanilla family never endorsed this biography. I hope Patoski gets around to re-issuing an anniversary edition of this book, maybe remove Martinez's allegations, and possibly delve into some more of Selena's afterlife. His research and take on the movie would be really interesting.
Flaws aside, this is still a must-read for any true Selena fan, as well as anybody who seeks a deeper understanding of who she was, the culture that molded her, and why she still means so much to so many.
What keeps me from rating it higher is Patoski's treating the accounts of plastic surgeon Ricardo Martinez, who alleges he had some secret deeper relationship with Selena, as undisputed fact when the man has been established as a liar. Basically, if you have Yolanda Saldivar backing up this guy's story, you know it's garbage. It kind of makes me suspicious of other things in the book presented as "facts." And it makes me understand why the Qunintanilla family never endorsed this biography. I hope Patoski gets around to re-issuing an anniversary edition of this book, maybe remove Martinez's allegations, and possibly delve into some more of Selena's afterlife. His research and take on the movie would be really interesting.
Flaws aside, this is still a must-read for any true Selena fan, as well as anybody who seeks a deeper understanding of who she was, the culture that molded her, and why she still means so much to so many.
November 21, 2013
Carefully researched and well written, this biography invests many of its pages on Selena Quintanilla's childhood. If there's such a thing as a "Tiger Mom," Selena's father Abraham was her "Tigre" Dad. A fairly successful musician in his own day, Abraham Quintanilla focused everything on his daughter's singing, forming the family "Los Dinos" band around his little starlet. Selena famously first sang for the public at the restaurant he owned.
Selena electrified Tejano music, the Spanish language mix of Mexican and North American styles that burst forth from the wells of Texas. Because of her clean, fresh image, Selena was mainstreamed in a way few Latin musicians had before, even being sponsored by Coca-Cola. Interestingly, Selena grew up speaking English and lived much of her childhood in predominantly Anglo areas of Texas. She had to crossover to Spanish before she could make her more famous musical crossover to English right before her tragic death.
She was the biggest name in American Latin music, which was quite stratified; once successful in Texas (Tejano), she had to work for acceptance amongst Mexican-Americans in California and the Southwest, Cubans in Florida, and especially, with skeptical Mexicans in Mexico, who traditionally looked down on 'gringa' Mexican-Americans. Selena ended with success throughout the Latin American world, and her English debut produced several American Top 40 English-language hits. She also was passionate about fashion, and had a commercially unsuccessful foray into design shops in Texas.
At the pinnacle of her success, her jealous fan club president and embezzlement-minded business associate, Yolanda Saldivar, murdered Selena. From then on, Selena was immortalized among Latin music fans to an extent like John Lennon, Kurt Cobain or Jimi Hendrix among other groups of music fans. This profile paints a portrait of a pleasant, upbeat young lady who was earnest and trusting to a fault. To this day, Corpus Christi retains several Selena pilgrimage sites, including the Days Inn where Saldivar gunned her down.
Selena electrified Tejano music, the Spanish language mix of Mexican and North American styles that burst forth from the wells of Texas. Because of her clean, fresh image, Selena was mainstreamed in a way few Latin musicians had before, even being sponsored by Coca-Cola. Interestingly, Selena grew up speaking English and lived much of her childhood in predominantly Anglo areas of Texas. She had to crossover to Spanish before she could make her more famous musical crossover to English right before her tragic death.
She was the biggest name in American Latin music, which was quite stratified; once successful in Texas (Tejano), she had to work for acceptance amongst Mexican-Americans in California and the Southwest, Cubans in Florida, and especially, with skeptical Mexicans in Mexico, who traditionally looked down on 'gringa' Mexican-Americans. Selena ended with success throughout the Latin American world, and her English debut produced several American Top 40 English-language hits. She also was passionate about fashion, and had a commercially unsuccessful foray into design shops in Texas.
At the pinnacle of her success, her jealous fan club president and embezzlement-minded business associate, Yolanda Saldivar, murdered Selena. From then on, Selena was immortalized among Latin music fans to an extent like John Lennon, Kurt Cobain or Jimi Hendrix among other groups of music fans. This profile paints a portrait of a pleasant, upbeat young lady who was earnest and trusting to a fault. To this day, Corpus Christi retains several Selena pilgrimage sites, including the Days Inn where Saldivar gunned her down.
November 5, 2022
Author Patoski did his homework! This excellent narrative provides a candid overview of a history, a culture, a musical genre, the music industry and its pitfalls, a family who built a dream and succeeded, the height of success and fame, a tragedy, and an incredible legacy that lives to this day.
The background of Tejano music is well documented, interesting and well placed here because it is the basis of why the loss of Selena impacted an entire music genre and her international fan base.
With a straightforward style, Patoski addresses many complex aspects of true life events by following a good rule of writing, "Don't just tell me, show me!" As a reader, I felt like I was observing these events first hand!
Throughout the book, the material that Selena recorded was mentioned, as well as other songs by other artists. I would stop and take the time to listen to songs on YouTube that I had not heard before to enhance my understanding of the music. My appreciation of what Selena accomplished as an artist was enhanced thanks to this documentation.
The Author reflects sensitivity as he relates several layers of what the life and death of Selena Quintanilla Perez represents. Kudos on a job well done!
My only criticism of the Kindle edition of this book is the numerous typos! When data is entered, standard procedure should require proof reading before it is submitted! After all, we the readers pay for this and we do notice! Quality please!
The background of Tejano music is well documented, interesting and well placed here because it is the basis of why the loss of Selena impacted an entire music genre and her international fan base.
With a straightforward style, Patoski addresses many complex aspects of true life events by following a good rule of writing, "Don't just tell me, show me!" As a reader, I felt like I was observing these events first hand!
Throughout the book, the material that Selena recorded was mentioned, as well as other songs by other artists. I would stop and take the time to listen to songs on YouTube that I had not heard before to enhance my understanding of the music. My appreciation of what Selena accomplished as an artist was enhanced thanks to this documentation.
The Author reflects sensitivity as he relates several layers of what the life and death of Selena Quintanilla Perez represents. Kudos on a job well done!
My only criticism of the Kindle edition of this book is the numerous typos! When data is entered, standard procedure should require proof reading before it is submitted! After all, we the readers pay for this and we do notice! Quality please!
May 27, 2012
i wanted to read about selena, not the background of tejano music or boring detailed descriptions about the trial that have nothing to do with the actual crime. i don't care what the damn lawyers looked like. this book was all over the place. there were a few interesting things, but it was sort of cheesy. it also could've been way shorter. the book should have been called, omg here's a boring history lesson you don't give a crap about. waste of time. the chris perez book is much better.
August 15, 2011
Excellent biography of Selena! I could not put it down. I'm a huge fan of Selena. There have been a few different biographies written for her and this one is by far the best. I learned a lot more about her life and rise to fame than what the movie portrays.
Read
April 2, 2009i love selena
January 3, 2008
this one was sad to :(
August 29, 2008
Her biography...interesting,
August 18, 2017
I really enjoyed this Selena biography. It starts with her childhood and details her pathway to fame, giving background on Tejano music and artists throughout the book. I like how the author gives insight not only into Selena's character and personality, but also those of her father and other family members. It makes for a good read and also a good source of information for someone like me who loves Selena but doesn't know that many background details about her.
I also thought the coverage of Yolanda and the trial was great as well. I think it helps put the pieces together a little better for those of us still struggling to make sense of what happened to Selena.
I also thought the coverage of Yolanda and the trial was great as well. I think it helps put the pieces together a little better for those of us still struggling to make sense of what happened to Selena.
May 28, 2023
I felt it was more about her dad than her, at least in the beginning. I skipped over a lot because it didn’t seem relevant to Selena’s life. The author spends a lot of time lamenting her father (well-deserved), but then turns around and devoted almost a quarter of the book to him and his life seemed disingenuous. It ends after the trial, I wish it had gone on more about production of the film, and how the family went on after her passing. Interesting read, I learned a lot. I’m definitely going to read Chris Perez’s book next
October 22, 2019
I enjoyed this book a lot.
I grew up in Corpus and still live there and I learn lot from reading this book. I’m an even bigger fan of Selena’s after reading this.
Worth your time.
I grew up in Corpus and still live there and I learn lot from reading this book. I’m an even bigger fan of Selena’s after reading this.
Worth your time.
June 13, 2017
This is an excellent biography of Selena. I couldn't put it down and as a huge fan of Selena it was the perfect story. I've learned more about her life and it makes me sad knowing she is gone. What a beautiful tribute to this legendary singer.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews