Selena (Park) Forever

Realizing it had been a good few weeks since we’d had good enough weather to go out & enjoy the outdoors, I decided to take a walk around Selena Quintanilla-Perez Park, aka Denver Harbor Park yesterday. The place was packed with Little Leaguers practicing with their coaches, gente throwing around footballs & kicking around soccer balls, fruit/raspa vendors doing their thing, and babies to teens strolling around the various trails just making their rounds and taking in the energy giving Sun. I heard music bassing from passing cars & outdoor radios & watched all the familiar faces smiling & regenerating due to the beautiful day.

I took a seat under a city-provided covered table area & got to thinking about the essence of the park & about the Tejano star Selena, after who the park was re-named following her tragic & untimely death in 1995.

Selena oozed Tejanismo; from her perfect-fit & sequined outfits, her ‘Chola-esque’ makeup, to the Tex-Mex sound of her musica. She became a home grown idol to Mexican girls & all colored mujeres throughout the Nation due to her youth, energetic performances, strong voice, and the full figured body she wore so comfortably. Tejano music had a very male-centered history until Selena hit the scene in the 80’s and by 1987, the Tejano Music Awards named Selena Best Female Vocalist- an award she dominated for the next seven years. Many Houstonians I know can brightly recall having the opportunity to meet Selena at festivals in the early stages of her career & especially watching her do her thing at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo in February 1995- a performance that solidified her popularity by drawing about 65,000 fans to the infamous Astrodome- more than any performer that year.

March 31^st, 2009 will mark 14 years since Selena passed & I can still remember hearing the news from my best friends mom after being picked up from McReynolds Middle School. Both me and my friend told her mom to quit jiving because April Fools Day was not till tomorrow, but once home watching the news coverage showing many teenage girls weeping in disbelief over the loss of their queen.

So, with all of that knowledge and all these memories, I reflected on how the City Council renamed Denver Harbor Park to commemorate & celebrate such an amazing & missed mujer & how beautiful it was to have a day in the park to reflect on life, great Tejano music, and the history, pride, and Tejanismo that oozes from Denver Harbor residents, like it did from Selena.

Statue in Corpus Christi of Selena

Find more on Selena @ her official site @ SelenaForever.com and find out more about Selena Quintanilla-Perez Park @ Selena Perez Community Center!