FOOD RELATED
Selena liked cooking and baking.
Selena and Chris first admitted that they loved each other at a Pizza Hut in the Rio Grande Valley.
Selena loved pizza. She bragged in several interviews that she could eat a whole medium pizza all by herself. Her favorite kind was Pizza Hut's thin crust double pepperoni.
Selena's favorite restaurants were Pizza Hut and The Olive Garden.
Selena's favorite fast food was What-a-burgers. She used to joke that should would buy stock in it.
Selena loved tacos from Jack In The Box when she was touring. In the early days, Jack In The Box was her family's favorite fast food restaurant.
Selena liked Mexican food. Her family often dined at a local Mexican restaurant called Rosita's, owned by a close family friend named Rosita Rodela. Selena always ordered the combination platter. Selena ate with her entire family at Rosita's just a few weeks before she died. Waiters wanted to ask Sel for her autograph but Rosita told them that they shouldn't bother her. When the family left, Selena and Chris were holding hands.
Selena loved tortilla chips. She and Chris kept his and her bags of them in their house so neither could say the other was hogging the chips. Selena and Chris often grabbed a bag of tortilla chips and headed down to the ocean or out to the country together.
Selena loved arroz con pollo(rice with chicken) and refried beans.
Selena's favorite drink was coke.
PERSONAL FAVORITES
Selena was a huge fan of Bonnie Rait, Garth Brooks and Janet Jackson. Chris Perez still has her cds in his collection and often plays them just for her whenever he looks through them.
Selena loved to go shopping.
Selena's favorite flowers were long stemmed white roses.
Selena's favorite colors were purple and black. She had a preference for wearing black off stage and she decorated her house with all black furniture and carpet.
Selena's favorite songs from her own collection were 'Bidi Bidi Bom Bom' because she wrote it and 'Amor Prohibido' because it told the story of her grandparent's romance.
Selena loved the music of Gloria Estefan, Luis Enrique, The Barrio Boys, Emilio, Roberto Pulido, La Mafia and Rocio Durcal.
Rocio Durcal was her favorite singer of all time.
As a child Selena loved Donna Summer, r&b duo A Taste of Honey and rock group Air Supply.
Selena loved animals. She had 5 dogs: 2 miniature pinchers named Julia and Andre, 2 mastiffs named Winny and Taylor, and a black pomeranian named Pebbles. She loved to take them for walks. She also had a pet python and an aquarium headboard on her bed which she encountered difficulties keeping stocked since she and Chris toured so much; although, at one point they did have some salt water fish. Her dogs were constantly getting loose. Neighborhood kids helped her catch them. She rewarded them by taking them to eat with her at McDonald's.
One of Selena's dreams was to have her own farm. Towards the end of her life she and Chris had purchased 10 acres of land just outside of Corpus Christi, on which they planned to build a farm, raise horses, and build their own house. Selena had already picked out the furniture.
Selena had white leather sofas in her house.
Selena loved to boil orange peels and spices on her stove to give her house a distinct smell.
Selena loved fashion. Designing clothes and making her own jewelry were big hobbies of hers. She said several times that if it wasn't for music she would've been a designer. At one time she designed all the costumes she and Los Dinos wore on stage. Selena's dream of being a designer came true in 1994 when she created the Selena Etc. Inc. company and opened her own boutique/salon in Corpus Christi,Tx. She also marketed her own fashion and jewelry lines.
A 2nd boutique/salon opened several months later in San Antonio,Tx. Towards the end of her life Selena was planning on opening a 3rd boutique/salon in Monterrey, Mexico and marketing a special Mexican fashion line.
Selena had an extensive shoe collection. Her closet was and still is to this day, filled with hundreds of shoes.
Selena had an extensive hat collection.
Selena had an extensive faberge egg collection. In her living room, she had big glass cabinets in which she kept more than 500 designer eggs. She had everything from gold to diamond, every size. If it looked like an egg she bought it. Her friends and family related this hobby to the fact that she was born on Easter Sunday. According to Suzette, each egg tells a story. There's one that Chris bought her a week before she died and then there's one Selena bought at Universal City in Los Angeles. All of the eggs are on display in their original cases at the Q-Production's Selena Museum. In the display case, they're arranged exactly the way they were in Selena's living room.
In her bathroom Selena had put 2 bumper stickers on the mirror. One said 'Chris 'N Selena Forever' and the other said 'I Love You Chris'.
Selena loved to go parasailing and tabogoning.
FUN AND COOL FACTS
Selena's 7 number 1 singles were 'Buenos Amigos' which was at the top for a week, 'Dondequiera Que Estes' which was at the top for 6 weeks, 'Amor Prohibido' which topped for 9 weeks, 'Bidi Bidi Bom Bom' which topped for 4 weeks, 'No Me Queda Mas' which was number 1 for 7 weeks, 'Fotos Y Recuerdos' which was number 1 for 7 weeks, and 'Tu Solo Tu', the biggest hit of her career with 10 weeks at the top.
Selena has had 7 number 1 singles on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart. Only 3 other latin artists have had more.
Selena was the Hot Latin Tracks artist of the year in 1995.
Selena spent more weeks at number 1 on Billboard Top 50 Latin charts than any other artist. 'Amor Prohibido' was number 1 for 78 weeks, which beats Gloria Estefan's 58 weeks.
The 'Dreaming Of You' album was the 2nd fastest selling album by a female artist in history. 2nd only to Janet Jackson.
As a teenager in the 80's Selena loved to play Nintendo.
Selena is the reason that Chris knows Spanish. When she started learning the language it inspired him to learn too. He spent free time with her practicing.
Selena often sewed her stage costumes just hours before going out on stage. In 1993 when her bandmates were waiting to go onstage at the Houston Astrodome, Selena was still backstage sewing things onto her costume. A few months earlier, she decorated a pair of boots while on the way to a concert at Disneyland. She finished just as they arrived.
After graduating high school, Selena began taking college correspondence courses from a school in California.
In middle school, Selena was in honors classes and made A's and B's.
When Selena was a little girl, she used her allowance to put clothes on layaway.
As a teenager, Selena hung all of her awards on the wall next to the staircase in her family's house.
Selena went bungee jumping on a dare.
Selena was a spokesperson for D.A.R.E
Selena loved to go to public middle schools and high schools to talk to the kids about the importance of staying in school, avoiding drugs and alcohol, remaining chaste and pursuing goals. She filmed several informative videos for these issues.
Selena once filmed a spanish public service announcement for a battered womans shelter. Everytime her commercial aired the switchboard would light up with spanish speaking callers. Towards the end of her life Selena had been planning on visiting the women in the shelter and organizing a fundraiser for them.
Towards the end of her life Selena was organizing a benefit concert for The Boys and Girls Clubs located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Once Selena was late for an 8:00 p.m. gig at the Tejano Rodeo in Dallas because her plane was delayed by a snowstorm. When she showed up at 10:00 instead of canceling like many stars would do she walked out on stage apologizing heavily and then sang and danced all night so her fans wouldn't feel shortchanged.
Selena once drove a black BMW but it was stolen and dumped into the ocean only to be replaced by Selena's legendary red porsche targa.
Selena was a practical joker. She used to love to wear a hat that unfolded and was shaped like an umbrella. On her tour bus she wore the hat and waved at people driving by in other cars.
Selena was always writing songs. What she wrote was never put to music. She used to sit around the house and jot down lyrics impulsively in notebooks and then leave the notebooks lying all over the house causing Chris to have to go around and collect them. AB hinted once that the most complete set of lyrics might be put to music one day as the final Selena song.
Selena's house had a pool built in the backyard.
Selena and Chris loved to host barbeques in their backyard for band members.
In 1st grade Selena excelled at a game called Jump the Brook in which two jump ropes are place side by side a foot apart and each kid takes a turn and trys to jump across both ropes. Whoever doesnt clear the ropes is out. Once every kid has taken a turn the ropes are pulled farther apart.
Selena's song 'I Could Fall In Love' was written and produced by Keith Thomas who also did work for Celine Dion and Amy Grant.
Trey Lorenz, who sings back-up on 'I Could Fall In Love' also sings back-up and does other work for Mariah Carey. He also has his own recording career.
'Captive Heart' and 'Dreaming of You' were both produced by Guy Roche who also did work for Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, Cher, Expose, and 'N Sync.
'Dreaming of You' was co-written by Tom Snow who also co-wrote the 1984 number 1 hit 'Let's Hear It For the Boy', sung by Deniese Williams and featured in the film, 'Footloose' which stars Kevin Bacon and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Donna Delorey who sings back-up on 'Captive Heart' used to be a back-up singer for Madonna. She can be seen in Madonna's film 'Truth Or Dare'.
'I'm Getting Used To You' was written by Oscar nominated songwriter Diane Warren who's written many popular songs for many famous singers. She wrote Whitney Houston's hit 'I Have Nothing' from the movie 'The Bodyguard'. She also wrote Celine Dion's 'Because You Loved Me' from the Michelle Pfeiffer movie 'Up Close and Personal' and Monica's 'For You I Will' from the movie 'Space Jam'.
Diane wrote Aaliyah's beautiful song 'The One I Gave My Heart To'. She also wrote the Grammy winning song 'How Do I Live' performed by Trisha Yearwood for the Nicholas Cage film 'Conair'. It was also recorded and performed at the Grammys and VH-1 Diva's Live 99 by Leanne Rhymes.
Selena loved to shop at Wal-mart and Pay Less Shoes Source.
Selena loved to play in charity soft ball games.
Once at The Olive Garden Selena saw a little old lady eating alone and felt so sorry for her that she annonymously payed for the ladys lunch and had the waiter send the lady home with a small cake.
In middle school Selena was asked to try out for the cheerleading squad but because of her touring with the band she didnt have time for it.
Towards the end of her life Selena was planning on putting out her own perfume line and make-up line. The pefumes were marketed for retail after she died.
Towards the end of her life Selena was also planning on pursuing an acting career. She made a cameo appearance in the major motion picture, "Don Juan De Marco" which starred Marlon Brando and Johnny Depp. Her small role as a mariachi singer only got her into two scenes, both times just for a few seconds and all she did was sing. She didn't have any lines at all. But industry insiders predicted she had a bright future in film. Her 1st and only movie was released just 7 days after she died.
Selena also made a guest appearance on the most popular soap opera in Mexico called, "Dos Mujeres, Un Camino". Her role got her into 2 episodes. After her guest role, Selena was offered a lead role on "Dos Mujeres, Un Camino" but because of her heavy schedule and the fact that the shows other lead star Eric Estrada didnt like the idea of her playing his wife, she had to turn down the role.
Selena was also offered a guest starring role on another Mexican soap opera but because the part required for her to participate in a passionate kissing scene she turned the role down.
Once a man brought his sister who was dying of cancer and also a huge Selena fan, to one of Selena's concert. The girl was bald from her treatments but Selena pulled her up on-stage and teasingly draped her long hair over the girls head.
During concerts whenever she sang "Que Creias" Selena brought a guy from the audience onto the stage and sang the song out to him. The crowd always cheered when she did that. Also during the song Selena told the women in the audience to sing the song to their men.
In 1992 Selena was in Las Vegas to perfom at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. While hanging around before the show she went to a casino and won $2,000 on the slot machines. She used to the money to buy herself a leather jacket from the gift shop.
'I'm Getting Used To You' was produced by Rhett Laurence who also did work for Mariah Carey and Paula Abdul.
At every concert Selena performed a set of top 40 songs.
As a teenager, Selena liked to do Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown songs during her concerts.
Growing up Selena deeply admired Gloria Estefan.
In 1984, Selena recorded 2 records for a small independent lable. One of the albums was released and later re-released in 1995. The other album was sold to Selena's dad and never released which means there's an entire Selena album thats never been heard out there somewhere.
As a teenager Selena's favorite TV show was the 80's hit 'Moonlighting' which starred Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepard.
Selena was a spokesperson for Coca-Cola from 1989 till the time of her death. She filmed three commercials for the company.
In 1994 to commemorate her 5 years with the company, Coca-Cola issued special Selena coke bottles that sold out rapidly. One was and might still be displayed in the San Antonio Hard Rock Cafe with her signature one it.
In 1994 Selena signed a multi-million dollar contract with the Dep Corporation to be a spokesperson for Agree Shampoo.
Selena was a spokesperson for SouthWestern Bell's call notes voice messaging system.
Selena was buried in the sparkly purple outfit she wore to the 1995 Tejano Music awards just a month before she died.
A year after she died Selena was posthumously given awards for Female Vocalist of The Year, Female Entertainer of The Year, Album of The Year, Song of The Year, Tejano Crossover Song of The Year and Showband of The Year at the 1996 Tejano Music Awards.
Selena's idol was Marlon Brando from 'The Godfather'.
Selena was a democrat.
The white gown Selena wore to the 1994 Grammys and again in her 'No Me Queda Mas' music video, was on display for awhile at the Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio, Texas along with the Selena coke bottle. It can now be found at the Selena museum.
While recording mariachi songs for 'Don Juan De Marco' Selena said that one day she'd like to record an album entirely of mariachi music.
Selena obtained her education by correspondence through the American School Of Chicago. Singer/Entertainer Donny Osmond and the rest of the Osmond family were educated through the same school.
After every concert Selena always asked her dad, 'How'd I do?'.
Selena's height was 5'5 3/4.
The music video for 'La Carcacha'was filmed on location in Monterrey, Mexico.
Selena's family teased Selena, saying that the only reason she opened a salon was so that she could get pampered for free.
The music video for 'No Me Queda Mas' was filmed on location in San Antonio with the San Antonio Symphony, during a 4 day shoot.
Selena was a Jehovah's Witness.
'Amor Prohibido' and 'Dreaming of You' have both sold 5 million copies each since their releases, making them tie as the biggest selling Tejano album of all time.
The music video for 'Amor Prohibido' was filmed at the Joshua Tree monument in southern California.
'God's Child(Baila Conmigo)' is played during the opening credits of the 1995 comedy film, 'Blue In The Face' which stars Madonna.
In the 1996 film, 'Dear God', which stars Greg Kinnear('As Good As It Gets') and Laurie Metcalf('Roseanne'), Selena's 'Amor Prohibido' poster is shown several times tacked up on a wall.
Nichole Young who played an extra in the Grammy Awards scene of Selena's movie was penalized by her school for missing three history assignments for which she was marked zero with no makeup possible, and suffered eight hours of detention. Her mother had signed her out, but under school guidelines 'performing in movies' is not accepted as an excuse.
Although Selena improvised and created her own dance moves on stage, she used to watch 'Soul Train' to get ideas for dance steps.
Even though people teased her saying that she could eat alot and never gain a pound, Selena was very athletic and active and worked out all the time.
Everyday Selena took a walk through her neighborhood.
The last Selena concert to ever air on television was her performance at Noche De Carnaval 95.
Because they'd never had a real wedding, Selena and Chris planned on using their 5th year wedding anniversary to renew their vows and have a huge ceremony with lots of friends and family. Selena died just 2 days before her 3rd year wedding anniversary.
When Selena made her appearance on the spanish-language talk show, 'Cristina' she did her own hair and make-up.
Selena had a set of cow patterned dishes in her kitchen.
Selena found it impossible to turn down a dare.
Towards the end of her life, Selena and Chris planned on having children as soon as Selena's career settled down some. It was one of Selena's biggest dreams to be a mother. She hoped to one day have five kids.
In 1995 Selena was nominated for her second Grammy Award in a row in the Best Mexican-American album category. This time for 'Amor Prohibido'. Unfortunately she lost the award.
Selena earned a GED in December 1990.
In 1993 Selena performed for 20,000 fans at the Pasadena Fair Grounds in Pasadena, Texas.
Selena's 1993 Houston Astrodome concert drew in a crowd of 57,894 fans, becoming the largest concert attendance in the history of Tejano music.
A year later in 1994 Selena's Houston Astrodome concert brought in a crowd of 60,948 fans, breaking the attendance record she already set.
8,000 of the 60,948 Selena fans at the 1994 Astrodome concert bought standing room only tickets.
Selena is the 2nd Tejano artist to ever win a Grammy award.
In 1994 Selena performed at the Texas theme park Six Flags Astro World in front of 20,000 fans.
Even when she was on the verge of pop superstardom, Selena didn't wanna turn her back on the Tejano fans that had made her such a big success. She planned on going into a studio to record a new spanish language album as soon as she completed work on her english album.
Dave Grusin who composed the score for Selena's movie also composed the score for the 1985 kid adventure film 'The Goonies'. 'The Goonies' starred Lupe Ontiveras as a Mexican maid. Lupe would go on to play Yolanda Saldivar in Selena's movie.
Facts compiled from these Books and Magazines:
Selena: Como La Flor by Joe Nick Patoski
Selena: The Phenomenal Life and Tragic Death Of The Tejano Superstar by Clint Richmond
People En Espanol
Facts Compiled From These Shows:
Cristina Edicion Especial
En Persona
Facts compiled from these sites:
Latino Link
Biografia De Selena
Selena interview from 1993
AB interview
Jon Seda interview
Internet Movie Database
Selena: The Making Of The Queen Of Tejano
Tejano Music Awards Website
Selena Discography
