Google is honoring the memory of the late Mexican-American superstar Selena Quintanilla Perez in her first-ever Doodle, which also launched on the 28th anniversary of her first solo album’s debut. Having sung almost exclusively in Spanish throughout her childhood and later youth, the 23-year-old was on the cusp of crossover stardom when she was shot and killed in 1995. Despite the fact that Selena has been gone for more than 22 years, her music and spirit have never left. Mexican-Americans, in particular, see her as one of their own, a hometown girl who never forgot or felt ashamed of her roots, and to honor her is to honor them:
"I grew up as the daughter of a Mexican immigrant single mom living in a small (primarily white) town outside of Fort Worth, Texas," Perla Campos, Global Marketing Lead for Google Doodles and project manager for the Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle told Billboard in an exclusive interview. "There were always two women who taught me I could do anything and be anything I set my mind to: my mom and Selena. Selena has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember."
“She was the girl next door,” tweeted Mexican-American actor and comic Cristela Alonzo, who was the first Latina to create, produce, write, and star in her own U.S. television network show. “We knew and still know women like Selena.”
According to Billboard, Campos and her department spent two years working “tirelessly with the designers, animators, and, most importantly, Quintanilla's family, to ensure the Doodle told the iconic singer's story in a way that reflected the spirit of being a cross-over star.” Suzette Quintanilla, Selena’s sister and bandmate, said “the little details” she gave to the team were reflected in the video promoting the Doodle. “That Selena had red nail polish on instead of bright pink. That she had hoop earrings. They even put red on the microphone the way she used to have it."
Selena was in the midst of recording her first English-language album when she was killed. In her home town of Corpus Christi, Texas, an estimated 30,000 fans lined up for hours to pay their final respects at her memorial. When Dreaming of You was released just months later, she made history as the first Latina to debut at No. 1 of the Billboard albums chart, and since then has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, keeping her spirit and legend alive.
“What I loved about Selena was that she didn’t seem to try to be someone she wasn’t and not only was that OK, it was welcomed,” Alonzo continued in her tweets. “I can't tell you how much love [and] respect it gave me when I could see a real person like her with heart represent me. [It] made me feel like I mattered. Do you know how much power a simple story like that has to people that never see themselves represented? Selena did it.”
"Selena was always about transcending boundaries,” Campos said, “and for someone who has such a powerful story to be featured on the homepage of Google—a search engine that connects people the way she connected people—that is such a beautiful thing.”