Episode #66 | 11.10.20
Selena: Tejano, Deception, and the Death of the Madonna of Mexico
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In this episode
Selena Quintanilla Perez ushered in the Golden Age of Tejano music in Texas with a meteoric rise up the charts and into the hearts of her fans. Her fans saw her as more than just a pop star--she was family. Selena was about to take her fame and her family to the world stage when a tangled web of deceit, betrayal, and jealousy would result in her untimely death at 23.
Sources
Selena’s Secret: The Revealing Story Behind Her Tragic Death, by María Celeste Arrarás
To Selena, with Love, by Chris Perez
“The Queen is Dead,” Texas Monthly
Motel Workers Describe Selena’s Shooting, AP News
From David Lee, Emilio, Selena to Decline, We Examine Rise, Fall, Future of Tejano Music, KSAT News
Tejano Music Enjoyed a Decade-long Golden Age, MySanAntonio
Ricardo Martinez interview clip, Primer Impacto
Ex-Fan Club Chief Guilty in Selena Murder, LA Times
The Sweet Song of Justice, Texas Monthly
Disgraceland is a podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. It melds music history, true crime and transgressive fiction. Disgraceland is not journalism. Disgraceland is entertainment. Entertainment inspired by true events. However, certain scenes, characters and names are sometimes fictionalized for dramatic purposes.
Music
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Zeth Lundy.
Copy editing by Pat Healy.
Mixed and Engineered by Sean Cahalin.
Scored by Jake Brennan.
Disgraceland theme song, "Crenshaw Space Boogie" written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak