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I met Selena in 1991 when
I was only 10 years old.
My parents were really into Tejano music and my mother and aunts were really
into a singer named Selena. At the time the song “Baila Esta Cumbia”
was a huge hit and every time my parents would pick me up from school it was
always playing on the radio. My mom bought the "Ven Conmigo" cassette
and I remember liking a song called "Ya Ves", but at the time I wasn't into
Spanish music.
One day in 91, Selena y Los Dinos along with
Grupo Mazz were going to play a dance club
called The Texas Ballroom, but my parents weren't able to attend because
they didn't have a babysitter for me and my 3 year old brother. I
remember playing with my little brother outside when my mother runs out of
the house shouting Selena is at the mall!
What had happened was that Selena's bus had broken down in front of the Mall
and she and the rest of the group were eating at a restaurant called The
Charcoal Grill (in Eagle Pass,Texas), my dad who works as a security guard at the mall was taking
his break at that restaurant. The waiter took Selena's order and brought it
out right away. "That was fast" she told the waiter and the waiter
looks at her says, "Well the whole town is getting ready to go to the big
Selena y Los Dinos dance." Then he looks at her and says "are you
going?"
She replied "Well I hope so, I'm Selena."
Then before you knew it all the waiters and cooks came out to see her, my
dad went to go see what the commotion was about when he saw her and that's
when he called my mom. When we got there she was on her way out. And my
mother, little brother and I approached her. My mom goes up to her and asks "Excuse me Sel-ee-na or Se-le-nah?"
Selena says "Well actually it's
Sel-ee-na, but I accept both."
Selena and my mom chatted and she asked us if we were going to the
dance. My mom told her we had come to the mall to meet her because
there was no babysitter.
Selena told my
mom she was happy we had the chance to meet her, since we couldn't make it
to the performance.
Selena took the time to chat with us and
gave us an autograph. She carried my little brother and pinched my cheeks
and told me I was cute. We told her we loved her music and how big of fans
we were. SHE WAS AN ANGEL!! The nicest and most beautiful person I had ever
met and what a smile!! I was surprised she spoke English; I thought she was
from Mexico!!
Later that night my dad came home and said my uncle
was going to the dance and told my mom that he got a hold of one of my aunts
to look after us. But I begged them to take me. So they did. When we got
there it was jammed pack! It wasn't even a dance any more; it turned into a
concert because there was no place to dance.
The way dances were back then was the opening act (Grupo
Mazz)
would perform for an hour then Selena would come out and perform for an hour
then,
Grupo Mazz
would perform again. Then Selena would come out a second time with a
different outfit to close the show. When Selena finally came out the
crowd went wild, she took the stage smiling with that cow outfit looking
gorgeous. She sang "Baila Esta Cumbia" and songs from her "Ven
Conmigo" album and sang songs from "Entre a mi Mundo" (the album
hadn't even been released yet) and she sang some English songs too. I
really don't recall what, but I do remember a
Gloria Estefan song.
She sounded and looked great. However, two fights broke out between some
drunks. After the performance my parents took me home, so I
didn't get to see her come out the second time. They said I was too young to be
attending these dances.
But from then on, I became a huge Selena fan. I followed her through TV and
through her music. Of course, I was crushed when we heard the news about her
passing. The whole town mourned. I don't really like to talk about
that. 
However, I'll never forget
the day I met and saw THE QUEEN OF TEJANO!!! I told her myself I was her
fan and her fan I'll forever be.
-
Manuel Mendez III / September 5th, 2004
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