CNN —
The powerful voice of Tejano music superstar Selena Quintanilla-Pérez is still an indelible staple in Latino households and parties nearly 30 years after her death.
The grief that engulfed fans immediately after Selena’s life was cut short has morphed over the years into a celebration of the cultural icon every spring on the days leading up to her April birthday. But this year, the memorial is accompanied by a sense of relief as Yolanda Saldívar, the woman who shot and killed Selena in a Texas motel room, was denied her first attempt at parole.
“Today, we are grateful that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has chosen to deny parole for Yolanda Saldívar,” the Quintanilla family and Selena’s husband Chris Pérez said in a joint statement shared on their social media platforms.
“While nothing can bring Selena back, this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon,” they added.
Saldívar, 64, is serving a life sentence for the singer’s 1995 murder at a prison in Gatesville, Texas, about 100 miles north of Austin.
In the weeks leading to the parole board’s decision, some fans chatted about Saldivar’s potential release while others remained focused on celebrating Selena’s life and legacy — much like the singer’s family.
“If I am the Selena y Los Dino fan that I say I am, I think that’s the most important part. … They (Selena’s family) are celebrating her life, and they’re celebrating her legacy,” said Stephanie Bergara, a country and Tejano music singer-songwriter and lead singer of the Texas-based Selena tribute band Bidi Bidi Banda.
Selena’s parents, her sister and band members joined fans and film industry members earlier this month as “Selena y Los Dinos,” a new documentary about the singer’s life, premiered at the South by Southwest festival in Austin. Weeks earlier, the film was screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and won the US Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling.
“She’s been such an inspiration, especially for Latina women like myself,” Roberta Salas, a fan who attended the screening, told CNN affiliate KEYE. “She gave us the mentality that we can do anything.”
Saldívar came into Selena’s life as a fan, later becoming her fan club president and managing some of the singer’s clothing boutiques.
On March 31, 1995, the “Queen of Tejano Music” — who was known by her first name — was meeting with Saldívar at a Corpus Christi motel when Saldívar shot her. They were discussing Selena’s concerns that Saldívar had embezzled money from her, according to trial testimony.
Selena was 23 and her first English-language album was months from release.
Saldívar was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Her case was placed into parole review in recent months based on the amount of time she has served in prison, which began when she was first detained, and because the offense for which she was convicted allowed for parole consideration, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Saldívar was denied parole Thursday after her case was reviewed by a three-member panel, according to the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole.
“After a thorough consideration of all available information, which included any confidential interviews conducted, it was the parole panel’s determination to deny parole to Yolanda Saldivar and set her next parole review for March 2030,” the board said in a statement.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles says it considers the offense, “medical and psychological history, and how the offender has adjusted and behaved in prison.” But the process is not “cut and dry;” other factors such as public outcry as well as the offender’s remorse and accountability are also considered in the decision, said Helen Anne Gaebler, a senior research attorney for the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law at The University of Texas School of Law.
“The parole process — it’s not cut and dry. It’s very individual. It’s very much individually based, and the circumstances play a large role,” Gaebler said.
In her experience representing women in the parole review process in Central Texas, Gaebler said she believes there’s often a reliance “on historical factors and not enough attention or focus put on present-day and future-looking factors.”
“For example, we will oftentimes have individuals denied parole over and over because of the nature of the offense. That’s one of the bases on which parole can be denied. But that’s a static factor that’s never going to change,” Gaebler said.
In Saldívar’s case, the parole board cited the nature of the offense as the reason for their denial.
“The record indicates that the instant offense has elements of brutality, violence, assaultive behavior or conscious selection of victim’s vulnerability indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others, such that the offender poses a continuing threat to public safety,” the parole board said in a statement.
In Texas, tens of thousands of cases are reviewed for parole every year, in addition to pardons, medical release requests and revocation of parole. In 2023, 64,785 cases were considered for parole and about 34% were approved, according to an annual statistical report from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Decades after her murder, Selena endures as an icon for her signature looks; a unique sound that blended Tejano, dance-pop and R&B; and for putting the Mexican-American experience in the spotlight.
Bergara, the tribute band singer, was only 8 when Selena was killed and never got the chance to see her live. Yet the image of Selena on stage, captivating large crowds, is etched into her memory.
“She was the first person who I ever saw on television who looked like she could be related to me,” Bergara said. “She was immediately so relatable to me and so relatable to people across the world now.”
The Selena tribute band, which originally intended to put on a one-time performance, has now toured major cities across the country for more than a decade and seen how the singer’s legacy is being passed on through generations.
“We play shows all the time where moms who are my age will show up, and their daughters will show up, and they’re dressed like Selena, and they love Selena just as much as their moms did,” Bergara said.
Selena continues to captivate audiences, evidenced by her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded in 2018, a Netflix miniseries inspired by her life in 2020, and the launch of a second MAC Cosmetics collection inspired by her the same year.
She was also posthumously awarded the prestigious National Medal of Arts in 2023 by former President Joe Biden, the highest award given to artists by the federal government.
In Corpus Christi, where Selena and her family lived, the iconic singer is memorialized in numerous ways. Fans can visit the Mirador de la Flor memorial and its life-size bronze statue centerpiece, the Selena Museum and the city’s auditorium, which was renamed in her memory.
Sonya M. Alemán, a professor at The University of Texas at San Antonio, has been teaching a course since 2020 focused on Selena and her lasting impact on society. Her students have interviewed hundreds of Selena fans and learned why she remains a cultural symbol despite generational differences.
“Her legacy has not waned. If anything, it’s strengthening,” Alemán said. For those who lived through Selena’s life and death, their connection to the singer is clearly defined — they attended concerts and signings, and looked up to her as a trailblazer and a proud Tejana, Aleman explained.
For younger fans, many of whom were born at the turn of the century, Selena’s music means home. Her songs were a staple in family functions — quinceañeras, carne asadas and family gatherings.
“When they think of Selena, they think of home, they think of family,” Alemán said.
For Alemán, Selena’s lasting legacy is a testament to the “resounding and constant need not just to uplift her, but to see ourselves.”
“She’s still beloved and she’s still a story and person that people want to continue to remember and keep her legacy alive,” Alemán said. “I also think that it means that the community that she belonged to, that she identified with, is still thirsty for representation.”
To fans like Bergara, the celebration of Selena’s life that occurs every year surrounding her April 16 birthday should not be overshadowed by developments in Saldívar’s case.
“I don’t want to give her any attention,” Bergara said. “I just don’t think it’s worth it, and what we should be focusing on is 30 years of Selena, 30 years of her iconic life being celebrated.”
The Quintanilla family and her husband said after Saldívar’s parole was denied that Selena “lived with joy, gave selflessly, and continues to uplift generations with her voice and her spirit” and called on fans to remember that.
“We will continue to celebrate Selena’s life — not the tragedy that took her from us — and we ask that all who cherish her do the same,” they said.
