Selena's Family Wants to Share Her Lifetime Achievement Award With Her Fans
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Selena Quintanilla is still making her family proud. Nearly 26 years after her death, the Queen of Tejano music is being honored posthumously with the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards. Her father and once-manager, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., accepted the prestigious award on her behalf, which recognizes her tremendous influence in the music industry.
"I was very happy to open the box up and see this important award honoring my daughter's work," he told People after receiving the statuette ahead of the show. “Truly honored by this. Selena would have been very excited for this honor, just like she was when she won her Grammy back in 1994.”
More than two decades ago, Selena won Best Mexican-American Album for Live at the 36th annual Grammy Awards. The Texas native was the first female Tejano singer and also the youngest to accomplish this milestone. At the time, her sophomore album hit no. 2 on the Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.
While Selena’s brother, A.B. Quintanilla III, had originally hoped that a member of the Quintanilla family could have accepted the award in person, the coronavirus pandemic made things difficult. Speaking with TMZ in January, the songwriter shared that his family would most likely watch the Grammy Awards together and celebrate Selena’s latest achievement virtually. And A.B. already knew where the award would go.
“At the end of the day, Selena’s name will get mentioned again, she takes another award. [We'll] bring it here to the [Selena] Museum for the tons and tons of people that come from all around the world,” he told the outlet.
Located in Selena's hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, the Selena Museum was established in 1998 by the Quintanilla family. Selena’s life is told through memorabilia like her iconic outfits, including the white dress she wore when she won her first Grammy. What’s more, the Grammy award itself is also on display. Fans can take a virtual tour of it here.
As for what it means to the Quintanilla family, the posthumous honor signifies that Selena has transcended time with the love and support of her loyal listeners.
"This award represents all the hard work and more importantly, represents our Latin culture. Selena's life was cut short, but her fans have carried her throughout the years and her legacy is being passed on from generation to generation," Abraham told People. "That in itself is incredible. Her legacy is growing and crossing cultural boundaries. That is not something that normally happens when an artist is no longer here."
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