0:00

Selina Quintanilla was a force of

0:02

nature, but when a loyal friend betrayed

0:04

her, she met a fate she never deserved. Even

0:07

the Rich is a podcast from Wondery that tells

0:09

you the stories of the crazy lives of the

0:11

greatest family dynasties to pop

0:13

culture superstars. In the new season,

0:16

Viva Selina, you'll hear how she made

0:18

a massive cultural impact and became

0:20

a legend the world will never forget. All

0:22

before her 24th birthday, she had already

0:25

left a legacy across cultures that would continue

0:27

for generations. Her huge talent

0:29

was nearly

0:30

overshadowed by her untimely death.

0:32

She was shot by a close friend and confidant,

0:35

but there's so much more to Selina's story

0:37

than her tragic passing. She was kind-hearted,

0:40

brave, and tried her best to bring joy to everyone

0:42

in her life. The positivity she put into

0:44

the world still carries on nearly 30 years

0:47

after her death, and she will always be the

0:49

queen of Tejano music. Enjoy

0:51

Even the Rich on the Wondery app or wherever you

0:54

get your podcasts. You can binge Even the

0:56

Rich Viva Selina right now ad-free

0:58

on Wondery+. Get started with your

1:00

free trial at wondery.com slash

1:03

plus. This episode contains

1:05

strong language. Please be advised.

1:07

It's January 1995, and

1:09

23-year-old Selina Quintanilla is

1:13

having an amazing day. She's riding shotgun

1:16

in a sparkling Cadillac convertible and

1:18

soaking up the hot Texas sun. She's

1:21

also riding a bike to the top of

1:23

the mountain. Selina turns and

1:25

smiles at her best friend Yolanda Saldivar in

1:28

the driver's seat. Yolanda dotes

1:30

on Selina. She also works

1:33

for her, managing her boutiques. When they met,

1:36

Yolanda was the president of Selina's fan club, but

1:39

she quickly became her right-hand man. It's

1:41

a lot of work, but Yolanda is always ready

1:44

to drop

1:44

everything, any time for

1:47

Selina. At this point, a lot of people are

1:49

watching. After

1:52

dinner, Yolanda back cookies and offers a heavy drink. Farewell,

1:56

Selina. Time to

1:58

allow yourself a supply of rambunctious spam.

1:59

much a household name. She's got a

2:02

fashion line, a partnership with Coca-Cola,

2:05

and sold-out shows. But today,

2:07

Selena's taking a break from all that.

2:10

Instead, she's humming her new song

2:12

Dreaming of You as she trails her fingers

2:14

through the air outside the car window.

2:16

Suddenly, Yolanda

2:18

slams on the brakes and pulls over. Selena

2:21

jolts out of her daydream and looks up. They're

2:24

outside of a store called Randolph's Custom

2:26

Jewelers. Yolanda winks

2:29

at Selena and tells her to wait in the car.

2:31

A few minutes later, Yolanda

2:34

hurries back to the car. She hands

2:36

Selena a small box and tells her to open

2:38

it.

2:39

Selena's jaw drops when she

2:41

sees what's inside. It's a

2:44

gorgeous gold ring with a white gold

2:46

egg covered in diamonds. Selena

2:49

gasps in shock as Yolanda grins

2:51

ear to ear. She had the ring custom

2:54

made for Selena just because.

2:56

Okay, this kind of blows the dolphin

2:58

best friend necklaces I had made for us out

3:01

of the water. No, how

3:03

could you say that? And

3:05

it's more like just because Yolanda can't

3:07

get enough of Selena. Their friendship

3:10

is the most important thing in her life, and

3:12

she wants to show her

3:13

how much she cares. Selena

3:15

looks closer and sees that the

3:18

14-carat band has the letter S engraved

3:20

on it. She starts to get teary-eyed.

3:23

She's won Grammys and sold thousands

3:25

of albums, but no one has ever

3:27

given her such a thoughtful gift. Her

3:30

hands are shaking so much she can barely even

3:32

get the ring on. Selena

3:34

looks at Yolanda and her eyes

3:36

are full of tears too. Selena

3:39

scooches across the sea and pulls her in

3:41

for a hug. Once they're

3:43

back on the road, Selena tells Yolanda

3:45

that the whole world will get to see this

3:47

ring because she'll be wearing it on stage

3:50

for the rest of her life. They

3:52

both crack up as the car tears down

3:54

the road. Selena knows 1995 is going

3:56

to be her year.

3:58

She's done so

4:00

much already, and she still has so

4:02

much left to do. But as

4:04

we know, Selena will never accomplish

4:07

any more of her big dreams. Because

4:09

in two and a half months, her bright

4:11

light will be extinguished.

4:28

From Wundery, I'm Brooke Sifrin. And

4:30

I'm Arisha Skidmar Williams. And

4:33

this is Even The Rich, where we bring

4:35

you absolutely true and absolutely shocking

4:37

stories about the biggest celebrities the world

4:39

has ever seen. It's a show about

4:41

power, how you get it, how you

4:44

keep it, and what happens when you nearly

4:46

lose it all. It's also about how the rich

4:48

are just like us, because even the rich fall

4:50

in love and break up and struggle

4:53

and belt out to some classic Donna

4:55

Summer in the car.

5:03

Selena Quintanilla was a superstar

5:05

on the rise. With her family by her

5:07

side, she cemented her status as a cultural

5:10

icon and left a legacy that would continue

5:12

for generations, all before

5:15

her 24th birthday. But her

5:17

enormous talents were nearly overshadowed

5:19

by her untimely death. Shocked

5:21

by a woman she considered a friend, her

5:23

rising star fizzled far too soon.

5:26

But there's so much more to Selena's story. She

5:29

was kind-hearted and brave. And

5:31

she tried her best to bring joy

5:32

to everyone in her life. The

5:35

positivity Selena put into the world

5:37

still shines bright, nearly 30 years

5:40

after her death. It lives on through

5:42

her iconic stage looks, her legendary

5:45

megawatt smile, and of course,

5:47

her music. In this three-part

5:49

series, we'll tell you how the little girl with the

5:51

big boys became one of the most famous

5:54

figures in the history of Tejano music.

5:56

This is episode one, The Family

5:59

That Plays Together. you