Latin Music Star Selena Shot, Killed in Texas Hotel

Latin music sensation Selena, a 23-year-old Grammy winner who delighted audiences with her unpretentious blend of bouncy pop and tender ballads, died Friday afternoon after being shot twice at a Days Inn hotel here, allegedly by a former business associate.

In a bizarre standoff with police, the woman suspected of shooting Selena locked herself inside a red pickup truck in the hotel parking lot, threatening to commit suicide. As at least 200 of Selena’s fans swarmed the site, police tossed the woman a cellular phone and negotiated with her through the evening.

The suspect was allegedly a former employee in Selena’s clothing boutique. Local media reported that the suspect had been accused of fraud, and had arranged to meet Selena in the hotel to turn over financial documents that the singer had requested.

While the parking-lot standoff unfolded against the backdrop of a nearby oil refinery, other devotees of Selena’s lively music flocked to her suburban home in Corpus Christi. Shaken and grieving fans laid flowers outside her clothing shop in tribute to the slain star.

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Meanwhile, many radio stations along the border dedicated much of their programming Friday to Selena’s music--which she once described as a blend of country, polka and jazz. Weeping fans, some as young as 5, called in to request their favorite songs and mourn the loss of their role model.

Although she wore sexy bustiers and showed plenty of flesh during her energetic concerts, Selena was revered as a simple, girl-next-door type, devoted to her family, her music and her fans.

Her album, “Selena Live,” won a Grammy last year for best Mexican American album. And her tune “Fotos y Recuerdos” (Photographs and Memories) currently ranks No. 4 on Billboard magazine’s Latin chart.

“Selena was a superstar on the rise,” said Jose Behar, president of EMI Latin Records. “But more importantly, she was a beautiful and wonderful human being. This is a total tragedy for all of us.”

Born in nearby Lake Jackson, Tex., Selena Quintanilla-Perez became a hometown hero.

Her career took off in 1987, when she was named performer of the year at the Tejano Music Awards. Just 15, she had already gained fame as a “Tex-Mex” artist with broad appeal on both sides of the border.

“She had tremendous stage presence, a magnificent voice and great rapport with fans and her audience, which came through in her voice whenever she performed,” said Susan Lietz, a spokeswoman for EMI Records Group North America.

In an industry known for high-flying egos and superstar tantrums, Selena was renowned as a down-to-earth performer who never strayed far from her roots. She started singing at age 9, when she formed a band to help raise money for her family. By 14, she was belting upbeat pop and crooning love songs in local nightclubs, cantinas and back-yard weddings.

“We just wanted to put food on the table,” she told The Times last summer.

Since that humble start, Selena blossomed into a bona fide star.

She was scheduled to play in the Sports Arena Saturday night as part of the two-day Latin American Fair. A Sunday afternoon Catholic Mass that had been scheduled as part of the festival will be dedicated to herhonor.

Her popularity coincided with an unexpected boom in Tejano music, a broad category that covers everything from romantic ballads to ranchera and cumbia. Once relegated to a small cluster of clubs in South Texas, Tejano has expanded across the United States.

This year, Selena was working on her first English-language album.

Released last year, Selena’s Spanish-language album “Amor Prohibido” (Forbidden Love) earned her a second Grammy nomination and spawned several chart-topping singles. The record roared to the top of Billboard magazine’s Latin album chart and remained there for four weeks. The album briefly danced onto Billboard’s chart of the top 200 pop albums.

In a sign of her broad appeal, Selena twice played to record crowds at Houston’s annual Livestock Show and Rodeo--a huge, rowdy event that traditionally favors mainstream Country and Western music.

For all her fame, both promoters and fans said Selena retained a winsome, refreshingly relaxed personality.

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“I’ve never seen her described as a traditional young, college-age person,” Lietz said. “She really had great poise and maturity, and was very down to earth.”

Rodolfo Martinez, manager of Ritmo Latino in downtown Los Angeles, said that people were still coming into his store Friday afternoon to buy tickets for Selena’s Saturday concert.

“This is very sad,” said fan Alejandro Castro. “Despite her young age, she had advanced so much. . . . This is not fair.”

Katz reported from Corpus Christi and Simon from Los Angeles. Free-lance writer Enrique Lopetegui also contributed to this story.