Selena Quintanilla still lives through her music and legacy, and tributes all around the world are done in her honor. The Queen of Tejano music is now getting a Google doodle tribute to commemorate the release of her solo debut album on October 17, 1989.
“What a great way to celebrate an icon. I think it will bring great joy to all her fans who follow her and look up to her as a role model,” says Suzette Quintanilla, sister of the late beloved singer, whose life was cut short when Yolanda Saldivar shot her back in 1995 when she was only 23-years-old. “Selena would be so excited. It’s such an honor.”
“I grew up as the daughter of a Mexican immigrant single mom living in a small (primarily white) town outside of Fort Worth, Texas,” Perla Campos, Global Marketing Lead for Google Doodles and project manager for the Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle said to Billboard in an exclusive interview. “There were always two women who taught me I could do anything and be anything I set my mind to, my mom and Selena. Selena has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.”
Perla Campos had submitted the idea for the Selena doodle for the first time, two years ago. “This is someone I looked up to my entire my life and I wanted to create something special,” said Perla to Billboard.
The Selena doodle consists of a short animated cartoon that follows the tune to one of Selena’s most popular songs, “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”, the songs says Campos “embodies her power and how talented an artist she was.”
Perla along with the Google team worked closely with the singer’s family to design the doodle, not only for the tribute but so they could launch an exclusive and special Selena exhibit through Google’s online Arts & Culture Exhibit.
“People will be able to see personal artifacts from the Selena museum,” says Selena’s sister. “Every year, people come from all over the world to see her things at the museum, which is housed in our production company [in Texas]. Now, they’ll be able to see many of her outfits and personal belongings online. This is a perfect example that her memory is very much alive and her legacy is growing. She’ll never be forgotten.”
The Selena doodle will be available on the Google homepage for the following countries: United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Bolivia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Paraguay, Uruguay, and India.
But don’t worry folks, all the work put into the doodle won’t disappear after Tuesday. “Just like Selena, it will live forever – in our doodle archive,” says Campos.
Long live The Queen of Tejano music!
Article inspired by Forbes // Selena Gets Doodle Tribute And Special Exhibit On Google