He helped his daughter become a Tejano superstar at an early age, and guided her estate after she was slain in 1995
The patriarch of the late Selena Quintanilla’s family, who guided his daughter’s career as she became one of the biggest music stars of the Nineties and continued to lead her estate after her 1995 murder, has died at age 86. Abraham Quintanilla Jr. died on the morning of Dec. 13, according to his son. No cause of death was immediately available.
Abraham “A.B.” Quintanilla III, Selena’s older brother and producer, revealed the news of their father’s passing in a post on Instagram. In a brief message, he wrote, “It’s with a heavy heart to let you guys know that my Dad passed away today…”
In a second Instagram post, A.B. opened up about celebrating his own 62nd birthday today while dealing with the passing of his dad.
“Losing ‘SELENA’ 30 yrs. ago is still a daily struggle for me…But losing my Dad hits differently,” he wrote. “I felt safe knowing his love and guidance was always available when I needed it most and now I won’t be able to have that anymore.”
He continued to remember their father’s business instincts and his importance to the family: “He was a tough cookie but in this business you have to be,” A.B. wrote. “He taught ‘SELENA’ and I that from the get go…Today I feel my heart is shattered in a million pieces…I feel so sorry for my Mom who has to live with the pain of losing her baby and her husband…Life is so unfair…Today is my BDay and and now for the rest of my life will mark something tragic that happened today…Losing my father…Thank you to all that have sent your condolences.”
Before becoming the driving force behind Selena’s hugely successful music career, Quintanilla Jr. was a musician himself in a band called the Dinos in the 1970s. He went on to mold his children — Selena, A.B., and their sister Suzette Quintanilla — into a new lineup known as Selena y Los Dinos. By the early 1990s, Quintanilla Jr. was helping guide his youngest daughter’s historic leap from a popular Tejano singer in their home state of Texas to a worldwide pop sensation with hits that included “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido,” and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.”
Following Selena’s murder by a fan and employee named Yolanda Saldívar in 1995, Quintanilla Jr. continued to manage her estate and posthumous affairs. Quintanilla Jr. later passed those duties to Suzette around 2016. Saldívar remains behind bars after her most recent parole request was denied this past spring.