Late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez’ life and legacy quickly turned into a yearslong legal feud between her widower Chris Perez and family.
After the singer’s death, Perez signed over legal rights to Selena’s estate to the family.
In 2012, Perez published To Selena, With Love. He hoped to bring this memoir to life on screen, but Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla quickly dimmed Perez’ light and sued him for unauthorized exploitation of Selena’s image.
Selena’s legacy always consisted of her unforgettable talent and bubbly personality, but that took a quick turn when the bad blood between Perez and the Quintanilla family began.
Perez was violating the agreement he entered into with the Quintanilla family. He immediately lost all control over what he intended to do with his memoir, and anything else that had to do with Selena’s image.
Fortunately, Perez and the Quintanilla family settled out their differences in court.
On Tuesday Sept. 13, Perez tweeted, “Good news! I have amicably resolved my legal dispute with the Quintanilla family. Now that these issues are behind us, going forward, my hope, and the hope for the Quintanilla family, is for us to work together to continue to honor and celebrate the life of Selena.”
I couldn’t agree more. Selena’s life and legacy suddenly wasn’t hers anymore once this legal feud began. Harsh feelings erupted, and the relationship between them became a mess.
Selena and Chris shared a secret relationship before they eloped in April of 1992. Selena’s father forbade their relationship and even kicked Perez out of the band for quite some time.
It’s pretty clear the Quintanilla family were not fond of Perez, even when Selena was alive. Imagine now that she’s gone? They have no business putting up with him anymore. No Selena? Which may mean no Chris.
A little after Perez tweeted, Abraham released his own statement as well.
Quintanilla stated, “I wanted to give everyone an update to let you know that I and the entire Quintanilla family have amicably resolved our legal dispute with Christopher Perez. Now that these issues are behind us, going forward, my hope, and the hope of the Quintanilla family, is for us to work together to continue to honor and celebrate the legacy of Selena.”
Notice anything familiar to Chris’ tweet? They sound the exact same. I am unsure if this was intentional, or if he genuinely couldn’t think of anything else to say about the entire ordeal.
I hope Chris Perez and the Quintanilla family will continue to honor Selena’s legacy with peace and grace, she deserves it.