Chicagoans remember Selena at downtown tribute concert

Despite a two-day heat wave topping 100 degrees, a near SRO crowd attended the second annual Selena tribute concert at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park on Aug. 24.

The event, which was sponsored by the National Mexican Museum of Art and the Office of Special Affairs for the City of Chicago, featured a host of up-and-coming Latina performers—sprinkled with surprises—in tribute to the late singer, who was known as the “Queen of Tejano Music.”

Performers included The Voice contestant Courtne Ramirez, Grammy nominee Isabel Marie; Pilsen performer and activist Rosalba Valdez; all-female group Mariachi Sirenas; and a surprise performance by Selena’s widower Chris Pérez, who was accompanied by his hard rock band Group-O Metal.

The show also included an extravagant and well-received drag performance by Ivanna Rubio, Angelica Marie, Venus Carangi and Luna La Catrina. Celebrated actress Noemí González (of the Hulu series East Los High and Netflix’s Selena: The Series) served as emcee.

Selena Quintanilla rose to fame in 1987 despite being criticized and denied bookings for singing Tejano music in local clubs in Texas (Tejano Music is a male dominated genre).

After winning the Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year nine consecutive years in a row she signed a contract with EMI Latin and released her self-titled debut in 1989. She followed the debut with Entre a Mi Mundo which stayed at #1 for eight months. After three more multi-platinum Grammy-winning albums, Selena was gunned down by a business partner. Since her death in 1995, she has been called one of the most influential Latin artists of all time for her music and fashion choices.