Selena Quintanilla Google doodle celebrates Mexican-American musician & beacon for Latinx community

Today’s Google home page is spotlighting the Mexican-American singer and performer Selena Quintanilla, marking the the release date anniversary for her self-titled album “Selena” with Capitol EMI Studios in 1989.

The first female, and youngest, Tejano artist to be awarded a Grammy, Selena became a major star with hits like “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” and “Como La Flor.” The performer began her career as a 9-year old, singing alongside her siblings in the family’s restaurant, playing Tejano (aka Tex-Mex) songs — a style of music that originated in Texas and blended Mexican and America music genres of pop, polka, ranchera and cumbia.

“Widely popular across the Texas/Mexico border since the 1800s, Selena y Los Dinos’ infectious brand of Tejano music popularized the genre to audiences globally,” writes Google Doodles Global Marketing Lead, Perla Campos on the Google Doodle Blog.

Campos says watching Selena was a “powerful thing” for her growing up — that Selena acted as a beacon for the Latinx community, showing her that she could do whatever she set her mind to with hard work and focus.

The Google executive says watching Selena made her proud of being Mexicana.

“As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant single mom living in a small (primarily white) town in rural Texas, I was one of the people Selena and her legacy profoundly influenced,” shares Campos, “My love of music started with her. One of my dearest childhood memories is of my mom and I belting ‘Bidi Bidi Bom Bom’ and ‘Techno Cumbia’ in the family van during our annual road trips to Mexico.”

The Selena Quintanilla doodle is being displayed in the US, Central America, India and a handful of South American countries. Clicking on the doodle launches the following YouTube video, an animated story of Selena’s rise to fame, set to her hit, “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”:

A list of team members who designed and produced the doodle can be found on the Google Doodle “Celebrating Selena Quintanilla” blog post, along with a statement from Selena’s sister, Suzette.

“My family and I are honored and extremely excited to have worked with Google on this Doodle,” writes Selena’s sister, “This project is just yet another testament to the power of Selena’s legacy, which is still going strong 22 years later. Selena has always transcended cultural boundaries and having this Doodle featuring a strong, Latina woman on the home page of Google around the world is a perfect example that.”