Remembering Selena: 20-Years Later

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - On March 31, 1995, the queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla- Perez was shot dead by the president of her own fan club.

20 -years later, the world still mourns the loss of the superstar. Her songs inspired a whole generation of fans around the world.

Selena's husband Chris Perez says the love of the fans helped him out of his grief, "believe it or not, that helped me a lot," he said. "I could feel their support."

He told CBS 11 that his memories are still fresh in his mind, even after 20 years.

"I am always going to love Selena," he told us. "She is always going to be in my heart. I am always going to be thinking about her."

Many remember Jennifer Lopez' portrayal of the singer from Corpus Christie in the movie Selena. It made Lopez a superstar.

Perez was surprised at how much she looked like Selena in the movie. "It was freaky for me because there were times when she looked a lot like her," he said. "I just couldn't get close to that."

Perez played guitar in Selena's band. Being the two youngest in the group, they became friends and eventually got married.
"She brought something out of me that changed me," he said.

Selena's death was very difficult on her family and Perez. He couldn't speak for a while after her death. "My knee jerk reaction to all that stuff was to protect my memories of her," he said.

Eventually he opened up and wrote a book called "To Selena with Love." "There was just so much more to her that I wanted people to know," Perez told us. "Her daring side of the personality, how hard she worked the her work ethic was crazy intense."

Perez is now a Grammy award winning musician himself. He has a new album coming out soon.

On this 20-year anniversary, he wants to remember Selena with the things that matter. "Yes there was grief and sadness but there was also a lot of love."

Perez is performing with others at an event in Corpus Christie. Fiesta De la Flor is scheduled for April 17-18 - a day after Selena's birthday.

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