Abraham Quintanilla Passes Away at 86: Remembering Selena’s Father and His Contributions to Her Legacy
Abraham Quintanilla, father of the late Tejano music icon Selena, has passed away at the age of 86. His death was confirmed on Saturday morning through a social media post by his son, Abraham Quintanilla III.
In the post, he shared, “It’s with a heavy heart to let you guys know that my Dad passed away today…” on Instagram.
Born on February 22, 1939, in Corpus Christi, Texas, Abraham Quintanilla began his musical journey in the group Los Dinos in 1956. After retiring from music in the late 1960s to focus on family life with his wife, Marcella, he later returned to the industry upon recognizing his daughter Selena’s extraordinary vocal gifts, guiding her burgeoning career.
Following Selena’s tragic death in 1995 at the age of 23, after being fatally shot by Yolanda Saldívar, Abraham served as executive producer for the 1997 biopic Selena, featuring Jennifer Lopez in the titular role and Edward James Olmos portraying Abraham himself.
Most recently, he contributed to the development of Netflix’s Selena: The Series, which aired for two seasons from 2020 to 2021, and the streaming platform’s documentary Selena y Los Dinos, which premiered last month.
