Selena
Birth Name: Selena Quintanilla
Date of Birth: April 16, 1971
Place of Birth: Lake Jackson, Brazoria, Texas, U.S.
Date of Death: March 31, 1995
Place of Death: Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Ethnicity: Mexican – Spanish [Andalusian, Asturian, Canary Islander, Castilian, Extremaduran], Indigenous Mexican, including Tiwa, and possibly distant Cherokee, and Basque, Galician, and distant Catalan; distant Italian, Portuguese, and Greek
Selena, also known by her birth name Selena Quintanilla or her married name Selena Quintanilla Pérez, was an American singer, songwriter, spokesperson, model, actress, and fashion designer. She was known as the “Queen of Tejano Music.”
She was the daughter of Marcella Ofelia Samora and Abraham Isaac Quintanilla, Jr., a musician. Her parents were both of Mexican ancestry. Her siblings are musician A.B. Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla.
Selena was married to guitarist, songwriter, and author Chris Pérez, until her death.
Selena’s patrilineal line can be traced back to her tenth great-grandfather, Diego de Olivares.
Selena’s paternal grandfather was Abraham Gonzalez Quintanilla (the son of Eulogio Quintanilla Longoria and Dolores Gonzalez). Abraham was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. Eulogio was a Mexican emigrant, from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and was the son of Manuel Quintanilla García and Leonarda Longoria Galván. Dolores was the daughter of a Mexican emigrant, Domingo Hernández Garca (later González Garza), of Cadereyta Jiménez, Nuevo León, and of Jacinta Garza, whose own parents were Mexican.
Selena’s paternal grandmother was Maria Tereza Calderon (the daughter of Humberto M. Calderón Galván and Concepción Vásquez). Maria was born in Edna, Texas, to Mexican parents, from Zaragoza and Cuatro Ciénegas, respectively both in Coahuila. Humberto was the son of Antonio E. Calderón Saucedo and María Hermila Galván de la Fuente.
Selena’s maternal grandfather was Ralph H[ernandez] Samora (the son of Pedro “Mike” Samora and Eulalia Hernández). Ralph was born in Amarillo, Texas. Eulalia was the daughter of Agustín Hernández and María Eduvigis Ríos Corrales. Pedro’s parents were said to be José Bernardo Samora, whose biological father was German, and Juana Albina Carvajal Archuleta. It is not clear if this is accurate.
Selena’s maternal grandmother was Carmel Garcia Mestas (the daughter of Primitivo de la Cruz Maestas and Floripa Garcia). Carmel was born in Alamosa, Colorado. Cruz was the son of Antonio Maestas and María Marcelina Cisneros. Floripa was the daughter of Filomeno García and Perfecta.
Selena was a seventh cousin, once removed, of actress Eva Longoria. Their common ancestors were Juan Diego Longoria García and María Clara Chapa Benavides.
Source: Genealogy of Selena – https://www.geni.com
Selena’s paternal line can be traced back to her tenth great-grandfather, Diego de Olivares.
Selena’s grandfather Abraham was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. Eulogio was a Mexican emigrant, from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and was the son of Manuel Quintanilla García and Leonarda Longoria Galván. Dolores was the daughter of a Mexican emigrant, Domingo Hernández Garca (later González Garza), of Cadereyta Jiménez, Nuevo León, and of Jacinta Garza, whose own parents were Mexican.
Maria was born in Edna, Texas, to Mexican parents, from Zaragoza and Cuatro Ciénegas, respectively both in Coahuila.
Selena’s maternal grandfather was Ralph H[ernandez] Samora (the son of Pedro “Mike” Samora and Eulalia Hernández). Ralph was born in Amarillo, Texas. Eulalia was the daughter of Agustín Hernández and María Eduvigis Ríos Corrales.
Selena’s maternal grandmother was Carmel Garcia Mestas (the daughter of Primitivo de la Cruz Maestas and Floripa Garcia). Carmel was born in Alamosa, Colorado. Cruz was the son of Antonio Maestas and María Marcelina Cisneros. Floripa was the daughter of Filomeno García and Perfecta.
Genealogy of Selena – https://www.geni.com/people/Selena/4533800136950124467
Standby for her complete Mexican ethnicity. But for now, include Cherokee as part of her indigenous Mexican ancestry because some of her Mexican ancestors lived in the former upper Mexico (which included Colorado and New Mexico territories, which are now parts of the United States). Also, Pedro’s parents were said to be named José Bernardo Samora and Juana Albina Carvajal Archuleta. It is unclear if this is accurate, as there is no documentary evidence linking between them. If proven, then Selena would had been 1/32 German as Bernardo’s biological father, whose surname is likely Ulrich, was German.
The Cherokee lived nowhere near “upper Mexico,” then. If she has old Native American ancestors, it’s most certainly not from any of the Southeastern woodland tribes unless it’s much more recent (i.e. from their forced migration west).
Cherokees were resetled to Oklahoma in 1830s, at the same time Texas broke away from Mexico. If she did have a Cherokee ancestor, they’d be in the Dawes rolls which were used to asign land to resetled Cherokees and their freed slaves. More likely, some ancestor of hers tried pretending they were Cherokee so they could get land.
Oklahoma, and particulary where the Cherokee were moved to, is simply not “near” the old borders of Mexico at that time. No one would even be pretending to be Cherokee in that area, because it wouldn’t have made any sense. It’s such a weird group to claim as a Mexican American. Mexicans mixed with a ton of different tribes; the Cherokee were not among them maybe save for a few exceptions.
Her Spanish ancestry includes Andalusian, Asturian, Canary Islander, Castilian, and Extremaduran. Her indigenous Mexican ancestry also includes Tiwa. Other Mexican ancestry includes Basque, Galician, and distant Catalan. Other ethnicity outside the Mexican ancestry includes Italian, Portuguese, and distant Greek.
she was not “Mexican” but most likely mestiza. mestizo is the most common ethnic group in latin america. you can’t actually have ancestry from the Americas because it takes at least 60, 000 -70,000 years to develop genes from a geographic location and no one lived in the Americas prior to only about 30,000 years ago.
Ethnic, is there a picture, please?
no sorry
mestizo means in the Americas mix of European and Amerindian.
and she indeed is related to Eva Longoria she must some african with her. cuz to me shes not spanish not even cuz of the name
She didn’t even look 1% Black. She was a Mestiza.
@Princess
Mestizo means different things in different parts of latin America, but one thing they all have in common is, that it means mixed blood. Also with all these different areas African ancestry was always a possible part of the mixed(even in Mexicans), Also one other thing you should learn on this site, is that you don’t have to look it to be it.