Culture of Death

This series contains coverage of Selena mainly in the form of newspaper and magazine clippings. However, there are other items such as scholarly papers and rough drafts of Patoski’s magazine articles for Texas Monthly. This material has been arranged in chronological and subject order by the archivist.

Lake Jackson (1971-1985, undated) The clippings cover Selena’s beginnings in Lake Jackson. Under this topic is her birth announcement, news about the Dow Chemical plant where her father worked, and advertisements for the family restaurant.

Pre-Shooting (1983-1995, undated)This folder includes Selena’s musical and personal accomplishments before her murder.

Shooting (1995) Found in this folder are items relating to the events immediately following Selena’s murder: the standoff between Yolanda and Corpus Christi Police, a transcript of the 911 call from the Days Inn Hotel lobby where Selena collapsed after running from Saldivar, and publication of Selena’s autopsy photographs in the tabloid magazine the Globe.

Veneration (1995-1996) This folder involves the public and media expressions of grief, veneration of a pop icon, tributes, and look-alike contests.

Media Fact Finding Folder (1995)This folder contains the media’s attempt to piece together events that led up to the shooting and possible reasons and motives for why the shooting took place. The folder also features background information on Yolanda Saldivar, reports on Selena’s net worth before and after her death, and gossip generated by the NationalEnquirer and the Globe.

Culture of Death (1995)Compiled in the Culture of Death folder is the media’s attempt to analyze the violent episodes of Selena’s murder and an unrelated office shooting in Corpus Christi.

Posthumous CD: “Dreaming of You” (1995) This contains information about the songs on the CD, the release dates, and reviews of the CD.

Cashing in on Selena’s Death (1995-1997) This folder includes clippings covering Abraham Quintanilla’s legal battle to stop unauthorized selling of Selena memorabilia such as T-shirts, pictures, and bootleg tapes of her music.

Criticisms of Public Grief folder (1995) This folder includes clippings regarding Howard Stern’s insults regarding Tejano music and Selena, and LULAC’s response to Stern and their boycotts of products advertised on his radio program. Also included are letters to the editors of various newspapers stating that the Selena veneration of Selena is excessive.

Trial (1995) The trial folder includes media coverage of the State of Texas vs. Yolanda Saldivar in October of 1995, and the public’s reaction to the outcome of the court case.

Selena: Como la Flor (1996) Within the folder are book reviews (mainly favorable), excerpts of the book in various newspapers, a piece by Don McLeese of the Austin American-Statesman questioning Patoski's right to pen an unauthorized biography of Selena, and Abraham Quintanilla Jr.’s public denouncement of Patoski’s book.

Selena the Movie (1995-1997) This folder contains reviews of the movie (mostly unfavorable) as well as reviews of the movie’s soundtrack.

Hispanics in the Media (1991-1995) Topics include: Hispanic celebrations, folklore, discussion in the media about the growing Hispanic population in Texas, the increasing economic power of Hispanics, Catholic religion, coverage of Hispanics portrayed in the media, and information of Hispanic success stories such as entertainers and business people.

Tejano Music (1993-1996, undated) News of Tejano stars, music and awards is included in this folder along with selected coverage of Selena’s awards, appearances, music, and concerts