Selena Research Collection

Collection

Identifier: SWWC-049

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection was created and maintained by Joe Nick Patoski in the process of writing the biography of Tejano singer, Selena Quintanilla Perez. The collection is compiled of news clippings, manuscripts, interviews, photographs, court documents, notes, publicity materials, computer disks and ephemera. Dates range from 1961 to 1997 (bulk 1995-1996).

The collection is arranged into eight series: I. Clippings (1971-1997, undated), II. Subject Files (1961-1996, undated), III. Court Documents (1995), IV. Notes (1995, undated), V. Interviews (1992-1995), VI. Manuscripts (1995-1996), VII. Correspondence (1995-1996), and VIII. Publicity (1995-1996). The materials arrived with little discernible order and have been arranged by the archivist.

The author’s year long research and writing processes, which began the day after Selena’s death on March 31, 1995 and continued until January 1996, are reflected in this collection. Patoski, working under his publisher’s deadline of the first anniversary of Selena’s death (March 1996), delegated a portion of the Selena research to friends and colleagues. Richard and Mary Zelade, among others, conducted interviews and research, adding significantly to the information Patoski was able to gather in this short amount of time.

Dates

1961-1997
Majority of material found within 1995-1996

Creator

Patoski, Joe Nick, 1951- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research

Conditions Governing Use

Photocopying allowed. Patoksi holds copyright for Selena materials he wrote and created. Other items will require copyright status determined on a case by case basis.

Biographical Notes

Joe Nick Patoski was born in 1951 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to West Fort Worth in 1953, at the age of two. He attended the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Texas at Austin, where he began his writing career in 1972 as a columnist with the Daily Texan, the newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. That same year he became a consultant in the music business and had soon earned a reputation as one of the most respected critics of pop culture in the Southwest. Patoski worked as a stringer for Rolling Stone from 1974 to 1980, and as a contributing editor for Texas Monthly from 1975 to 1980. During the early 1980s, he was the manager and executive producer for several top Texas rock and roll bands, and toured the United States, Europe and South America. In 1985, Texas Monthly named Patoski an associate editor. He is currently senior editor for Texas Monthly. Patoski has written books and articles on various topics covering the entire range of Texas culture. His work has also appeared in Mother Jones, Village Voice, Waterways, and Condé Nast Traveler, as well as many other publications.