Selena

She was a designer, singer and performer who broke through the barriers of the music industry. She was Mexican-American, but still traditional. She was the first to bring Tejano to mainstream culture. The tragic loss of her life shattered her rising profile and like many times when a bright deeply genial superstar dies young, she caused many to grieve all the untapped potential. In the following years, people were encouraged to push themselves harder to ensure that Selena's successes would not fade away. Selena's tragic death by shooting triggered a response in the Latino Community that was comparable to reactions following the deaths of Elvis Presley or John Lennon. She was an incredibly well-known singer for Latinos across North America. But her music was a hit with both the young as well as the elderly. An edgy, sexy stage actress sometimes hailed as the Latina Madonna Selena was nonetheless thought of as a role model off-stage she was family oriented actively involved in anti-drug campaigning as well as AIDS awareness programmes.