A Texas man is approaching a Guinness World Record title for his Selena Quintanilla memorabilia collection.
Selena was born in 1971 and began singing at just the age of 10 with her family band, Selena y Los Dinos. She rose to solo fame in her teens. Her debut album came out in 1989, and in 1994, she won the Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album with her album Live!
Just one year later, in March 1995, she was murdered by one of her employees, Yolanda Saldívar — a friend who had been caught embezzling. Hundreds gathered at El Dorado Ranch in Southeast Houston on the night of her death to mourn her passing.
At the time, Selena was working on her first English album, Dreaming of You, which was expected to garner her crossover fame. The album was released posthumously in July 1995 and sold over three million copies.
The family had an open casket viewing in Corpus Christi. Over 30,000 fans passed by her casket, and almost 80,000 signed the guestbook.
Selena’s father told People in 1995 that he knew immediately that she had a gift for music. “Her timing, her pitch were perfect; I could see it from day one,” he said.
Andrew Longoria was introduced to Selena’s music by his grandmother in 1997. Many of his peers also fell in love with the artist due to a biographical film starring Jennifer Lopez, which came out in 1997.
He now has almost 1,300 pieces of Selena memorabilia. Longoria was only 5 years old when he received his first piece of memorabilia, a CD of the album Dreaming of You.
Selena herself was put in the Guinness World Record book for this very album. She won the Guinness World Record for the best-selling Latin album in the U.S.
Longoria’s grandmother was also a collector, but instead of Selena merchandise, she collected Elvis Presley memorabilia. It was a family tradition in the Longoria household to gift her something relating to Elvis every Christmas.
Much of Longoria’s merchandise came from the Selena Museum in Corpus Christi, where the family lived.
Longoria has been displaying his collection on Instagram for nine years. He now has over 10,000 followers who are keeping up with his stockpile.
When he saw an Instagram post about someone who went into the Guinness World Record Book for the largest collection of Mickey Mouse collectibles, it sparked the idea of going for a world record.
Longoria will be hosting an attempt at the world record for the largest private collection of Selena memorabilia on January 27 in Corpus Christi.
He believes that the fact that people are so interested in his collection is a testament to how important Selena was to her fans and the impact she made.
He believes her legacy has lived on for nearly 30 years after her death because “Selena truly valued her fans.”
Longoria will document his world record attempt, as well as its location and time, on his Instagram account.
