Members of the Selena Youth Center in San Antonio also came to pay their respects. The center,... said center supervisor Eddie Campos......

Selena
Dedicated fans tour Selena-related sites
Many spend 10th anniversary of her death at mirador

By Icess Fernandez/Caller-Times
Originally published 06:00 a.m., April 1, 2005
Updated 06:00 a.m., April 1, 2005

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CORPUS CHRISTI — Rachel and Steve Clooney are moving to Corpus Christi in January because of their love for Selena Quintanilla-Perez.

"Selena was about 65 percent of the reason why we decided to move here," Rachel said.

"She's just herself. She'd do anything for anybody. She is someone I would have liked to have met."

Dedicated Selena fans such as the Clooneys and media from around the world spent Thursday touring various sites around the city that have become famous since the Tejano star's death 10 years ago.

Selena was shot on March 31, 1995, at the Days Inn on Navigation Boulevard. Selena's fan club founder, Yolanda Saldivar, pulled the trigger and was sentenced to life in prison for doing so.

People primarily spent their time at the Mirador de la Flor on the corner of Peoples Street and Shoreline Boulevard where a statue of Selena stands. People looked at her statue, took pictures and even wrote messages on the bricks surrounding the statue.

Adi Vaknim, 22, came from Israel to pay her respects to one of her favorite artists. Vaknim became Selena's fan after her death.

"I became a fan three years ago," she said. "I saw the Selena movie and I got to know her."

There were no special notes or trinkets at Selena's former house on the Westside. Her gravesite at Seaside Memorial Park got few visitors and was closed for a few hours during the day for another funeral.

Even the motel where the Tejano singer was shot saw little activity. Suresh Patel, general manager of the Days Inn, said no fans came by Thursday, just media from as far away as Venezuela, hoping to photograph the room where Selena was shot.

Some fans toured Selena Etc., a clothing boutique, and Q Productions, where Selena recorded some of her music, on Wednesday because the venues, owned by Selena's family, were closed Thursday.

Two national Spanish language television programs filmed their shows Thursday at the Mirador de la Flor. Charytin, a well-known entertainer, hosted "Escandalo TV," which is on the Telefutura network. Johnny Canales hosted the show "Cotorreando" on rival television network Telemundo. Selena's international television debut occurred on "The Johnny Canales Show" in 1985.

Canales, who is from Robstown, said Selena's impact will always resonate with her fans.

"Selena was the people's lady," he said. "Any artist that gives their lives to other people will always be the people's person."

Selena first appeared on Canales' show when she was 13 years old. Canales said the last interview he did with Selena was in 1994 in the Bayfront Plaza Auditorium in Corpus Christi.

"She inspired a lot of singers to think 'maybe if she did make it, I'll make it too'."

Selena inspired more than singers.

Gloria Menda Soto, 48, drove eight members of her family, including her grandchildren, to Corpus Christi this week from Kalamazoo, Mich. Soto, who is from Corpus Christi, said she could see herself in Selena and that's why she's a fan.

"She's Tejana," Soto said. "She's the queen of the Tejana. I'll do anything for her."

Pedro Haro, 24, flew in from Hawaii. Haro said Selena reminded him of his sisters.

"To me it was neat to see someone brown," he said. "Someone that looks that they could be from my family."

Members of the Selena Youth Center in San Antonio also came to pay their respects. The center, which is part of the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, assists young women toward being productive in life, said center supervisor Eddie Campos.

The center was started six months after Selena's death. Campos said it was important that young women from the youth center draw inspiration from Selena.

"She's like a role model for the girls," he said. "It's important for us that they experience this. It also keeps them connected to their cultura."