Abraham Quintanilla, father of late Tejano singer Selena, dies at 86

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Abraham Quintanilla, father and manager of the late Tejano pop icon Selena Quintanilla, has died.He was 86.“It’s with a heavy heart to let you guys know that my Dad passed away today,” Quintanilla’s son, A.B.

Quintanilla III, wrote on his Instagram account on Saturday.The cause of death has not been disclosed to the public.As patriarch of the famous Mexican American music family, Quintanilla played a critical role in the development of his daughter Selena’s career.

After her tragic death in 1995, he dedicated his life to safeguarding her legacy and overseeing primary control over her estate.This included managing the rights to her image, name and likeness — at times, to controversial ends.Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1939, Quintanilla began his music career as a member of the singing group the Dinos in 1956, a Chicano rock group that was met with racial discrimination.

In one instance, a club owner paid the group not to perform after realizing they were Mexican American youth; but the group was also sidelined by its Mexican counterparts for not making Spanish-language music.Quintanilla’s exasperation informed a real quote that was later made famous by actor Edward James Olmos, who played Quintanilla in the 1997 “Selena” biopic: “We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time.

It’s exhausting!”Quintanilla would eventually step away from the group in the 1960s to start a family with Marcella Samora, whom he met in Tacoma, Wash., while serving in the U.S.Air Force.

The family quickly grew following the births of A.B., Suzette and Selena.In them, he saw the potential to fulfill his own dreams of musical stardom.Director Gregory Nava talks about his iconic biopic, which the late singer’s husband, Chris Perez, considers the Selena ‘bible.’With A.B.

on bass, Suzette on drums and Selena as ...