Abraham Isaac Quintanilla Jr, father of the late Texas star Selena Quintanilla-Perez and a central figure in the development of her career, died at 86, his family announced Saturday.
The news was released by his son, musician and producer Abraham “A.B.” Quintanilla III, via Instagram, where he wrote that, “with great regret,” his dad had passed away earlier that day.
So far, the official cause of his death has not been publicly disclosed.
Born in 1939 in Corpus Christi, Texas, Abraham Quintanilla had his own career in music before becoming a manager. According to biographical profiles and press reports, he joined Los Dinos at a young age, a group that went through stages in English and Spanish, an experience that later influenced the way he guided his children’s first artistic steps.
Eventually, upon detecting Selena’s vocal talent, he encouraged the formation of a family band: Selena y Los Dinos, in which A.B. (bass/production) and Suzette (drums) also participated. Already in the stage of greater projection, guitarist Chris Perez -Selena’s husband- joined as part of the group.
Abraham Quintanilla’s role in Selena’s career
The specialized media have described her role as much more than administrative: she was in charge of the project at the local and regional stage, and later accompanied Selena’s transition to a career with massive reach. Among the milestones that marked her rise was the industry’s recognition of Selena Live!, an album that won a Grammy in 1994 in the category of Best Mexican-American Album, a historic achievement for Tejano music.
Selena’s death in 1995 -when she was 23 years old- shocked the Latin public and transformed the course of the family. Since then, Abraham Quintanilla has remained one of the most visible voices in interviews, tributes and projects related to her story.
After the tragedy, Abraham was singled out as a key player in the preservation of Selena’s legacy: he collaborated in memory initiatives and audiovisual productions about her life. Several accounts mention his participation in the biopic Selena (1997) and subsequent projects about the singer.
In addition, the family maintained Q-Productions, a company linked to music production and memorabilia storage, as its center of operations. In Corpus Christi, the Selena Museum-associated with the Q-Productions complex-is promoted as a space where stage costumes, personal items and iconic pieces (including awards-related material) are on display, in addition to operating alongside an active studio.
For now, what is confirmed is the death and the family announcement released by A.B. Quintanilla. Details about funeral services or public tributes are expected to be shared in the coming days, as fans and Tex-Mex music figures remember the influence Abraham Quintanilla had on one of the most important stories of contemporary Latin music.
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