The touching segment was produced by Abraham Quintanilla Jr.
Selena Quintanilla's legacy lives on. The iconic singer was honored at Premios Juventud 2020 on Thursday night, with stars like Karol G, Natti Natasha, Ally Brooke and more paying tribute in a heartwarming segment.
The special segment, which also included Danna Paola and Greeicy Rendon, was produced by Abraham Quintanilla Jr. It began with a heartfelt introduction from Karol.
"She changed the world with music, with an immense talent and with her undeniable identity as a Latina. She became a star that dazzled her fans, that constantly inspires and that always shines," Karol said. "She is our queen, the one and only Selena."
Then came a video of Quintanilla singing "Como la Flor," before Danna emerged on stage, belting it out in a white ensemble. Then, Natti shook it across the stage with a team of dancers to "La Carcacha," and Ally got her chance to pay tribute to her idol with "Amor Prohibido."
Greeicy was next with "Baila Esta Cumbia," before Danna, Natti and Ally joined her, concluding the segment together with "Fotos y Recuerdos." Karol appeared again at the end to invite Quintanilla's brother, Abraham, up on the stage to accept two awards. Abraham dedicated the trophies to his and Quintanilla's parents and thanked the world for keeping her memory alive.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Quintanilla's death. The "Dreaming of You" singer tragically died in March 1995. While she was just 23 years old, her impact on music, fashion, culture and future generations was immeasurable.
"I fell in love with Selena when I was 11 years old after watching her movie," Karol G said in a 2018 interview with ET. "[I loved that] she was always working with her father, because the same happened to me. My father was always with me, all the time. I started researching about her story, and todas las cosas que ella hizo [all the things she did].”
"I want to be a legend like her," added the singer, who has Quintanilla's face tattooed on her arm. "Not a person that passes and people forget about. I think she is, she still has number ones on Billboard and she’s still being nominated for awards and it’s been over 20 years since her death. She’s a legend and that’s what I want. Entonces ella de verdad es mi mayor inspiración [she’s truly my biggest inspiration]."
The following year, Brooke gushed to ET over her love for Quintanilla. “There's this joy that you feel when you listen to Selena," she said. "Her music is so timeless. I was actually listening to her music [recently]. It's amazing that you can listen to it now, 10 years from now, 50 years from now and it still feels so fresh and new. Her spirit shines through the records.”
"No Me Queda Más [can] instantly bring me to tears," she continued. "The passion in her voice and the pain she exudes through her emotions, it really touches your soul. That's one of my favorite records because that reminds me of home, San Antonio, being with my family and hearing the mariachis along the River Walk."
"She just had this exuberance," Brooke added of Quintanilla, who she said is one of her biggest role models. "I think if more humans were like Selena we would live in a completely different -- just perfect world.”
"She was the first Spanglish girl that I heard," Natti Natasha told ET. "I feel like she was such an icon and so talented in a raw way, and that's the way to go. She had a message to give and she projected that so well and she had a lot of trust in herself that’s what we need in this industry to keep on going. For other people to believe in you, you have to believe in [yourself first]. She was an amazing woman."
See more on Quintanilla in the video below.
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