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Saturday, April 1, 2000

Selena's family zealously guards profitable image
As relatives fulfill her dream of building clothing, music, production empire, others seek to cash in
By Mary Lee Grant and Tara Copp
Caller-Times
Five years after her death, Selena's image still sells products and music.
   But her father, Abraham Quintanilla, is determined to protect his daughter's image and has developed the clothing, music and production empire she dreamed of. The family does not welcome the many small businesses that have cashed in on her death.
   "They were selling Selena T-shirts across from our house 24 hours after her death," Quintanilla said. "I have lawyers working on a lot of these cases of people making money off of her without permission. I only allow her image to be used for things that I approve of . . . wholesome things.''
   A quick Internet search on Alta Vista pulled up 99,400 websites that mention Selena, and 70 shopping sites. At Ebay.com, there are 245 items for auction. A fan can bid on everything from 25 to 30 hours of taped media coverage of her death to a model of a 1998 Selena/Castrol Syntec Nitro Funny Car that's signed by its driver.
   Quintanilla said that anything with Selena's name or face on it belongs to him.
   "It makes me angry to see people making money off of Selena,'' he said. "To me, it is a form of stealing. It is like I owned a grocery store and someone in my family died, and people thought it was OK to come ransack the grocery store.''
   'The Latin Buddy Holly'
   The demand for all things Selena right after she died was natural, said Moses Avalon, a former producer with Warner Bros. and BMG Entertainment who has produced five platinum records and is the author of "Confessions of a Record Producer."
   "Every demographic needs a tragic story, a heroic story," Avalon said. "She's become the Latin Buddy Holly."
   There are a few stores that have permission to make and sell Selena products.
   Torrance, Calif.-based Source Tribute, Inc. makes the ceramic Selena dolls sold by Q Productions Inc. at Selena Etc., the clothing store Selena opened and that her sister, Suzette Arriaga, now runs. There are branches in Corpus Christi and San Antonio. The dolls are also available for purchase on Q Productions' website.
   "First, I was a big fan," said Take Iseki, 33, the president of Source Tribute. "I thought it was a shame the rest of the world couldn't know about her."
   A family affair
   About three years ago, Iseki said, he contacted Abraham Quintanilla about making Selena dolls. At the time, Iseki was making ceramic science fiction figurines at the time with a company called Animatrix Inc. Iseki then started Source Tribute and got a licensing agreement with Q Productions.
   The Amor Prohibido Selena Doll, released in October 1999, is a Source Tribute original and Selena is still the only doll Source Tribute makes and sells. Iseki would not say how many dolls the company has sold, or its profits.
   "Many American parents, they are happy their kids like Selena because she was the perfect role model," Iseki said. "They buy off the Internet because they want their daughter to have a Selena doll."
   In life and death, Selena's business empire is a family affair. Her brother A.B. Quintanilla III won honors several times from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Tejano Music Awards and BMI, a company that collects royalties for music artists, for the songwriting and production skills he brought to Selena's songs.
   Video tribute in the works
   Her father was an executive producer of the 1997 Warner Bros. movie "Selena," based on his daughter's life. Selena's sister, Suzette Arriaga, runs Selena Etc. There she sells clothes "inspired by Selena,'' including Selena dolls, Selena jewelry and even Selena nail polish
   Arriaga's boutique has contracts with J.C. Penney Co., Sears & Roebuck Co., Mervyn's, and with the U.S. Navy and Army, where the clothes are sold on base. She has also opened a children's boutique in Corpus Christi, Moon Child, where she sells children's clothes. The name was taken from Selena, which means "goddess of the moon" in Greek.
   Abraham Quintanilla is now putting together a video of her concert at the Astrodome, and of behind-the-scenes footage from the shooting of the "Selena" movie. He has a museum dedicated to her at his Q Productions headquarters in Corpus Christi, which includes her purple, midriff-baring outfits; her numerous awards; and her red Porsche.
   New products keep coming
   Quintanilla has entered the world of e-commerce with the Q Productions' Web site, where the web surfer can buy Selena candles, posters, koozies, calendars, porcelain figures, T-shirts, and a black satin jacket with Selena's name emblazoned across the back.
   The new products continue; a new Broadway-bound musical "Selena Forever," premiered in San Antonio last week. Ortiz said EMI Latin is in talks to produce the musical's soundtrack.
   Selena recorded six original albums with San Antonio-based EMI Latin; now many of her songs are recompiled in anthologies honoring the star.
   "She's definitely our top seller. Her albums continue to sell," said John Ortiz, director of promotion for EMI Latin. "Her fans keep wanting more and more music but we're also finding there are new fans, people who have become familiar with her."

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