The Queen of Tejano Returns: New Music from Selena Quintanilla

Nearly 30 years after her tragic death, Selena Quintanilla’s estate is releasing a new album. On Friday, the Tejano singer’s family dropped a remixed version of the track “Como Te Quiero A Ti” which will be featured on the new record, Moonchild Mixes. “Como Te Quiero Yo A Ti” has been re-released once before, making this the third version of the song which was originally recorded in 1987. The single was written by Ricky Vela, who was an original member of Selena y Los Dinos. 

With the help of family members, lost demos from when Selena was between the ages of 13 and 16 will be refurbished. Selena’s brother, Grammy-winning producer A.B. Quintanilla has been in charge of altering her vocals to breathe new life into the tracks. Although the tracks were recorded when she was a teenager, A.B. will use computer technology to pitch her vocals down to match the way she sounded before she passed. 

In an interview with ABC news, A.B. explained the production process. “Everything was recorded on vinyl, so we had to kind of fuse the old school ways with the new school ways. Clean Selena’s vocals, put them on timing. And then we also pitched her vocal down just a hair to make her sound a little bit more mature.” 

Although the release will have many fans excited and emotional, some have expressed their concerns on the exploitation that might be taking place by Selena’s family members. In response to critics’ comments, Selena’s siblings A.B. and Suzette Quintanilla,  said “What critics? We don’t care about them. As an artist and musicians and people that are in the public eye, you have to turn that off. We’re still going to do what we want with our music, with our sister, with our band. And I hope people understand that everything that we do, we do it with loving care and with beauty. What we’re doing is honoring her memory, her legacy. That’s what it’s about.” 

Quintanilla was among the top-selling artists of the 1990s before she was shot and killed on March 31, 1995. She was 23 years old.

Moonchild Mixes will release on August 26.