Speaker 1: Selina Quintania was a force of nature, but when a
Speaker 1: loyal friend betrayed her, she met a fate she never deserved.
Speaker 1: Even the Rich is a podcast from Wondery that tells
Speaker 1: you the stories of the crazy lives of the greatest
Speaker 1: family dynasties to pop culture superstars. In the new season
Speaker 1: Viva Selina, you'll hear how she made a massive cultural
Speaker 1: impact and became a legend the world will never forget.
Speaker 1: All before her twenty first birthday, she had already left
Speaker 1: a legacy across cultures that would continue for generations. Her
Speaker 1: huge talent was nearly overshadowed by her untimely death. She
Speaker 1: was shot by a close friend and confidant. But there's
Speaker 1: so much more to Selina's story than her tragic passing.
Speaker 1: She was kind hearted, brave, and tried her best to
Speaker 1: bring joy to every one in her life. The positivity
Speaker 1: she put out into the world still carries on nearly
Speaker 1: thirty years after her death, and she will always be
Speaker 1: the queen of Tahano music. You're about to hear a
Speaker 1: preview of Even the Rich Viva Selena. While you're listening,
Speaker 1: follow Even the Rich on the Wondery app or wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcast, you can binge even the rich.
Speaker 1: Viva Selena right now add free on Wondery Plus.
Speaker 2: This episode contains strong language.
Speaker 3: Please be advised.
Speaker 2: It's January nineteen ninety five and twenty three year old
Speaker 2: Selena Quintania is having an amazing day. She's writing Shotgun
Speaker 2: in a sparkling Cadillac convertible and soaking up the hot
Speaker 2: Texas sun. Selena turns and smiles at her best friend,
Speaker 2: Yolanda Saldivar in the driver's seat. Yolanda dotes on Selena.
Speaker 2: She also works for her, managing her boutiques. When they met,
Speaker 2: You'll Landa was the president of Selena's fan club, but
Speaker 2: she quickly became her right hand man. It's a lot
Speaker 2: of work, but Yolanda is always ready to drop everything
Speaker 2: any time for Selena. At this point, a lot of
Speaker 2: people work for Selena. She's a legit mobile, her music
Speaker 2: is topping the charts, and she's pretty much a household name.
Speaker 2: She's got a fashion line, a partnership with Coca Cola,
Speaker 2: and sold out shows. But today Selena's taking a break
Speaker 2: from all that. Instead, she's humming her new song dreaming
Speaker 2: of You as she trails her fingers through the air
Speaker 2: outside the car window. Suddenly, Yolanda slams on the brakes
Speaker 2: and pulls over. Selena jolts out of her daydream and
Speaker 2: looks up. They're outside of a store called Randolph's Custom Jewelers.
Speaker 2: Yolanda winks at Selena and tells her to wait in
Speaker 2: the car. A few minutes later, Yolanda hurries back to
Speaker 2: the car. She hands Selena a small box and tells
Speaker 2: her to open. It's jaw drops when she sees what's inside.
Speaker 2: It's a gorgeous gold ring with a white gold egg
Speaker 2: covered in diamonds. Selena gasps and shock as Yolanda grins
Speaker 2: ear to ear she had the ring custom made for
Speaker 2: Selena just because.
Speaker 3: Okay, this kind of blows the dolphin best Friend necklaces
Speaker 3: I had made for us out of the water.
Speaker 2: No, how could you say that? And it's more like,
Speaker 2: just because Yolanda can't get enough of Selena. Their friendship
Speaker 2: is the most important thing in her life, and she
Speaker 2: wants to show her how much she cares. Selena looks
Speaker 2: closer and sees that the fourteen caret band has a
Speaker 2: letter S engraved on it. She starts to get teary eyed.
Speaker 2: She's won Grammys and sold thousands of albums, but no
Speaker 2: one has ever given her such a thoughtful gift. Her
Speaker 2: hands are shaking so much she can barely even get
Speaker 2: the ring on. Selena looks at Yolanda and her eyes
Speaker 2: are full of tears too. Selena scooches across the sea
Speaker 2: and pulls her in for a hug. Once they're back
Speaker 2: on the road, Selena tells Yolanda that the whole world
Speaker 2: will get to see this ring because she'll be wearing
Speaker 2: it on stage for the rest of her life. They
Speaker 2: both crack up as the car tears down the road.
Speaker 2: Selena knows nineteen ninety five is going to be her year.
Speaker 2: She's done so much already, and she still has so
Speaker 2: much left to do. But as we know, Selena will
Speaker 2: never accomplish any more of her big dreams because in
Speaker 2: two and a half months, her bright light will be
Speaker 2: extinguished from wondery.
Speaker 3: I'm brook Siffren and I'm Arisha skidmar Williams.
Speaker 2: And this is Even the Rich, where we bring you
Speaker 2: absolutely true and absolutely shocking stories about the biggest celebrities
Speaker 2: the world has ever.
Speaker 3: Se It's a show about power how you get it,
Speaker 3: how you keep it, and what happens when you merely
Speaker 3: lose it all.
Speaker 2: It's also about how the rich are just like us,
Speaker 2: because even the rich fall in love and break up
Speaker 2: and struggle.
Speaker 3: And belt out to some classic Donna Summer in the car.
Speaker 2: Selena Kintania was a superstar on the rise. With her
Speaker 2: family by her side, she cemented her status as a
Speaker 2: cultural icon and left a legacy that would continue for generations,
Speaker 2: all before her twenty fourth birthday. But her enormous talents
Speaker 2: were nearly overshadowed by her untimely death, shot by a
Speaker 2: woman she considered a friend. Her rising star fizzled far
Speaker 2: too soon. But there's so much more to Selena's story.
Speaker 2: She was kind hearted and brave, and she tried her
Speaker 2: best to bring joy to everyone in her life. The
Speaker 2: positivity Selena put into the world still shines bright nearly
Speaker 2: thirty years after her death. It lives on through her
Speaker 2: iconic stage looks, her legendary megawatt smile, and of course,
Speaker 2: her music. In this three part series, we'll tell you
Speaker 2: how the little girl with a Big Voice became one
Speaker 2: of the most famous figures in the history of Tehano music.
Speaker 2: This is episode one. The family that plays Together