Madame Tussauds NYC Honors Selena With Wax Figure

By Sameer Rao Jun 26, 2017

The New York City branch of Madame Tussauds international wax sculpture museum immortalized one of the country’s most famous Latinx pop stars on Friday (June 23) when it unveiled a permanent statue of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez

NBC News reported that the late "Queen of Tejano Music’s" statue replicates one created for Madame Tussauds’ Hollywood branch last year, which arrived after almost 10,000 fans signed a Change.org petition demanding it.

A PR Newswire release adds that along with the new statue, the New York museum announced Sabor Latino, an installation celebrating other Latinx pop stars. Sabor Latino opens on July 20 and will feature Selena’s statue alongside those of Jennifer Lopez, who portrayed Selena in the eponymous 1997 biopic film; Selena Gomez, who confirmed to NOW 100.5 FM last year that her parents named her after the Tejano musician; and singers Ricky Martin and Romeo Santos.

Selena’s family assisted with the creation of the statue, and her sister Suzette Quintanilla told NBC News that the sculpture’s outfit—a rhinestone-adorned purple-and-black bustier with a purple scarf and black pants—reflects a staple from her performing wardrobe.

"What an honor and what a great way to have her here and to represent Latinos," Suzette, who played drums in the family band, Selena y Los Dinos, told NBC News. "They could have chosen anyone; the fact that they chose Selena, I think, it speaks volumes. She’s definitely a legend."

The statue debuted the same day as a re-release of "The Last Concert," a performance album and DVD depicting Selena’s final 1995 concert for 65,000 fans at Houston’s Astrodome. Selena popularized Tejano music beyond of its core Chicanx audience and rose to international superstardom. Selena’s fan club president, Yolanda Saldívar, shot and killed her in a Corpus Christi, Texas, hotel just weeks after the concert.

Learn more about the new sculpture in Madame Tussauds video below, which features commentary from Selena’s father Abraham Quintanilla: