SAN ANTONIO — Note: The above video is from April 2021.
The Hard Rock Cafe San Antonio is celebrating the brand's 50th anniversary by showcasing memorabilia from the Queen of Tejano, Selena Quintanilla Perez.
Selena actually performed in front of hundreds of fans at the cafe's grand opening in San Antonio in 1995, just months before her death.
The cafe has maintained a connection to the singer, with a celebrity star in front on Crocket Street.
This month, the cafe received new memorabilia including a tambourine and the pin-striped suit Selena wore during her performance at the Grand Opening in 1995, and is on display on both levels of the Cafe.
“Selena will always be remembered at Hard Rock Cafe. I was there when she performed here in 1995, she was very impressive, and a joy to be around. She was very down to Earth, and excited and nervous to perform that night with Aerosmith and Cheap Trick,” General Manager, Keith Airington recalled of the time that Selena performed at the cafe.
While the San Antonio location of Hard Rock Cafe opened in 1995, it is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original location in London in 1971.
Selena was tragically killed on March 31, 1995 in Corpus Christi, just days before her 24th birthday, but is still celebrated and honored more than 20 years later.A two-series Netfix show that debuted in December 2020 chronicles her life and rise to fame. The University of Texas at San Antonio hosted a Selena university course in the fall of 2020. She has also been recently honored with a line of gas station cups, H-E-B reusable grocery bags and a Spurs tie-in clothing line. She was also honored with a line of cosmetics from MAC.