Chris Pérez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chris Pérez
|
|
|---|---|
Pérez performing in 2012
|
|
| Born |
Christopher Gilbert Pérez
August 14, 1969 San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
|
| Education | Thomas Jefferson High School |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | 2 |
| Family |
|
| Musical career | |
| Genres |
|
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts |
|
Christopher Gilbert Pérez (born August 14, 1969) is an American guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist for the Tejano band Selena y Los Dinos. He married the lead singer of the group, Selena, on April 2, 1992. Chris Pérez grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He was one of two children born to Gilbert Pérez and Carmen Medina.
In 1986, Chris Pérez started his music career by joining Shelly Lares' band. By the late 1980s, other Tejano musicians respected Pérez for his amazing guitar skills. This caught the attention of A.B. Quintanilla. At that time, A.B. was looking for another guitarist for the band he produced, Selena y Los Dinos. After Pérez joined the band, he and Selena became close friends. Their friendship soon grew into a special relationship.
Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, did not approve of their relationship. He worried that Pérez's image might not be good for Selena's career. Despite his concerns, Selena and Chris continued their relationship. Abraham then decided to remove Pérez from the band. He also told Selena not to be with him. However, Chris Pérez and Selena got married in 1992. On March 31, 1995, Selena passed away unexpectedly. This event deeply saddened Pérez.
After Selena's passing, Pérez formed the Chris Pérez Band. He started writing songs for their first album. They signed with Hollywood Records and released their album, Resurrection. This album won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. The band later broke up after their second album, Una Noche Mas (2002). Pérez continued to work in music. He often played with A.B. Quintanilla's groups, the Kumbia Kings and the Kumbia All Starz. In 2010, he left both groups and started a new band called the Chris Pérez Project. In 2012, Pérez wrote a book about his relationship with Selena. It was titled To Selena, with Love.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Growing Up in San Antonio
Christopher Pérez was born on August 14, 1969, in San Antonio, Texas. His father, Gilbert Pérez, was a computer programmer. His mother, Carmen Medina, worked at City Hall. Chris Pérez is of Mexican-American background. His parents divorced in 1974 when he was four years old. His mother remarried in 1978.
Learning to Play Music
In middle school, Pérez learned to play the French horn. He joined his school's concert band with his mother's help. Later, he decided to teach himself to play the electric guitar. His mother did not approve at first. This was because of negative ideas about the rock-and-roll world. Pérez's favorite musicians included Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Kiss, the Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, and Iron Maiden. He also admired Ricky Martin in the 1990s. Many of his guitar solos are inspired by Carlos Santana.
When he was seventeen, Pérez wanted to move to Los Angeles, California. He dreamed of starting a rock band there. At that time, he lived with his father and worked at a library. In 1986, Tony Lares asked Pérez to join his cousin, Shelly Lares' band. Lares told Pérez that Shelly played Tejano music. This music is a mix of traditional Mexican folk music, polkas, and country music. It is sung in Spanish or English. Pérez did not like Tejano music much. He wrote in his book that he joined Shelly's band with "foot-dragging resistance." This was because the job paid more than working at the library.
Pérez became Shelly's music director after Tony left the group. He helped write three songs for Shelly's first album in 1989. His guitar playing was well-liked by the band and its fans. Around this time, he also started a rock band with two friends. He planned to leave Shelly's band.
Music Career
Joining Selena y Los Dinos
In 1989, Roger Garcia, the lead guitarist for Selena y Los Dinos, got married and left music. The group's bassist, A.B. Quintanilla III, had heard good things about Pérez from other Tejano groups. A.B. and other band members went to watch Pérez practice with Shelly. Quintanilla invited Chris to a Selena performance. He asked if Chris was interested in playing with Selena y Los Dinos. Pérez said yes. He liked Los Dinos' sound, which was more "hip and sophisticated" than other Tejano bands. He also hoped to learn more about arranging music from A.B., whose work he admired.
Pérez tried out for the group's manager, A.B.'s father Abraham Quintanilla Jr. Abraham did not like Pérez's rocker look at first. He insisted that Pérez change his appearance for the band. Abraham worried that having Pérez in the group might affect his daughter Selena's "perfect image." He feared it could hurt her career. A.B. convinced his father to accept Pérez. He also encouraged Pérez to try different music styles. He wanted Pérez to make their sounds his own. Chris and A.B. became close friends. They sometimes worked together to write songs for Selena's next recordings. Pérez, like Selena, knew little Spanish. The lead keyboardist Ricky Vela helped him learn.
Chris and Selena's Relationship
In 1989, Pérez and A.B. wrote Selena's Coca-Cola commercial jingle. After the company liked the lyrics and Selena filmed the commercial, A.B. treated the band to a trip to Acapulco, Mexico. During this trip, Pérez realized he liked Selena. He had a girlfriend in San Antonio at the time. Pérez thought it would be best to keep his distance from Selena. However, he found it hard and decided to try to build a relationship with her. They shared their feelings for each other at a Pizza Hut restaurant. Soon after, they became a couple. They kept their relationship a secret from Selena's father. They were afraid Abraham would try to break them up. This made Selena feel stressed, as she did not want to hide her feelings.
Selena's sister, Suzette, eventually told Abraham about the relationship. Abraham took Pérez off the bus and told him the relationship was over. The couple continued their relationship in secret despite Abraham's disapproval. Selena felt hopeful because her mother, Marcella, approved of their courtship. One day, Abraham stopped the tour bus. He went to the back where Pérez and Selena were sitting. He shouted that their relationship was over. Selena shouted back at him. Pérez tried to calm them both down. But he joined the argument after Abraham insulted him. Finally, Abraham threatened to break up the group if they did not end their relationship. Selena and Pérez felt scared and backed down. Abraham fired Pérez from the band. He also stopped Selena from leaving with him. This left Selena very sad and heartbroken.
After Pérez was fired, he moved back in with his father. He started playing music wherever he could. He wrote that he "started enjoying [his] life again" without the stress from Selena's father. Selena, however, was sad about their separation. The two tried to stay in touch while she was touring. On the morning of April 2, 1992, Selena knocked on his hotel-room door. She came in crying, saying she could not live without him. Selena wanted to get married that day. Pérez thought it was not the right time. Selena insisted her father would never accept their relationship. She said he would not attend any wedding they planned. Pérez agreed, and they eloped in Nueces County, Texas.
Selena believed her father would leave them alone if they were married. She thought they could be together openly. They planned to keep the elopement a secret. They wanted to wait for the right moment to tell everyone. But the news media announced their marriage on the radio within hours. Selena's family tried to find her. Abraham did not take the news well. He kept to himself for a while. Selena and Pérez moved into an apartment in Corpus Christi. Later, Abraham came to them, apologized, and accepted their marriage. He also welcomed Pérez back into the band.
Pérez became a full member of the Quintanilla family after the marriage. Abraham asked Pérez to write songs for a rock band he was managing. This happened after Abraham opened a recording studio, Q-Productions, in late 1993. That work led to a recording for Selena after her passing. The lead singer for that rock group, Nando "Guerro" Dominguez, went to Selena's house to start a recording. Pérez was finishing the recording session hours later when Selena asked to record Dominguez's demo. Her version of the song was not released until 2004. It was added to her album Momentos Intimos as "Puede Ser". A.B. wrote "Ya No," the last recording for Selena's album Amor Prohibido (1994). He wanted to make it a rock song and asked for Pérez's help.
Life After Selena
In spring 1995, Abraham found out that Yolanda Saldívar, who managed Selena's boutiques and fan club, was taking money. They had a meeting in early March. Saldívar denied she had anything to do with money problems. Selena tried to fix her friendship with Saldívar despite her father's warnings. On March 30, 1995, Selena and Pérez met with Saldívar at a motel. They wanted to get missing financial papers for taxes. When Selena and Pérez got home, she found that Saldívar did not give her the correct documents. She called Saldívar, who tried to get Selena to return to her motel room alone. Pérez said it was too late, and he did not want Selena driving alone at night. Selena then agreed to meet with Saldívar the next morning.
On March 31, Selena woke up early to meet Saldívar at the motel. She met with Saldívar, who delayed giving the papers. Saldívar told a story about being hurt in Mexico. Selena took Saldívar to a local hospital. Doctors found no proof of the story. When they returned to the motel room, Selena ended their four-year working relationship. As Selena turned to leave, Saldívar pulled out a gun. She pointed it at Selena and fired. Selena was taken to a nearby hospital. Doctors found the damage too severe. She was pronounced dead within the hour.
Pérez was deeply saddened by his wife's passing. He felt guilty for not protecting Selena. In 1996, he moved out of his Corpus Christi house. He moved back in with his father in San Antonio. A friend introduced him to Venessa Villanueva. After getting to know each other, they became a couple in 1998. In 2001, Pérez married Villanueva. They had two children, a boy named Noah and a girl named Cassie. The couple divorced in 2008. Despite getting married again and having two children, Pérez has stayed in touch with the Quintanilla family since Selena's death.
The Chris Pérez Band and Other Projects
Pérez's friend, John Garza, moved in with him six months after Selena's passing. They started writing music, which Pérez found helpful for healing. In 1998, he formed a rock band with Garza. The band also included Rudy Martinez (from La Mafia) on bass, former Selena y Los Dinos keyboardist Joe Ojeda, and Jesse Esquivel on drums. The band members chose the name "the Chris Pérez Band." Chris preferred the name "Cinco Souls." But the other band members wanted to use his "reluctant celebrity." The band signed with Hollywood Records. They went to A&M Studios (now Henson Studios) in Los Angeles to record their first album. Pérez wrote the song "Best I Can" to share his feelings about losing Selena. He also wrote about his struggle to continue without her. The song was not planned for the album at first. This was because they worried listeners might think he included it for money. But Hollywood Records and the band convinced him to include it after hearing the demo.
The song "Another Day" (about his devotion to Selena) was also on the album. Ojeda wrote "Solo Tu," a romantic song that Pérez changed into a rock song. Resurrection was released on May 18, 1999. It won the 2000 Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album. The record company released two songs to radio stations to promote the album. One was in English and one in Spanish. The Los Angeles Times wrote that the album was "upbeat and danceable." But the songs were mostly about loss and sadness. The Chris Pérez Band opened for the Mexican band Mana. In March 2000, Pérez started getting ready for his second album. On April 16, the band released their second and last album, Una Noche Más, before breaking up. Pérez joined his brother-in-law A.B.'s band, the Kumbia All Starz, in 2006. He left it in 2010 to form his own band. On April 7, 2005, Los Dinos reunited for the Selena ¡VIVE! tribute concert.
Recent Projects and Book
In 2010, Pérez formed a new group called the Chris Pérez Project. He worked with Puerto Rican singer Angel Ferrer. They released the song "Todo es Diferente."
In March 2012, Pérez published To Selena, With Love. This book described his relationship with Selena and their challenges. He had been unsure about writing the book. He said fans asked him to write it. He did not ask the Quintanilla family for permission to write To Selena, With Love. He did not tell them about the project because he was worried about their reaction. He spoke to Abraham after the book was finished. Abraham approved of it. In an interview, Pérez said writing To Selena, With Love helped him "move forward." Critics and fans praised the book. To Selena, With Love also cleared up a rumor that Selena was pregnant when she passed away. This rumor had appeared in news reports after her death.
In November 2016, Pérez announced that a TV miniseries would be made from his book. This led Abraham to file a lawsuit against him. Abraham said it broke an agreement about Selena's property that they signed in 1995. The lawsuit also caused a disagreement between the family and Pérez. In September 2020, Pérez publicly said on Instagram that the Quintanilla family was trying to erase his connection to Selena. Suzette posted a reply soon after, and Pérez later apologized. The case was settled in September 2021.
In August 2021, Pérez's music label, Blue Mariachi Productions, signed its first artist, ZEUS. El Mero Necio, also known as Carlton Zeus.
In December 2021, the 1997 movie Selena was added to the National Film Registry. This was for the film's 25th anniversary. Pérez marked the occasion by posting a statement and a photo of a white rose.
Personality and Musical Style
Chris Pérez is described as a shy person. Early in his career with Selena y Los Dinos, he was seen as a rebellious rocker. He was known as a "long-haired tough guy." This was different from Abraham Quintanilla's idea of "clean-cut, nice kids." In an interview, Pérez said he felt uncomfortable being a performer. Until his book came out, he kept his personal life private. He avoided media attention.
Carlos Valdez, the lawyer who worked on the case after Selena's passing, described Pérez as "shy and uncomfortable when in the spotlight." Valdez said that music was not just work for Pérez. He loved being a guitarist and called it his "reason for [his] existence." Valdez sees him as "honest, sincere, and someone who could be trusted."
Music experts believe his musical styles include modern cumbia music, similar to music made by A.B. He also includes R&B, rap, and funk music. One editor called The Chris Pérez Project's first album a "lot of classic rock elements." Another reviewer called Pérez's first album "average rock" music. The San Antonio Express-News said that Resurrection was a mix of "pop rock grooves and Tejano soul." Pérez is known for using Latin music styles, such as cumbia and Latin rock.
In the 1997 movie Selena, Pérez was played by Jon Seda. Actor Jesse Posey played him in Selena: The Series.
Discography
|
|
Published Works
- To Selena, With Love (2012)
Images for kids
-
Pérez performing in 2012
