"Selena," the album, was released 28 years ago today on October 17, 1989.
"What a great way to celebrate an icon. I think it will bring great joy to all her fans who follow her and look up to her as a role model," Suzette Quintanilla, Selena's sister, who played the drums in the family group, Selena y Los Dinos, said in a statement. "Selena would be so excited. It's such an honor."
The Google Doodle on the Alphabet-owned company's search bar is set to Selena's 1994 released hit "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom." As the catchy cumbia tune plays, a young Selena is depicted throughout her career — from singing in her home to playing weddings and quinceaneras and ultimately selling out stadium-sized shows.
"Selena has always transcended cultural boundaries, and having this Doodle featuring a strong, Latina woman on the homepage of Google around the world is a perfect example [of] that," Suzette added.
The artwork, in the making for the past two years, was initiated by Perla Campos, one of the millions of fans of the beloved crossover musician and, incidentally, the global marketing lead for Google Doodles.
"I grew up as the daughter of a Mexican immigrant single mom living in a small (primarily white) town outside of Fort Worth, Texas," Campos told Billboard in an exclusive interview. "There were always two women who taught me I could do anything and be anything I set my mind to: my mom and Selena. Selena has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember."
According to Campos, the Quintanilla Doodle was already in the works and scheduled to go live in 2015, but being the Selena fan that she was, she wanted to postpone the release until the team "could make something really amazing."
In conjunction with the Doodle the Google team also worked closely with the Quintanilla family to launch a special exhibit in Google's online Art and Culture Exhibit — fans will be able to see "personal artifacts from the Selena museum."
"Every year, people come from all over the world to see her things at the museum, which is housed in our production company [in Texas]," Suzette said. "Now, they'll be able to see many of her outfits and personal belongings online. This is a perfect example that her memory is very much alive and her legacy is growing. She'll never be forgotten."
