Who was Abraham Quintanilla Jr? All about Selena Quintanilla’s father who died at 86

Singer Selena Quintanilla’s father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., has passed away at the age of 86.

The news of Abraham Quintanilla Jr.'s passing was announced on Saturday morning by his son, A.B. Quintanilla III. A.B. shared a heartfelt image on Instagram with the caption,

"It’s with a heavy heart to let you guys know that my Dad passed away today.”

Quintanilla Jr. was born in 1939 in Corpus Christi, Texas and like his daughter was also a musician. He began his music career as a teenager and joined the vocal group the Dinos in 1956. However, he soon left the group in the late 1960s to focus on his family.

Because of his own love for music, he nurtured Selena's talent and skills and went on to manage her career. He also oversaw Selena y Los Dinos, the family band that included A.B. on bass, Suzette, his other daughter, on drums, and Selena’s husband, Chris Pérez, on guitar.

Speaking of the Queen of Tejano, Selena, who was shot by her former fan club president, Yolanda Saldívar at the age of 23, he told Billboard in August 2022,

“I found out she had the talent to sing when she was six-and-a-half years old. As she grew older, I would sit down with her and teach her how to sing in Spanish. I would teach her how to pronounce the word and what the word meant so she can put some emotion into it. She learned it very well. She was a good student in learning music.”

Abraham Quintanilla Jr shared his 3 kids with his wife, Marcella Quintanilla. He released his memoir, A Father’s Dream: My Family’s Journey in Music, in 2021.

The exact cause of his death was not disclosed.

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