Selena's and Jenni Rivera's stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are vandalized
The Hollywood Walk of Fame stars of Selena Quintanilla, known as the Queen of Tejano music, and fellow Mexican American icon Jenni Rivera were vandalized twice this week with black paint, sparking outrage as well as loving support from fans, who even helped clean the defaced stars.
Both singers are recognized for their contributions to Latin music during careers that were tragically cut short — Selena was killed by a fan when she was 23, and Rivera died at age 43 in a plane crash.
Ana Martinez, vice president of media and talent relations at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, told NBC News that the first incident of vandalism took place on Monday. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce had the stars professionally cleaned and notified the police.
The next day, Martinez realized that Selena’s and Rivera’s stars had been painted over again. Silent film actor Heinie Conklin’s star was also vandalized on both days.
Martinez said that vandalism of this nature is rare. “It’s sad, it’s terrible,” she said. “So hopefully they know they’re being watched, the area, and hopefully they won’t do it again.” She added that fans left red roses around both Rivera and Selena’s stars Wednesday morning.
Rivera’s star was unveiled just last month at a ceremony in which her daughter Chiquis Rivera, one of the late singer’s five children, said that her mother “lives through all of us who love and admire her.” Jenni Rivera, “la Diva de la Banda,” is considered by many to be the most important female figure in regional Mexican music.
Rivera’s daughter Jacquelin Marin Rivera said on social media that fans from Texas who were visiting her mother’s star made her aware of the vandalism on Monday, according to NBC News 4 Los Angeles.
Videos began to circulate on social media of fans scrubbing Rivera’s star. Others took to the comments on the Hollywood Walk of Fame’s Instagram post about it to call the act “disrespectful” and “so so wrong.”
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the acts of vandalism.
Selena was honored posthumously with a star on the Walk of Fame in 2017. During her lifetime, Selena was named Billboard Magazine’s “Best selling Latin artist of the decade” with hits like “Dreaming of You” and “Bidi, Bidi Bom Bom” in the ’90s. Her popularity has endured even after her death — resulting in the 1997 musical biopic “Selena” starring Jennifer Lopez, graphic T-shirts at Urban Outfitters bearing her name and other paraphernalia.
During a speech at the 2017 unveiling of Selena’s star, actor Eva Longoria reflected on how Selena paved the way for generations of Latinas.
“Growing up there was no reflection of me — not in TV, not in movies, and not in music, it was as if someone like me didn’t exist in mainstream America,” said Longoria, who grew up in Selena’s Texas hometown of Corpus Christi. “That all changed when a bright young singer named Selena changed the music landscape.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
