Chris Pérez, who is known as a lead guitarist of Selena’s Tejano band, has been honestly trying to promote late Selena’s art over the years.
Despite what skeptics thought of him, he kept promoting Selena’s art in various forms, whether it was a memoir or miniseries.
Even though his efforts were sincere and directed towards marketing her late, murdered wife, he faced legal battles from Quintanilla’s.
So, did it come to an end? And did he have the right to any of Selena’s art? Her name? What about her signature?
Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Jump Link
Who Is Chris Pérez?
Chris Pérez (Christopher Gilbert Pérez) is an American songwriter, guitarist, and author. He is best known for his role as a lead guitarist for Selena y Los Dinos, a Tejano band. He was the lead guitarist of the band himself; who would have been a better match for his position than the band’s frontwomen?
How Perez and Selena’s Relationship Started
Perez and Selena met when Perez became part of the band back in 1990, Los Dinos.
Just two years down the line, both had developed profound feelings for each other. It was too late for any of them to change their mind.
So even though Selena’s father opposed the idea of marriage, the love birds proceeded to tie a bond secretly. So in 1992, Perez and Selena tied the knots, and Selena was only 20 years old back at the time.
Selena Shot Dead In 1995
Three years later, the world finds out that Selena was shot to death in 1995. The murderer turned out to be her fan club president Yolanda Saldivar. Her reprehensible act led her to serve life in prison.
Now the sherlock holmes types might activate their deductive powers to cast a shadow of doubt on Perez, the lovely husband “or as it appears to be.” Well, Perez was deeply shocked by the accident.
Even to this day, he finds himself sunk deep into the memories of her lovely wife. Perez planned to create a miniseries.
Perez Plans To Create Miniseries “To Selena, With Love” But Faces Opposition From Selena’s Father
The series was planned to be based on his 2012 memoir named “To Selena, With Love” Now, you might find it cute. But the Quintanilla family didn’t so. Hence, Perez and Quintanilla’s family were locked in a legal dispute over the plan to create “To Selena, With Love.”
Selena’s father opposed the show and labelled the memoir as an Unauthorized Book in 2017. And this is something worthy of noting since Selena’s father was not happy with their relationship from the get-go.
We don’t know how his feelings might have shifted later. But we know that his father didn’t want Perez and Selena’s miniseries coming out.
Quintanilla sued Perez and the two companies that we’re proceeding with the memoir project and wanted to turn the book into a series. The lawsuit expressively mentioned the deal that had taken place after Selena’s murder in 1995. The deal gave all the rights to Selena’s likeness + name to her estate.
On the other hand, Perez’s lawyers wanted the lawsuit dismissed on free speech grounds.
In 2017, the lawsuit could move forward as per the Texas judge’s rule.
Perez Tweets “Good News! I have amicably resolved my legal dispute with the Quintanilla family.”
Just recently, in Sep 2021, Perez tweeted out a piece of good news saying that the legal dispute between both families has been resolved. However, the conclusion both parties reached remains unclear.
So if we turn to online court records, we find a joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit possibly filed on 8th September 2021 in the 148th District Court.
As we mentioned earlier, the lawsuit was filed against Perez, Perez’s Record Label Blue Mariachi in December 2016, and Endemol Latino (production company). But things didn’t end here as Perez countersued the following year.
His grounds for countersuit were based on the 1995 agreement where Quintanilla, Jr. has the ownership of entertainment properties that include the following: Selena’s name, photograph, signature, voice, and likeness.
As of 2020, it seems that both; Perez and Quitanillas have vacuated the battlefield and settled their legal disputes regarding producing a miniseries or media alike. Hence, fans can watch Selena: The SEries on Netflix in 2020. Such efforts promote the artist and her talent.
In the end, we can say that push and pull between both families and Perez’s constant efforts to promote Selena’s art kept us engaged. At last, everyone’s sincere efforts involved in the process were proven all-worth-it when the Grammys gave Selena a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Conclusion
Christopher G. Pérez has been a faithful husband to his late wife. What started back in 1990 for him still lasts to this day.
After fighting legal battles and taking critiques in his stride, Selena received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys.
That is, of course, a big deal.
Not only for Perez but for him, it means the reward for all his efforts, legal battles, sleepless nights, the constant promotion of her late wife’s art.
But, the award has also brought light back into the eyes of Selena’s fans, who have been following all the drama since 2012 or earlier.
Did we miss out on anything? Be sure to give your feedback! It helps us get more thorough, articulate, and detail-specific, or simply put, better.
