Selena's Legacy Grows 10 Years After Death [View All]

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/music_selena_anniversary

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A decade after Selena was gunned down by the president of her fan club, her musical legacy continues to thrive, winning over thousands of new fans, many of them young girls born after she died.

On a recent cold and rainy afternoon, Marta Solis and Patricia Mora posed for photos next to a life-sized bronze statue of Selena gazing out at the ocean. The friends drove 36 hours from Pasco, Wash., to tour Selena landmark sites in the Tejano singer's hometown of Corpus Christi, a city that has become a sort of Graceland for the slain singer's fans.

"I still remember being in sixth grade and crying uncontrollably after hearing she had been shot," said Solis, 22, a teacher and longtime fan. "For me she is a role model, because she got far for a Latina woman."

Her influence runs far deeper than the music she left behind; she has become a cultural icon for Latinos who see her as a woman who was proud of her roots and achieved her dreams. "Selena touched a lot of hearts," said Abraham Quintanilla, Selena's father and manager. "Her fans viewed her as a positive, humble person and I've always believed that in Selena's case it was just not the music but the person who made an impact."