Selena Quintanilla’s Widower Chris Pérez Gets Emotional After Reading Handwritten Letter She Wrote

The documentary “Selena y Los Dinos” premiered at SXSW on March 12. It celebrates Selena Quintanilla‘s life and career, featuring interviews with her family members and widower Chris Pérez, who joined her band as a guitar player in 1990.

In “Selena y Los Dinos,” Pérez reflects on his marriage to the late “Queen of Tejano,” who was murdered by her fan club manager Yolanda Saldívar on March 31, 1995. At one moment in the documentary, Pérez is seen reading out lead a handwritten letter from Quintanilla.

“Gosh Chris, I’ve been so out of it lately it’s pathetic. I’m going crazy, I swear,” Pérez read, according to People. “I wish that everyone would leave me alone and can’t they see I love you. Maybe they think I’m playing games or something.”

He continued, “I’m sorry for freaking you out about wanting to get married, but I guess I’m feeling you out, trying to figure out what or should I say how much you love me. Remember I’ll always and forever love you, and I miss you more as every second goes by. I love you always, Selena.”

After reading the letter, Pérez appears emotional and even seems at a loss for words while staring down at the letter.

“Selena loved as hard as she lived. We loved her in return — her family, her friends, her fans, and me, her husband, who felt like the luckiest man alive every time Selena said my name,” Pérez wrote about Quintanilla in his 2013 book “To Selena, With Love.”

Selena Quintanilla And Chris Pérez Eloped In 1992

Quintanilla’s family disapproved of her relationship with Pérez, who was kicked out of the band once word of their romance got around. Quintanilla and Pérez kept their relationship a secret as much as possible.

“I never liked the whole secret thing from the beginning. I always wanted Abraham’s respect,” Pérez said in “Selena y Los Dinos,” according to People. “It was always a sticky situation until Abraham found out.”

It was Quintanilla’s idea that they elope, as she thought it would force her family to accept them as a couple, which is portrayed in the singer’s 1997 biopic starring Jennifer Lopez. In the documentary, Pérez recounted hearing a “knock on the door” one day. When he opened the door, he saw Quintanilla standing there. She said to him, “Let’s go get married,” according to People. Eloping on April 2, 1992, Quintanilla and Pérez were just 20 and 22 years old, respectively.

What Happened To Selena Quintanilla’s Wedding Ring?

For their second anniversary, Pérez gifted Quintanilla a “diamond-encrusted band” that she wore in place of her yellow gold wedding band, according to Brides. In a Facebook post, Pérez shared that Quintanilla was buried wearing the same anniversary band he gifted her in 1994. “I still have both of our weddings rings,” his post read, according to Brides. “I have them in a VERY safe place.”

In a 2017 Facebook post, Pérez celebrated what would have been their 25th anniversary and showed a picture of their marriage certificate, writing in part, “Selena’s impact on the world is still being felt today…as it deserves to be.”