Entre a Mi Mundo

Production and development

After Selena released Ven Conmigo on 12 November 1990, she decided to postpone the recording of songs for her next album. Selena continued her short-lived Ven Conmigo Tour and she was booked for her first performance in El Salvador to sing a duet with Salvadoran singer Álvaro Torres' corrido-ballad "Buenos Amigos". At that time, Selena was also involved in a relationship with rock guitarist Chris Pérez, who was asked to join Selena's backing band, Selena y Los Dinos. Their relationship began soon after Pérez joined the band. Selena's father and manager Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. did not like Pérez, believing him to be antithesis of his children's "clean image", and dismissed Pérez from the band. Selena was warned not to see Pérez or face having Selena y Los Dinos disbanded. Selena ignored her father's wishes; she continued to meet Pérez secretly, and they eloped on 2 April 1992. Quintanilla Jr., accepted the relationship after she eloped and was remorseful, feeling that he had put pressure on Selena. After Selena had eloped, she decided to release a more Tejano and Mexican music-influenced album. Her brother and the producer of her music, A.B. Quintanilla III had returned as the main songwriter while band members Ricky Vela, the lead keyboardist, and Pete Astudillo, the backup singer, had helped with songwriting on the album. Vela was also in charge of the music sequencing during pre-production of the album.

Song structure and lyrical content

"La Carcacha" was written and produced by A.B. Quintanilla III, Pete Astudillo and Bebu Silvetti, and was released as the album's first promotional single, Quintanilla III had been inspired to write the song after leaving a dry goods store. He saw an old, broken down car and told Joe Ojeda, the band's keyboardist, that he wanted to write a song about the vehicle. Ojeda then assisted Quintanilla III with the Spanish translation of the phrase "a broken down car", determining the correct expression to be "Carcacha". However, the general theme was not inspired until a month later, after Quintanilla III had bought a BMW and was buying dry goods at a corner store. His girlfriend began complaining about the car to him while he was waiting in line. Another girl in the store joined their conversation and commented that she would date Quintanilla III because she felt he had a nice car. Quintanilla III was then inspired to write a comical song with a moral behind it, and it took the band six months to finish the song. "La Carcacha" incorporates conjunto, Mexican cumbia and had regional Latin undertones. The song also has elements of piano and synthesizer woven into the rhythm of the song. Fanny S. Chirinos and Scripps Howard of The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register stated that Selena catapulted onto the Tejano scene with "La Carcacha" and "Como La Flor". The San Antonio Express-News stated that the lyrical content of "La Carcacha" had the story lines that Selena never had, which was the tale of a barrio teen romance.

"Como La Flor", released as the lead single of Entre a Mi Mundo, was written and produced by Quintanilla III, Astudillo and Quintanilla Jr, with additional writing contributions from Selena. Quintanilla III stated in an interview that "Como La Flor" was written in Bryan, Texas, while staying in an inelegant hotel for the night before going to Houston the following morning. While at the hotel, Quintanilla III had a melody stuck in his head and liked it. Looking outside, he saw a group of poor bystanders trying to sell plastic flowers to people on the streets which became the basis of the song centering on a flower. Quintanilla III immediately wrote the hook chant "aaaahh da da da da da (como me duele)". While on the tour bus, Selena, Quintanilla III, Astudillo and Ojeda had sat down together to work on the song, which took them an hour and 20 minutes to complete. Suzette Quintanilla, Selena's sister, thought that both "Como La Flor" and "La Caracha" had a distinct style of cumbia to them that could make the band more noticeable when their songs were played on radio stations. Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News said that "Como La Flor" was a "career-launching hit". Cathy Ragland of Austin American Statesmen wrote that "Como La Flor" was one of Selena's most popular songs and that "for many, a metaphor for her life- a beautiful, delicate creature". "Como La Flor" helped Selena to dominate the Latin music charts and become immensely popular in Mexico, where Mexican-Americans are not liked among citizens, which was well received by critics. The song describes a bewildered woman whose ex-boyfriend is in love with another woman and she wants him back. The message of the song was to show people that you should love your partner if they truly love you back. At the 13th Tejano Music Awards, "Como La Flor" was picked as "Best Song", though Mazz' single "Lo Voy Hacer Por Ti" had won the award. "Como La Flor" peaked at number-one on the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay chart. "Como La Flor" became the first song recorded by Selena, as a solo act, to peak at number one, and became her signature song soon after.

"¿Qué Creias?", released as the second promotional single of Entre a Mi Mundo, was written and produced by Quintanilla III, Astudillo, and Quintanilla Jr. "¿Qué Creias?" is a ranchera song that hovers the conjunto styles. The song has the harp and violin as its musical instrument foundation. Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News stated that the song was "a heart-wrenching ranchera that boasted an emotional delivery". Richard Torres of Newsday believed that Selena had an "emotional vocal purity" that helped make "¿Qué Creias?" an international hit. The song describes a bitter woman telling her ex-boyfriend, who broke up with her, to be with a better woman, that she is desperate to get back with him and telling her ex-boyfriend that she is happier without him and that her love was like no other. The song peaked at number 14 on the Hot Latin Tracks and number 16 on the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay charts.

"Amame", released as the third and final promotional single of Entre a Mi Mundo, was written and produced by Selena, Astudillo and Quintanilla III. "Amame" is written in common time and is performed in the key of A minor at 121 beats per minute. The song incorporates rock fusion, soul and contemporary R&B undertones. Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News wrote that "... "Amame" is well-crafted, catchy and proficiently played ..." The song describes a woman who is constantly fantasizing about being with a man she loves, she is determine to make it a reality but the decision is solely based on the man, which makes the woman anxious and inpatient. "Amame" peaked at number 27 on the Hot Latin Tracks.

Other songs

Pérez stated in an interview that Quintanilla III had wanted to record "Las Cadenas" as a rock-influenced song on the album, but changed it back to a conjunto style within a few days. Pérez also confessed to "doubling" his guitar solos on the song which he had only done for "Las Cadenas". Pérez said that Selena had used her own harmony in the song and that it reminded him of being at home and with his family because of the styles used on that track. For "Si La Queires", Ricky Vela said that Quintanilla III had gone to Vela's house and had looked over a few songs Vela had written. Quintanilla III instantly liked the chorus of "Si La Queries". While on the tour bus, Quintanilla III rewrote the first draft of "Si La Queires", and Vela was asked to come up with different scenarios that Quintanilla III liked. Hector Saldanna of San Antonio Express-News wrote that "Vuelve A Mi" was a "hot little polka", while TerraMexico described the song as a "successful hit" The Denver Post stated that "Missing My Baby" was "the best English song on [Entre a Mi Mundo], an R&B song". The The Deseret News stated that Selena displays a "Leslie Gore baby- voice" on "Missing My Baby" and that "Selena displays a wonderful suppleness in her voice". The Virginian-Pilot said that "Missing My Baby" was built on hooks that recall Diana Ross' "Missing You" which was a tribute to Marvin Gaye. J.R. Reynolds of Billboard wrote that the song was a "dreamy ballad [that had] incorporate[d] an R&B-styled melody under Selena's pop vocals". "Missing My Baby" peaked at number 16 on the Hot Latin Tracks, and the remix version found on Dreaming of You (1995) peaked at number 22 on the Rhythmic Airplay Chart.

Release

Entre a Mi Mundo was released on 6 May 1992 by EMI Latin and was certified gold (Latin type) by the Recording Industry Association of America. According to Stacy Lee's book Mexico and the United States the album sold 300,000 while Maria Celeste Arraras wrote in her book that the album sold 385,000 copies in its first year. It became the first Tejano album by a female artist to sell more than 300,000 copies. Entre a Mi Mundo sold 200,000 copies in Mexico. Selena outsold male artists in the Tejano market with Entre a Mi Mundo. The album was well received by critics and broke a barrier in the male-dominated Latin genre. By July 1995, Entre a Mi Mundo had sold 12,000,000 copies, and was certified platinum. Entre a Mi Mundo was certified double platinum (Latin type) in 2000 and sextuple Disco De Platino in December 2002, representing shipments of 600,000 copies in the United States. The album was certified gold (standard) for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States in May 1995. In Mexico, Entre a mi mundo was certified triple gold, representing shipments of 300,000 copies.

Entre a Mi Mundo peaked at number one on the US Latin Regional Mexican Albums chart in September 1992 for eight consecutive months. After Selena was murdered, Entre a Mi Mundo debuted at number 139 on the Billboard 200 chart, and helped Selena to become the first female artist to place five albums simultaneously on the Billboard 200. The album peaked at number 97, and it peaked at number four on the Top Latin Albums chart. In 1995, Entre a Mi Mundo was positioned at number two on Billboard's "Latin Regional Mexican Albums all-time chart".

Entre a Mi Mundo Tour

To promote the album, Selena embarked on a worldwide tour, called the Entre a Mi Mundo Tour, which began in Elk City, Oklahoma on 25 May 1992. Selena performed in two cities in Oklahoma, thirteen cities in Texas, four cities in New Mexico, seven cities in California, two cities in Florida, and one venue each in Louisiana, Tennessee and Nevada. Overall, Selena performed in more venues in her Entre a Mi Mundo Tour than in any of her previous tours. Selena performed in five Mexican cities, the first time that she had toured in that country, where she broke several attendance records. She was also in demand in El Salvador for appearing in "Buenos Amigos", a duet with Salvordan singer Álvaro Torres. Every time Selena performed "¿Qué Creias?" in her concerts, she would always ask for a man to volunteer on stage while Selena acted out the central theme of the song to him. Selena opened the 1993 Tejano Music Awards with her performance of "Siempre Estoy Pensando En Ti", a duet with backup singer of the band, Pete Astudillo. At the 1994 Tejano Music Awards, Selena performed a short version of "Como La Flor" as part of a collaboration.

Critical reception

Many music critics believed Entre a Mi Mundo was the "breakthrough album" for Selena. Bruce Tomaso of The Dallas Morning News stated that "her brand of infectious Tejano pop [in Entre a Mi Mundo] had attracted a sizable audience charmed by her appealing voice". stated that "Entre a Mi Mundo strengthened the Selena juggernaut". Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News wrote that "Entre a Mi Mundo, marked her acceptance into the pop side of the Latin music". Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News stated that "Entre a Mi Mundo did feature Los Dinos as the backing band, but the album was undoubtedly a solo star-making turn for Selena" Roundup Newsletter of Allmusic wrote that "Selena, with her crystal clear vocals and dynamic stage presence, became one of Tex-Mex music's premier performers in only a few years. She was named Top Female Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year for three years straight at the Tejano Music Awards. Tracks include "Si La Quieres," "Yo Te Sigo Queriendo," and "Las Cadenas". Joey Guerra of Amazon.com wrote that it was because Selena and her brother grew up listening to classic pop, R&B, and disco that those genres were materialized in Entre a mi mundo. Guerra also stated that the album was "consistently satisfying and wonderfully diverse". Guerra also gave examples of the songs on the album and their central theme "from the rousing cumbia "La carcacha" (about a boyfriend's beat-up old car) to the spirited mariachi kiss-off anthem "¿Qué Creías?," which has become a fan favorite, "Missing My Baby" is street-smart R&B, and "Amame" pulses with fiery club rhythms". Guerra also stated that "Much of the credit should go to Quintanilla [III], who helped Selena challenge the often-stifling boundaries of Tejano music. Entre a Mi Mundo also includes Selena's first international hit, "Como La Flor," a lilting cumbia highlighted by a pleading vocal delivery and lost-love lyrics".

Personnel

Credits are taken from the album's liner notes.