Chris Perez

Christopher Gilbert "Chris" Pérez (born August 14, 1969) is an American guitarist, songwriter and author best known as lead guitarist for the Tejano band Selena y Los Dinos. He married the frontwoman of the group, Selena, on April 2, 1992. Pérez grew up in San Antonio, Texas as one of two children of Gilbert Pérez and Carmen Medina. In 1986, he joined Shelly Lares' band. By the late 1980s, Pérez was reputed among Tejano musicians for his guitar skills. This caught A.B. Quintanilla's attention; at the time, Quintanilla was seeking another guitarist for the band he produced, Selena y Los Dinos. Between one and two years after Pérez joined the band, he and Selena began a personal relationship. Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., forced them to end their relationship because he felt Pérez' image might damage Selena's career. They ignored his threats to disband the group, and continued their relationship. Quintanilla Jr. fired Pérez from the band, forbidding Selena to go with him. They later eloped, and Selena's father accepted the relationship and he grew to love and accept Chris as his son-in-law. Pérez was asked to collaborate on several of Selena's songs with A.B. and other members of the band, using his guitar to piece out melodies and incorporating a number of musical genres into their songs. During the early 1990s, Pérez was arrested for driving under the influence in San Antonio, but was released without charge. Within months of his first arrest, Pérez was involved in a trashed-hotel-room incident; he and two members of Selena y Los Dinos were intoxicated and began wrestling in a room, breaking the door and punching holes in the walls. On March 31, 1995 Selena was killed by her former friend and former manager of her boutiques, Yolanda Saldívar. Selena's murder greatly devastated Pérez, who began abusing drugs and alcohol. Chris has since remained in touch with the Quintanillas following Selena's death. In 1998 he met Venessa Villanueva through his friend John Garza, and began dating her. That year, Pérez formed the Chris Pérez Band and began writing songs for their debut album. They signed with Hollywood Records and released their first album, Resurrection, which won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. The band disbanded after their second album, Una Noche Mas (2002), was released. Pérez and Villanueva had two children, Cassie and Noah, before divorcing in 2008. Pérez continued in the music business and often played with his brother-in-law A.B.'s groups, the Kumbia Kings and the Kumbia All Starz. He left both groups and formed another band (the Chris Pérez Project, which included Puerto Rican singer Angel Ferrer) in 2010. In 2012 Pérez wrote a book about his and Selena's relationship and marriage life entitled To Selena, with Love which received a positive reception from critics and fans. Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Mike Prosser from Austin, TX, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.