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The admiration of Tejano singer Selena continues today with youth who were born a decade or more after the singer’s death in 1995.

So, when Memorial High School art club student Gianni Lopez started work on a mural of the singer for National Hispanic Heritage Month, she was excited and a little nervous.

“There was a lot of pressure since Selena is respected and you want to make sure to get her essence captured in it,” Lopez said.

The large colorful mural is not “super realistic” but captures her features in a way that still looks like her, she said.

“I think we did pretty good in capturing her spirit,” she added.

Lopez called it a beautiful representation of the younger generation’s view on Selena.

Selena Quintanilla Perez was a native of Lake Jackson, rose to fame and was referred to as the Queen of Tejano Music before being shot to death at the age of 23.

Art teacher Roy Bares said his students take part in National Hispanic Heritage Month each year. Last year they created a large mural for South American artist Frida Kahlo.

Bares said since they used an visual artist last year, he opted for a musical artist this year. His first choice was Carlos Santana, then Selena popped in his head because she was from Texas.

Bares added white roses to the mural, as this symbol is attached to her memory.

The mural was a four-day project, start to finish.

Ashleigh Montano said she only had a small part in the mural but it was meaningful.

“It captures Selena so well, her beauty, her elegance. It turned out amazing,” Montano said. “I’ve kind of looked up to her for a long time. She’s one of my favorite musicians. I love her stuff. I love her. She’s amazing.”

Amaya Lewis was also took part in the mural project and worked on the rose at the bottom. She feels Bares picked the right person for the project.