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Asbury Park Press Friday, July 2 1 1 995 E5 Posthumously, Selena has attained the kind of album success that eluded her in life. 2 1 mm COVER STORY few Bite know Spanish that well (and) when we came in, there were 30 to 35 reporters," said the singer's father and manager, Abraham Quintanilla recalling a press conference in Mexico in the liner notes to "Dreaming." "Selena came in there and hugged each one of them," he added. "By the time she got through, she had them in the palm of her hand." As her Latin audience grew, Behar, who had never considered that she might have a career with Spanish-speaking fans, found Selena's Hispanic success the perfect launching pad for an assault on mainstream markets. "The first thing I did today was call Selena's father and tell him the numbers, because it's what we all dreamed about for six years," he said. "For them, it's a roller coaster ride; one minute they're laughing, the next minute, they're crying." Now, Behar hopes her success will open the door for other Latin artists.

"She is the one major leap in making America realize that His-panics are big business we're not just a little candy store anymore," he said. "It's a process started by Estefan and Secada and the Barrio Boyzz to show people, 'Hey, you put Selena in your record stores or on your magazine covers and you're going to make some Still, there are those who don't understand. Shock jock Howard Stern incurred the wrath of Hispanic groups across the country when he played samples of her music behind the sound of gunshots, saying her fans "live in refrigerator boxes and like to dance with velvet paintings and eat beans." "There's this insecurity among Americans," noted Iris Gonzalez, head of the Hispanic Affairs Center in Asbury Park. "Some people want to stand fast to what they think is American. It's a shame, because Selena is about contributing to the melting pot in an enjoyable, positive way like a mosaic, adding different hues and colors." By ERIC DECGANS PRESS MUSIC WRITER Bt's hard to believe that, until a fateful day in March, few people outside the world of Latin music had even heard of Selena Quintanilla Perez.

Of course, fans of the Tex-Mex mix of music known as Tejano a modern blend of accordion-flavored polkas and Mexican folk melodies knew her well. By her 23rd birthday, Selena (who had, by now, reached that height of stardom, where one name will do) had already notched four consecutive No. 1 hits on Billboard's Latin charts, selling over 3 million records worldwide. The singer, whom Time magazine eventually lauded as "the embodiment of young, hip Mexican-American youth a Madonna without the controversy," was a superstar in Hispanic markets a Grammy-winning vocalist verging on the kind of mainstream jackpot previously scored by pop crooners like Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada. Then the worst happened Selena was gunned down by the former president of the singer's fan club March 31 following a heated argument, cutting short the career of Latin music's most promising star.

Or did it? Armed with half an album's worth of tracks for Selena's first major-label, English-language album, executives at EMI Records assembled "Preaming of You" featuring five English cuts, two SpanishEnglish duets, two all-Spanish mariachi ballads and four previously-released hits. Released Tuesday, the album is expected to bring Selena the kind of mainstream recognition she never found in life. Already, sales figures released by the company indicate Selena could posthumously realize a goal she'd been working toward since age 6: the mantle of pop star. Crafted by pop auteurs ranging from Diane Warren to Full Force and buoyed by songs like the Estefan-esque pop ballad "I Could Fall In Love," the Taylor Dane-style dance groove "Captive Heart" and a duet with David Byrne called "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)," "Dreaming" is a focused shot at the pop mainstream, a strategy that seems to be paying off. "All indications are that the record will debut at No.

1 in Billboard's Top 200 next week," said EMI Latin President Jose Behar. "The Musicland Group sold 21,000 records (Tuesday) and Best Buy did 22,000 by far outselling Michael Jackson's first-day numbers. "Of course, the obvious negative here is that Selena's not here to see how much she was loved," he added. But it remains to be seen whether this success indicates mainstream acceptance, or a continuation of the massive outpouring of grief that gripped the Latin music community following her death. Like artists as diverse as Elvis and Phyllis Hyman, Selena has attained posthumously the kind of album sales that seemed a pipe dream when she was alive.

In April, she became the first artist to place five albums her entire catalog as a solo artist simultaneously on the Billboard 200 album sales chart. Her 1994 album, "Amor Prohibido," went platinum within weeks of the shooting, while a People magazine special edition featuring extensive coverage of Selena's death and legacy sold more than 600,000 copies. Even now, more than 1,200 fans a week visit her grave and supporters have mounted a campaign to enshrine her name on a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "When she died, she became an idol for a lot of people," said Louis Navarro, host of WBJB-FM's Sunday afternoon "Pueblo Latino" show. "No matter what she put on that record it could have been in French or Italian people were going to buy it." At The Wall in Seaview Square Mall, Ocean Township, salespeople said the store had nearly sold out its supply of "Dreaming" by midday Tuesday.

"There was somebody waiting to buy it when we opened up this morning," said Kim Kaub, an assistant manager at the store. "We only had a few of her records before she died, but now her whole catalog is just flying out the door." Still, upstairs in the same mall, workers at Record Town had only sold about six copies of the new albumf despite the presence of a large sign in the store's entryway promoting the release. "A lot of people asked about it before it Forgetting her early fans wasn't a likely scenario for Selena, lionized since the shooting as a down-to-earth millionaire who lived next to her parents in the same middle-class neighborhood where she grew up. A singer since age 6, she began fronting her family's band, Los Dinos, at age 10 (brother and future producer Abraham III played bass and sister Suzette played drums). She built a fan base throughout Texas by melding Tejano music and a squeaky-clean image with a vocal style, onstage moves and clothing borrowed from pop giants like Madonna and Janet Jackson right down to the midriff-baring bustiers and leather jackets.

Ironically, even though her greatest fame came in the Latin market, the America-born Selena didn't speak Spanish well. Her songs were often recorded with the aid of a phonetically written lyric sheet, a fact EMI executives had to consider when promoting her 1992 record, "Entre A Mi Mundo." "We were terrified, because Selena didn't came out," said Paul Sheen, assistant manager. "But now that it's out, we're not getting much response." Similarly, Charles Williams, co-owner of Poncenos Record Store in Long Branch, has sold more copies of "Amor Prohibido" since he first stocked the new record last week. "Maybe the songs on are better," said Williams, who offers a selection of Jamaican, Mexican and Spanish artists rarely found in stores like The Wall and Record Town. "I like both records, but I think I like the earlier one better, myself." For Navarro, the paradox can be explained by an important aspect of the Latin music market: a preference for records sung in Spanish.

"The Latino community tends to be very protective of its artists," he said. "If you do too much English-language stuff, they think you're forgetting your own blood. That's why Gloria Estefan did (the Spanish-language album) 'Mi Terra' last year you have to reassure people of who and what you are." A primer on what's hot in Latin music. Page E6. CANADA DRY' TOPS APPLIANCE CITY BRUNCH: 3 Star Branch Every Sunday DINNER: Tuei.

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