A.B. Quintanilla

Abraham Isaac Quintanilla III was born on December 13, 1963, in Toppenish, Washington.[6] He is the oldest child of Abraham Isaac Quintanilla Jr. and Marcella Ofelia Quintanilla (née Samora); and the older brother of Suzette Quintanilla and the late Selena Quintanilla.[7][8][9][10] Shortly after he was born, Quintanilla and his parents would move to Lake Jackson, Texas, where he would be raised there and where his two younger sisters were born.

While living in Lake Jackson, Texas, A.B. learned to play the guitar and bass. Alongside Selena, his sister Suzette, and their father, Abraham, he became a member of the successful band Los Dinos. A.B. also became Selena's producer.

He co-wrote Selena's hit songs like "Como la Flor" ("Like the Flower") and "Amor Prohibido" ("Forbidden Love").

A.B.'s sister, Selena, was murdered on March 31, 1995, which greatly devastated him. He helped produce "Como Te Extraño" ("How I Miss You") by Pedro "Pete" Astudillo, which was written for Selena as well as Astudillo's late grandmother. The song earned Astudillo a Premios Lo Nuestro award for Best Song of the Year in 1996.[11]

A.B. Quintanilla later resurfaced in 1999 by creating the Kumbia Kings, which mixed cumbia and pop music. The Kumbia Kings went on an international tour, had several CD releases and participated on such shows as Cristina Saralegui's El Show de Cristina. Quintanilla also produced for such entertainers as Thalía, Alicia Villarreal, Verónica Castro and Cristian Castro.

He produced and arranged the 2004 album, A.B. Quintanilla III Presents Joe Lopez, which includes "Cuando Estoy Contigo" ("When I Am with You") and "Soy Tan Feliz" ("I'm So Happy"), co-written by Quintanilla and Luigi Giraldo.

A.B. Quintanilla left Kumbia Kings in mid-2006. A.B., along with new members and ex-Kumbia Kings Chris Pérez (A.B.'s brother-in-law, Selena's widower) and Pee Wee; started the group Kumbia All Starz in 2006. This new group had hits such as "Chiquilla", "Parece Que Va a Llover", and "Speedy Gonzales". The Kumbia All Starz have become immensely popular in South America, especially in Bolivia, where they performed a series of concerts in 2014.

A.B. Quintanilla signed with DEL Records and formed Elektro Kumbia in 2016.[12] In 2017, he released a single called "Piña Colada Shot".[13]

In the 1997 film Selena, Quintanilla was played by Jacob Vargas, while Rafael Tamayo played him as a child. In the 2020 Netflix TV series Selena: The Series, he was played by Gabriel Chavarria, while Juan Martinez played him as a child.

A.B. Quintanilla has seven children, six sons and one daughter, born between 1989 and 2007, and had a stepdaughter during his third marriage. He has a daughter Martika Quintanilla (born September 21, 1989) and a son Svani Quintanilla (born November 27, 1990) with his first wife Vangie Almeida.[14] He also has one grandchild.

He married Rikkie Leigh Robertson on November 4, 2011.[15] On July 5, 2016, he announced after a concert that he was getting divorced from his wife. The divorced finalized in September 2017. They have no children together.

Quintanilla married Angela Orellano, also known as Anjelah Orellano, an Argentinian woman, on September 16, 2019, in Las Vegas.[16]

Albums with Selena

• Mis Primeras Grabaciones (1984)
• Alpha (1986)
• Muñequito de Trapo (1987)
• And the Winner Is... (1987)
• Preciosa (1988)
• Dulce Amor (1988)
• Selena (1989)
• Ven Conmigo (1990)
• Entre a Mi Mundo (1992)
• Selena Live! (1993)
• Amor Prohibido (1994)
• Dreaming of You (1995)

Albums with Kumbia Kings

• Amor, Familia y Respeto (1999)
• Shhh! (2001)
• All Mixed Up: Los Remixes (2002)
• 4 (2003)
• Presents Kumbia Kings (2003)
• La Historia (2003)
• Los Remixes 2.0 (2004)
• Fuego (2004)
• Duetos (2005)
• Kumbia Kings Live (2006)
• Greatest Hits (2007)
• Lo Mejor De (2016)

Albums with Kumbia All Starz

• Ayer Fue Kumbia Kings, Hoy Es Kumbia All Starz (2006)
• Planeta Kumbia (2008)
• La Vida de un Genio (2010)
• Blanco y Negro (2013)
• Éxitos en Vivo (2014)
• Elektro Kumbia (2017)

• Selena
• Los Dinos
• Kumbia Kings
• Kumbia All Starz
• Honorific nicknames in popular music
• Music of Texas
• Music of Latin America

• Official website Archived from the original on May 17, 2014.
• A.B. Quintanilla at IMDb
• A.B. Quintanilla at Allmusic