Think Tex-Mex With Attitude Just a few years ago hardly anyone knew of Tejano. Now it's the fastest-growing Spanish language music. The songs are border influenced. But you can't miss their Texan roots.: [Home Edition]

When Selena Quintanilla was a 14-year-old seasoned performer grinding out one-nighters in the cantinas, nightclubs and back-yard weddings of southern Texas, her ambitions were writ in miniature: a better gig than the current one, a bigger local record company to sign with. Maybe a chance with an even larger company if things really went well. "We just wanted to put food on the table," she recalls.

Selena-as she is known-now contents herself with much more. Her last release, "Amor Prohibido," has sold nearly 400,000 copies in five months. She and her band sometimes play in 60,000-seat stadiums.

She is a Grammy-winning artist (this year, for best Mexican/American album for "Selena Live") with the giant EMI Latin Records, and she owns the standard-issue, amenity-laden tour bus. It's charcoal gray, rides 15 and is outfitted with chrome mag wheels.

Most of all, though, Selena and her band, Los Dinos, have become, over the course of five major releases, the biggest stars of the Spanish-language music known as Tejano.

"I'm freaking out on all the excitement," confesses Selena, 23. (See accompanying story, page 71.)

Virtually unheard of outside Texas until a few years ago, Tejano in a sudden burst has become the country's fastest-growing genre of Spanish-language music, according to Arelis Diaz, editor of Radio & Musica, a Tampa-based magazine for Spanish-language music.

Though it is just now finding nationwide distribution and airplay, Tejano music today is a $35-million annual market that is being played full time on 70 radio stations in the United States and on hundreds more as part of Spanish-language play lists.

Such major record labels as EMI, Sony and Venezuela-based Rodven all have burgeoning rosters of Tejano acts, while Arista has devoted an entire division-Arista Texas-to the music.

Last March's annual Tejano Music Awards show in San Antonio-sponsored in part by Coca-Cola, Ford and General Mills-reportedly cost more than $3 million and was televised in 120 countries. It began 13 years ago as a local show with a $15,000 budget.

"Tejano is growing by the minute," said Manolo Gonzales, an EMI Latin vice president. "A 20,000-seller was considered a big hit five years ago. Now Selena sells 200,000 the first week."

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The word Tejano is simply "Texan" in Spanish, and refers to...