Dueña literally translates to 'owner' (female) or 'landlady'. While calling someone the 'owner' of your heart might sound unusual in English, it's a powerful and poetic declaration in Spanish.
In this classic song, Selena sings "Porque tĂș eres la dueña de mi corazĂłn" (Because you are the owner of my heart). This phrase signifies a beautiful and total surrender to love, telling someone they have complete dominion over your feelings and affection.
This song is a beautiful and direct plea for a deeper kind of love. Selena isn't asking for just any kiss or hug; she wants to be held, "como nunca me has abrazado" [like you've never held me before], and kissed, "como nunca me has besado" [like you've never kissed me before]. She's asking her partner to take their love to a whole new level of passion.
She lays all her cards on the table, explaining exactly why this person is so important. They are the "luz que ilumina mi vida" [light that illuminates my life] and the "dueña de mi corazón" [owner of my heart]. In return for this intensified love, she promises everything: "te daré todos mis besos / Y todo mi cariño" [I'll give you all my kisses / And all my affection]. It's a simple, powerful declaration of love and desire.
Selena Quintanilla-PĂ©rez grew up in Lake Jackson, Texas, fronting her family's band, Selena y Los Dinos, with her brother A.B. writing the songs and playing bass and her sister Suzette on drums. She was raised speaking English, and her father drilled the Spanish lyrics into her phonetically, line by line, years before she was fluent in the language she sold millions of records in.
Tejano was a men's business when she took it over: she won the Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year nine years running from 1987, and Selena Live! took the 1994 Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album. "Como la Flor", from 1992's Entre a Mi Mundo, is the song attached to her name more than any other, and Amor Prohibido (1994) put four singles at number one on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, among them "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" and "No Me Queda MĂĄs". She was shot and killed in Corpus Christi on March 31, 1995, aged 23, by the former president of her fan club. Dreaming of You, the English-language crossover album she had been recording, was released that August and entered the Billboard 200 at number one.