The family of Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez released a statement Friday announcing Fiesta de la Flor would not be returning to Corpus Christi, leaving the door open for the festival for relocate.
Alyssa Barrera-Mason, Interim CEO of Visit Corpus Christi, the city's convention and visitor's bureau, confirmed the news to KRIS Communications on Thursday evening.
The Q Productions release boasts that the festival became the largest hosted in Corpus Christi, bringing 250,000 visitors through its gates and more than $50 million economic impact to the area.
"The Quintanilla Family is extremely grateful to the Visit Corpus Christi staff and Board of Directors for taking on the task of inviting Selena's fans from across the globe to pay homage to her," the release reads. "Celebrating Selena in her hometown of Corpus Christi gave Selena fans something to look forward to for the past five years."
Visit Corpus Christi had nothing but gratitude on Thursday for the late singer's family.
"We truly appreciate The Selena Foundation and the Quintanilla family for allowing our community to celebrate Selena in such a special way for the past 5 years," the organization said in a statement. "We will cherish the memories of this wonderful celebration and wish them luck in future endeavors."
The festival, which premiered here in 2015 and honors Quintanilla-Perez, who was killed by her fan club president in 1995, has made news recently because of an unauthorized deal former Visit Corpus Christi CEO Paulette Kluge made with the Quintanilla family.
The agreement gave The Selena Foundation all $35,000 of the profits from the 2018 Fiesta de la Flor, and promised the Quintanilla family a flat rate of $50,000 from 2019 on for the festival to continue in Corpus Christi.
The arrangement, to which city officials had previously agreed, gave The Selena Foundation half of the event's profits.
The unilateral agreement ultimately cost Kluge her job.
After her resignation, Kluge acknowledged the prospect of the Quintanilla family relocating the celebration.
"That's always a possibility," Kluge said in August. "Cities are always looking to the Quintanillas wanting Fiesta de la Flor or a Selena event in their city. For years that's been going on."
The festival also had been in the news in the last few months because it gained a new presenting sponsor in Herrman & Hermann law firm. CITGO had been its previous major sponsor.
“Being founding sponsors, Herrman and Herrman is interested in talking with the Quintanillas about continuing to support the celebration of Selena," the firm said in a statement. "We have enjoyed working with the family and would love to continue being apart of the Selena celebration.”
Herrman & Herrman has offices in Corpus Christi, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley.
Reporter Seth Kovar contributed to this story.
