Suzette Quintanilla began playing drums reluctantly, then spent years performing with Selena y Los Dinos as the family band grew into a major Tejano act. Her journey included learning on a right-handed drum kit despite being left-handed, overcoming performance doubts and sharing the excitement of Selena’s breakthrough.
Today, people often recognize her through her work preserving Selena’s legacy. However, her place in that history began onstage, behind the drums, alongside her younger sister and older brother.
Becoming the Family Band’s Reluctant Drummer
Suzette’s musical beginnings grew out of her father Abraham Quintanilla’s plans for his children. Selena became the singer, A.B. played bass, and Suzette took the drummer’s seat.
The family performed at their Tex-Mex restaurant in Lake Jackson, Texas, before building a wider audience. Those early appearances formed part of the foundation of Selena y Los Dinos, whose success developed through years of work.
Suzette did not immediately enjoy her assigned role. In recollections reported by Harper’s Bazaar, she described feeling self-conscious during middle school and resisting an instrument she rarely saw young women playing.
Her early uncertainty is an important part of the story. Becoming a recognizable member of the band involved learning to perform while still questioning her abilities.
Learning to Play Against Her Dominant Hand
One unusual detail makes Suzette’s learning experience especially memorable: she is left-handed but plays drums right-handed.
During a 2021 Entertainment Tonight conversation with Noemí González, who portrayed her in Selena: The Series, Suzette explained that the drum kit had originally belonged to a right-handed cousin.
“I play the drums right-handed,” she confirmed.
She also spoke openly about her early lack of confidence as a female drummer. Looking back at concert footage later helped her appreciate what she had contributed.
That reflection gives her journey a personal dimension. The musician watching those recordings could recognize something she had struggled to see while performing.
Growing Through Years on the Road
The band’s rise involved restaurant performances, weddings, community celebrations and increasingly larger stages. Netflix’s documentary account traces that development from the family’s early appearances to major concert audiences.
Touring also shaped Suzette’s relationship with Selena Quintanilla ( Killed by Yolanda Saldívar ). In comments reproduced by Harper’s Bazaar, Suzette recalled enjoying life on the road while missing ordinary experiences with people their age.
Their attendance at school dances, for example, could mean working as the entertainment rather than simply joining their classmates.
Within the band, the siblings had distinct responsibilities. selena quintanilla fronted the performances, A.B. played bass and developed his work as a songwriter and producer, while Suzette occupied the drummer’s position.
Remembering that lineup helps explain why the group’s history involves more than its lead singer. Selena’s stage presence developed within a working band whose members shared years of rehearsals, travel and performances.
Sharing the Excitement of the 1994 Grammy
A major milestone arrived when Selena’s Live! won Best Mexican-American Album at the 1994 Grammy Awards.
The Recording Academy identifies the album as a live recording from Corpus Christi. The award belonged to Selena, while Suzette remembered the achievement with pride in the band’s work.
“Selena and our band were extremely proud to receive a GRAMMY for our live concert,” she said in a statement published by the Recording Academy.
For a family that had spent years building an audience, the recognition marked a significant change in scale. Their music had traveled far beyond the small venues of their beginnings.
Suzette’s recollection also keeps the live band within the story. Behind the award was a shared performance history that had developed over many years.
Why Suzette Stepped Away From Regular Performing
Selena’s death on March 31, 1995, changed Suzette’s relationship with performing.
In a 2025 account of her conversation on Shawn Stockman’s On That Note podcast, Tejano Nation reported her explanation that drumming had lost its meaning after her sister died. She said, “I don’t see myself performing without her.”
Her regular career as the family band’s drummer gave way to work behind the scenes. She later took on leadership responsibilities at Q Productions and became closely involved with the Selena Museum.
Her personal life also continued beyond the touring years. Suzette married Bill Arriaga in 1993, and their son, Jovan Arriaga, was born in 1998. Those family milestones belong to the years surrounding her transition into a different role.
Preserving the Band’s Story for New Generations
Suzette eventually helped bring the band’s history to audiences who had never seen it perform.
She served as an executive producer of the documentary Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy, directed by Isabel Castro. Released on Netflix on November 17, 2025, the film combines family archives with interviews involving relatives and bandmates.
Its focus includes the working group behind Selena’s rise, giving viewers access to moments beyond familiar concert clips.
Suzette’s instrument has also become part of that historical record. The Recording Academy listed her snare drum among the objects included in the GRAMMY Museum’s Selena: From Texas to the World exhibition, which ran into 2026.
That drum connects her present work with her earliest contribution. Before she helped preserve the band’s recordings, photographs and memories, Suzette was one of the musicians creating those memories onstage.
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