Amor Prohibido (English: Forbidden Love)[1] is the fourth studio album by American singer Selena,[Note 1] released on March 22, 1994, by EMI Latin.

Following the release of Selena's third studio album Entre a Mi Mundo and the launch of a clothing boutique in 1993,[3] the singer and her band began working on Amor Prohibido.

I wanted to create a radical guitar solo that would truly blend a hard rock sound into a Tejano cumbia, in much the same way Selena and I had grown up in traditional families to become a contemporary couple.

"[24] It started off with lyrics about a cheerful fish swimming freely in the ocean, which Astudillo likened to a nursery rhyme,[25] organized around a wah-wah guitar riff using a crybaby that was improvised by Pérez.

[4] The track, then called "Itty Bitty Bubbles",[26] became an extended jam during the band's concerts to prevent promoters from reducing their pay for playing for a shorter time than promised.

[6] Selena performed the song at the La Feria concert in Nuevo Leon in September 1993, a day before the singer and Astudillo began "[putting] the lyrics and melody together".

[4] After discovering that Selena had sampled her song, Pretenders' vocalist Chrissie Hynde prevented the band from releasing Amor Prohibido and demanded a translation from Vela before she approved a rights agreement.

[6] Noticing it was the shortest track on Amor Prohibido, musicologist James Perone felt that "Fotos y Recuerdos" had "stripped some of the edge [sic] off of Hynde's text but retained the basic premise of ["Back on the Chain Gang"]".

[40][41] Jeff Young, then-EMI Latin's sales director, labeled Amor Prohibido as "Pop International", which Mark Schone of Newsday believed was a ploy by the company to broaden Selena's appeal.

[44] Two other tracks, "Ya No" and "Si Una Vez", delve into heartaches of failed relationships with the protagonist in the former song angrily refusing to take back a cheating partner.

[39] Writing for The Miami Herald, Mario Tarradell described "Tus Desprecios" and "Si Una Vez" as having a more traditional Tejano sound than the rest of the tracks on Amor Prohibido but found them riddled with synthesizers and digital processing.

[57][66] Jose Feliciano express his take on the song, noting a sense of sorrowfulness in the lyrics, while finding cognitive parallels to Selena's life, and noticed a comparison of compositions that are typically recorded by Pedro Infante.

[57][66][68] Hispanic magazine praised Selena's vocal interpretations in "No Me Queda Más", citing the singer's ability to tackle such a song reserved for established musicians twice her age.

[46] With EMI Latin's president Jose Behar requesting enhancements to their commercial appeal,[82] the band gave Argentine arranger Bebu Silvetti the song "No Me Queda Más" to be reworked into a pop-style track for its single release in October 1994.

[83] The limited edition version included Selena's duet with the Barrio Boyzz on their 1994 single "Donde Quiera Que Estés", music videos for "Amor Prohibido" and "No Me Queda Más", as well as spoken liner notes containing commentary and recollections of each track provided by the singer's family, friends, and her band.

[83] After featuring on "Donde Quiera Que Estés", Selena went on a mini-tour with the Barrio Boyzz that enabled her to visit New York City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Central America, where she was not well known.

[87] The event was critically praised for breaking attendance records set by country music musicians Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, and George Strait.

[105] "Fotos y Recuerdos" peaked and remained atop the Hot Latin Songs chart for seven weeks,[106] finishing the year as the second most played track in the US trailing "No Me Queda Más".

[100] Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News wrote that the singles from Amor Prohibido elevated Selena to success on Latin radio whose promoters had not previously taken the singer seriously.

[Note 5] Following the 16th anniversary of the album's release, a readers poll in The Monitor saw participants choosing "No Me Queda Más" and "Fotos y Recuerdos" as their top picks, saying they "loved the feeling and musicianship in those two songs.

[14] Others, such as AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, musicologist James Perone, and music editor Mario Tarradell panned the album initially before coming to view Amor Prohibido positively.

[48] Perone felt the album sounded dated, despite providing ample evidence of the singer's appeal,[44] whereas Erlewine characterized Amor Prohibido as "slightly uneven" and praised Selena's success at recording the weaker material.

Erlewine would later describe Amor Prohibido as Selena's strongest album, and an effective introduction to her work that highlighted her successful interpretation of the Tejano sound.

[126] In response to Martinez's observation, Selena explained that she and the band experimented with Amor Prohibido, but songs like "Cobarde" still encompassed elements of Tejano and norteño music.

Described by author Ed Morales as a "subtle evolution",[53] and by The Dallas Morning News as "delightfully infectious, hummable [and] ultra radio-friendly",[48] the tracks were summarized and praised by The Monitor as "romantic, charming and ebullient.

[148][149] Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News believed Selena had "conquered the Latin pop landscape",[150] while Herón Márquez called it a "landmark success".

[160] Other media outlets, such as Entertainment Tonight and the Houston Chrionicle, interviewed Jennifer Lopez, Ally Brooke, Cierra Ramirez, Natti Natasha, Anitta, Farina, Angela Aguilar, Becky G, and Kam Franklin on their take of Amor Prohibido and the singer's impact on their careers.

[163] Music critic Chuck Philips, believed Selena was "the politically correct candidate" to win the Grammy, "with all the heavy media coverage she [had] received in the last two years [1992-94]".

"[42] In McAllen, Texas, music shops reported that people bought the singer's earlier works than Amor Prohibido, citing that "most fans already have her latest [album]".

[198] In March 2011, the RIAA updated its certification of Amor Prohibido as double Diamond during an unveiling of the United States Postal Service's forever stamps honoring Selena and several other Hispanic/Latino Americans.