Daniel Mares thrilled at watching Selena perform at Houston nightclubs six years ago. In those days, Mares found it easy to sit within 20 feet of the beautiful Tejano singer at concerts. Selena was not yet such a huge star that it was hard to get close to her at a show. She seemed, Mares said, ``almost like a friend.'' Sunday, Mares visited Selena's grave at Seaside Memorial Park in Corpus Christi. He had never been there before. Finally, he was close to her again. ``For me, believe it or not, it's a sense of closure,'' said Mares, manager of a car audio store in Galveston. ``I never really got to say goodbye to her before.'' About 5,000 people - fans and the simply curious - have made pilgrimages to the grave site in the past five days to pay tribute to Selena Quintanilla-Perez, a Corpus Christi resident whose death two years ago today sparked a wide outpouring of grief and prompted half a dozen books and a movie. Yolanda Saldivar, former president of Selena's fan club, was convicted of murdering the singer and is serving a life prison sentence. The past few days have seen a constant flow of Selena fans at Seaside Memorial Park. As many as 50 people at a time have visited the grave, said Stella Hernandez, a cemetery representative. Hernandez said she has seen visitors with license plates from New York, Illinois, Arizona and Mexico. Cemetery workers have erected a 5-foot chain-link fence around Selena's grave to keep people from disturbing a large arrangement of white roses, purple flowers and palm leaves that adorn the spot. Fans have decorated the fence with bunches of flowers, stuffed Easter bunnies and written homages to the singer and her family. Sunday, one bouquet of flowers stood in a shiny silver vase. Taped to the vase was a photograph of Selena and a written message: ``To our Queen that will never be forgotten ...'' Fans snapped photos of each other next to the grave. But mostly, they stood and gazed quietly at the large, black headstone inscribed, simply, ``Selena.'' ``I feel very sad, because she was very well-liked. Everybody liked her,'' said one fan, Regina Ybarra-Garcia, a substitute teacher from San Antonio. ``I'm also sad because of the way she had to go. That's what really breaks my heart,'' Ybarra-Garcia said. ``She was too young to die.'' Hernandez said many visitors have been emotional. ``For a lot of people, it's their first time here,'' Hernandez said. ``A lot of people come in tears - straight here from the movie.'' ``Selena,'' a biographical film about the singer, opened in theaters nationwide on March 21. While the anniversary and the coincidental Easter holiday attracted a lot of fans, the cemetery saw three times more visitors at the first anniversary of Selena's death, Hernandez said. Cemetery officials have asked that visitors to Selena's grave be respectful of mourners in other parts of the cemetery and not walk across graves. Fans have not stopped visiting the Days Inn where Selena was shot to death, said Barbara Schultz, manager of the motel at 901 Navigation Blvd. While only one or two curious stop by every day normally, about a dozen fans have visited the motel each of the past few days, Schultz said. The motel has tried to discourage fans from visiting by putting new room numbers on every door. The number of the room where Selena was shot is not displayed. But fans still stop and take photographs where they think the crime occurred.

Ten-year-old Cynthia is among several Selena lookalikes who performed this week at a school talent show that honors the memory of the Tejano singer on the anniversary of her death.

"They are so enthusiastic about Selena and, of course, sad," said Rosemary Guerra, a P.E. teacher at Hattie Martin Elementary School. "They wanted to express their feelings."

Cynthia and her classmates sang Selena songs karaoke-style and danced to snappy Latino rhythms.

Cynthia said she "wanted to always be like Selena and do things like her."

Nine-year-old Samantha Olmeada said, "I like her songs and she seems to be a nice person." On stage, the fringes of Samantha's black leather skirt shimmied as her lace-up ankle boots patterned Selena's footwork.

"She's like an inspiration to me," Samantha said.

Emilio Flores, a 9-year-old dancer, suited in a black vest and fancy white shirt, was eager to speak about Selena. "She encourages us to dance better and to sing better. She made us not be afraid in front of the audience."

Crystal Lopez, his 9-year-old dance partner, bore a remarkable likeness to Selena wearing the singer's signature gold lame cap and gold earrings.

"Since the anniversary of her death, I want Selena's memories to go on and on," Crystal said.

Crystal learned Selena's dance steps by watching her favorite music video,"Bidi Bidi Bom Bom."

When she was five years old, Crystal saw Selena perform at Memorial Coliseum. "Once I saw her. It was like a part of my heart was going to her soul."