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| FILE - In this Jan. 22, 2012, file photo, Jenni Rivera, from the film "Filly Brown," poses for a portrait during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The wreckage of a small plane believed to be carrying Mexican-American music superstar Jenni Rivera was found in northern Mexico on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012, and there are no apparent survivors, authorities said. |
LOS ANGELES
(AP) -- Jenni Rivera launched her career hawking cassette recordings of
her songs at flea markets, but a powerful voice, soulful singing style
and frank discussion of personal troubles powered her to the heights of a
male-dominated industry, transforming her into the one of the biggest
stars of the genre known as grupero.
Her life
was cut short at its peak on Sunday by an airplane crash in northern
Mexico that also killed six friends and co-workers.
The
43-year-old mother of five and grandmother of two became a symbol of
resilience for millions of fans on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican
border. Her fame grew as she branched out into acting, appearing in
independent film, reality TV and the televised singing competition "La
Voz Mexico."
She had recently filed for
divorce from her third husband, was once detained at a Mexico City
airport with
tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and publicly
apologized after her brother assaulted a drunken fan who verbally
attacked her in 2011.
"I am the same as the public, as my fans," she told The Associated Press in an interview last March.
Rivera
sold more than 15 million copies of her 12 major-label albums and won a
string of Latin music awards. Her shows filled both the Staples Center
in Los Angeles and Mexico's National Auditorium, a feat few male singers
in her industry achieved.
Many of her songs
dealt with themes of dignity in the face of heartbreak, and her shows
were known for their festive atmosphere and her intimate interactions
with her fans. She would fill song requests from fans who had suffered
heartbreak and setbacks, and would often pull women and girls onto stage
to personally tell them to keep moving forward.
Rivera's
plane was taking her and aides to the central Mexican city of Toluca
after a Saturday night concert before thousands in the northern city of
Monterrey. After the concert she gave a press conference during which
she spoke of her emotional state following her recent move to divorce
former Major League Baseball pitcher Esteban Loaiza, who played for
teams including the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Rivera announced in October that she was divorcing Loaiza after two years of marriage.
"I
can't get caught up in the negative because that destroys you. Perhaps
trying to move away from my problems and focus on the positive is the
best I can do. I am a woman like any other and ugly things happen to me
like any other woman," she said Saturday night. "The number of times I
have fallen down is the number of times I have gotten up."
Rivera's
parents migrated from Mexico to California and founded the label that
also propelled two of her five brothers, Lupillo and Juan Rivera, to
careers as well-known singers of grupero music.
Born
on July 2, 1969 in Westwood, California, Janney Dolores Rivera Savedra
studied business administration and often said with pride that she
started her singing career in flea markets in the Los Angeles area,
selling cassette tapes to fans.
She formally debuted on the music scene in 1995 with the release of her album "Chacalosa".
That
successful album was followed with two other independent albums, one a
tribute to slain Mexican-American singer Selena that helped Rivera
expand her following. By the end of the 90s, she won a major-label
contract, and built a loyal following that knew her as the "Diva de la
Banda."
At the end of the 1990s, Rivera was
signed by Sony Music and released two more albums, "If You Want to See
Me Crying," and "Queen of Queens."
In 2002, she received her first Latin Grammy nomination, for best album in the band music category.
Even
more widespread success came when she joined Fonovisa and released her
2005 album titled "Partier, Rebellious and Daring," which positioned her
as one of the most renowed grupero singers and songwriters.
She was also nominated for Latin Grammys in 2008 and 2011.
She
was also an actress, appearing in the indie film "Filly Brown," which
was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, as the incarcerated mother of
character Filly Brown.
Her most recent album,
"Joyas Prestadas," or "Borrowed Jewels," won widespread praise and
awards and helped cement her status as one of the brightest stars of
Mexican-American music.
She was also filming
the third season of "I Love Jenni," which followed her as she interacted
with her family and toured through Mexico and the United States. She
also played a key role in the reality shows: "Jenni Rivera Presents:
Chiquis and Raq-C" and her daughter's "Chiquis `n Control."
In
2009, she was detained at the Mexico City airport when she declared
$20,000 in cash but was really carrying $52,167. She was taken into
custody. She said it was an innocent mistake and authorities gave her
the benefit of the doubt and released her.
In
2011, her brother Juan assaulted a drunken fan at a popular fair in
Guanajuato. In the face of heavy criticism among her fans and on social
networks, Rivera publicly apologized for the incident during a concert
in Mexico City, telling her fans: "Thank you for accepting me as I am,
with my virtues and defects."
