Jenni Rivera, also known as La Diva de la Banda, is an amazing Mexican-American artist who stays connected to her roots. Rivera was the first Mexican female artist to sell out multiple major venues, the first to win the Premio Lo Nuestro award for banda artist of the year, and the first to break barriers in the male-dominated music industry. Although she lived a tough life, she pushed herself to keep going. Many fans loved Rivera for being humble, for helping the Mexican community, and for showing self-respect. Rivera always defended herself, her family, and her community from the haters because she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Sadly, after her last concert in Monterrey, Mexico, she passed away in a plane crash along with her team. She has sung multiple genres, has songs in English as well as Spanish, and has multiple businesses that don’t involve singing. There’s no other artist who has existed like Jenni Rivera.
In Rivera’s early music career, she started rough. Not many people knew her, and the genre was a male-dominated genre. This affected the way people looked at her because many people believed she didn’t fit the part. Even though it was hard for her to continue forward with this career, she continued to push through. Rivera had an interview in 2011 with Billboard: “When I started getting so many haters and closed doors, I decided to prove that it could be done,” Rivera said. “I was a divorced single mother of three at the time and a size-12 — not your typical model artist that labels feel work for the music industry.” The way she didn’t give up is inspiring because she proved to others that anyone can do what they desire. She was able to prove everyone wrong as she earned 69 awards out of 113 nominations and continues to be a huge artist to this day, even after she passed away in a plane crash on December 9 of 2012.
Although there are many female Mexican-American artists today, there is no one like Jenni Rivera. She sang multiple genres like mariachi, banda, norteños, Latin-pop, and corridos. She has done a mix of everything, which is what her fans love. They can cry, laugh, and be angry with her music. She is most known for her strength throughout everything. Most of her songs relate to her life, which is relatable to many people. In the song, Mariposa del Barrio she parallels her life to a butterfly to give the impression of how she grew. She went from living in a garage to living in a renovated mansion, but never forgot her roots. Her emotions were portrayed very strongly in her music, which is what makes her iconic and powerful. She isn’t your basic artist who only sings one genre and in one language. Her fan base is mainly targeted towards Mexicans, but she didn’t forget her American side, which is why she released a couple of English songs.
Throughout her music career, Rivera realized she could use her fame to help others, not just herself. She would support charities to help those in need. Later on, Rivera founded the Jenni Love Foundation, which helped women who were suffering from domestic violence. Not only did Rivera help when she could, but she also opened multiple businesses. Divina Realty started because, before she started singing, she was a realtor and realized she could still make money with her skills. She made jeans, perfume, music, etc., affordable so that people could still enjoy her incredible things. All in all, Jenni Rivera was a humble Mexican-American, a smart businesswoman, and an iconic artist in the regional Mexican industry.