You will always be remembered: Jenni Rivera

On December 9, 2012 a regional Mexican singer died in a plane crash.

Dolores Janney Rivera Saavedra, better known as Jenni Rivera, had just finished a concert in Monterrey, Mexico. After the concert, she was flying in a  Learjet 25 towards Toluca, Mexico. When the pilot of the plane lost contact with the air space and the engines started failing, the airplane crashed in the middle of the mountains.

Luckily, one man saw when the plane was falling out of the sky. She did not die alone. On the plane there was her publicist Arturo Rivera, make-up artist Jacob Yebale, and her stylist Jorge Sanchez. The two pilots also died. She died at the age of 43.

Jenni Rivera was born July 2, 1969 in Long Beach, California. She left behind her five children, five siblings,  two grandchildren, her parents, family, friends, and her fans.

Rivera had her own reality show called “I Love Jenni”, which was about her every day life. She also was part of the movie “Filly Brown” which in she played the role of Maria Tonorio. The movie premiered after her death on April 19, 2013.

Jenni was not only focused on her career, she was also focused on helping others . She helped people who were domestically and sexually abused, young and single mothers. The day August 6, 2010, Rivera was named spokeswoman for the National Coalition Against Battered Women and Domestic Violence in Los Angeles, that day the L.A City Council officially named August 6th as “Jenni Rivera Day” to honor her help to the community. Jenni walked in Arizona at 110 degrees to support immigrant rights. She expressed her support to stand up against bullying. She even donated $30,000 to the Children’s Hospital.

Maria Isabel Anaya, eight grade parent, said, “Well what can I say. I truly miss Jenni, she was an idle in my eyes. When she would come to the Nokia Theater in LA I would go see her. I was crying when I was at church when I heard that she was dead. I felt really bad.”

Jenni Rivera is the first female Latin American to have a exhibit at the Grammy Museum. The exhibits were named, “La Diva De La Banda”, “Mi Vida Loca”, and “Simplemete Jenni”. Each exhibit holds some of Jenni’s dresses, outfits, and everyday life materials that help explain what Jenni was like.

Jenni did not have an easy life. Her first husband abused her daughter and a sister-in-law. She also had a tumor in her breast. When she first head out to be independent, she lived in a garage with her first born child.

In her last concert, one of the songs she sang was “Cuando Se Muere Una Dama” which speaks about her wishes the day of her death. She wanted her sister to read a letter she had written, her mother to pass out flowers, her father to pass out pictures, and her brothers to sing. However, the day of Rivera’s funeral they did everything she had asked for except the reading of the letter. Rivera wrote this song after a car crash in 2003.

Rest in peace, Jenni Rivera.