Shocking to hear of the death Sunday of Jenni Rivera, the Mexican singer with a career going a million miles an hour before she died in a jet crash with six others in the rugged territory of Nuevo Leon. She was traveling from Monterrey after a concert to Toluca for a taping of the Mexican edition of “The Voice,” in which she is a judge.
In the U.S., where she was born, she is not only a famous grupero recording artist but the biggest star on Spanish television. As an Anglo I admit I didn’t know that much about her until Telemundo’s mun2 brought her to a TV Critics Association lunch where her big personality burst out – it was Jenni was just being Jenni. It was a good precursor to her reality show about her life, a show that’s become so popular it spawned a spinoff, “Chiquis in Control”
Only last month I had conducted a e-mail Q & A with her for a story I was writing for Latina magazine. As the face of Latin-TV and its mix of English and Spanish, she was the biggest star on a network that often supersedes (English) language network ratings. Yet she was gracious and had enough time to do the interview in between all her commitments.
Now she joins the long, long list of entertainers who have perished due to plane crashes. It’s a list that includes Aaliyah, Otis Redding, Ricky Nelson, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jim Croce, John Denver, Buddy Holly, most of the Bar-Kays and Lynyrd Skynyrd and the first Latino rock star Richie Valens.
Diana Mogollon, general manager of mun2, who spoke to me so enthusiastically about the power of Jenni last month, issued the solemn statement from the network today:
It is with a heavy heart that both the mun2 and Telemundo Media family mourn the tragic passing of Mexican-American entertainment icon and mun2 star of “I Love Jenni,” Jenni Rivera. Jenni was one of the most influential, authentic and captivating Latinas in entertainment. She was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, daughter and friend, who broke through the language barrier and connected with millions of fans in a unique, powerful and lasting way. She was a Grammy-nominated singer, a multiple platinum and gold record award winning artist who performed sold out concerts across numerous countries. She will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to Jenni’s entire family and manager Pete Salgado on her loss and the loss of their team members. Our condolences to the families and friends of the four members of Jenni’s team who also lost their lives – Mario Macias, Attorney, Arturo Rivera, publicist, Jorge Sanchez also known as La GG, personal stylist, and Jacob Yebale, makeup. Our hearts and prayers go out to all of them.