Music: Jenni Rivera, and The Legacy That She Leaves Behind

For  those  of  you  haven’t  heard  about  the  terrible  news,  this  past  Sunday,  Regional  Mexican   music  star  Jenni  Rivera,  known  as  “La  Diva  de  la  Banda (The  Banda  Diva)”,  died  in  a  horrific  plane  crash  at  the  young  age  of  43.  She  dedicated  her  career  to  being  not  just  one  of  the  top  stars  in  Latin  music,  but  music  period.  She  spent  a  lot  of  years  being  one  of  the  top  female  performers  in  the  male-dominated  Regional  Mexican  music  genre.  With  many  of  her  successes  also  came  many  controversies,  but  she  overcame  all  of  them.  She  used  her  success  to  launch  her  own  real  estate  agency,  her  own  line  of  denim  wear,  her  own  perfume,  her  own  charity,  and  three  shows  that  she  produced  for  the  channel  Mun2  (Chiquis  and  Raq-C,  I  Love  Jenni,  and  Chiquis-N-Control).   The  shows  that  ran  on  Mun2  offered  a  lot  of  insight  into   her  life,  both  on  and  off  the  stage.  Earlier  this  year,  her  third  marriage  between  her  and  her  now  ex-husband,  former  Major  League  Baseball  (MLB)  pitcher  Esteban  Loaiza,  ended  in  divorce.  But  what  happened  earlier  this  week,  is  absolutely  frightening.  Up  to  this  week,  there  were  sources  that  stated  that  she  had  signed  a  deal  with  the  Universal  Music  Group,  was  developing  a  sitcom  for  the  American  Broadcasting  Company  (ABC)  starring  her,  and  was  going  to  collaborate  with  the  popular  rapper  Snoop  Lion,  formerly  known as  Snoop  Dogg.  It  appeared  that  next  year  was  going  to  be  huge  for  her.  Even  though  I  didn’t  listen  to  a  lot  of  her  music,  I  enjoyed  “El  Amor  (Love)”,  her  2009  collaboration  with  the  popular  reggaeton  star  Tito  El  Bambino,  and  the  song  “El”,  the  theme  for  the  popular  telenovela  (Spanish Soap  Opera)  Eva  Luna  (Univision,  November  2010-April  2011),  and  the  live  performances  on  award  shows.  My  heart,  and  my  condolences  go  out to  her  family,  her  friends,  and  her  fans.  She  was  a  musical  hero  who  left  this  Earth  much  too  soon.