Tag Archives: Pedro Rivera

The Late Rivera Wins Six Trophies at the Billboard Latin Music Awards

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She may be gone… But Jenni Rivera has not been forgotten.

The late Mexican American singer, known as la Diva de la Banda, proved to be one of the big winners at the 2013 Billboard Latin Music Awards.

Jenni Rivera

Rivera, whose influence and sales rose in the wake of her tragic death last December in a plane crash in Mexico, won six awards, including Artist of the Year and Regional Mexican Album of the Year for La Gran Señora, which was coincidentally released the week after her death.

Edward James Olmos, Rivera’s Filly Brown co-star, introduced a tribute segment to the singer, pointing out that just a year before, she had herself performed live on the awards stage.

“We want to remember her a little bit differently — as the woman, the friend, the mother, the daughter,” he said, before a video montage focusing mainly on Rivera’s family life and humanitarian work.

Her parents, Pedro Rivera and Rosa Saavedra, and two eldest  daughters, Janney “Chiquis” Marín and Jacqueline Marín, accepted her posthumous awards.

Meanwhile, Don Omar – who performed his current hit, “Zumba” at the show – had garnered 18 finalist nods — a record tied only by Tito El Bambino in 2010 — and took home 10. They include Songs Artist of the Year, Male and Airplay Song of the year for “Dutty Love,” featuring Natty Natasha.  Don Omar also won Streaming Artist of the Year and Streaming Song of the Year for “Danza Kuduro,” featuring Lucenzo.

Prince Royce, the young urban/bachata singer and soon-to-be La Voz Kids coach who has dominated the charts since his debut in 2011, won four awards, including Albums Artist of the Year, Male.

Romeo Santos, Shakira and La Arrolladora Banda el Limón de René Camacho won three awards each, as did Natty Natasha, who is featured in Don Omar’s “Dutty Love.” Teary-eyed, she dedicated her last win to “all Latinos — those who leave their homelands to pursue their dreams.”

This year’s awards featured a series of premiere performances, including Carlos Vives with Michel Teló (who won Song of the Year for his global hit  “Ai Se Eu Te Pego“).

Mexican rockers Maná, who won Albums Artist of the Year, duo or Group and Latin Pop Albums Artist of the Year, Duo or Group, also received the Billboard Spirit of Hope Award for the philanthropic work of their Selva Negra Foundation, which has worked in environmental causes for nearly 20 years.

The Billboard Latin Music Awards honors the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, as determined by the actual sales, radio airplay, streaming and social data that informs Billboard’s weekly charts.

The awards were broadcast live on Telemundo from the BankUnited Center in Miami.

Click here to see the full list of winners.

Rivera’s Memorial Service Draws Thousands

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La Diva de La Banda’s family, friends and fans have bid her el último adios at an emotional memorial in Los Angeles…

Thousands on Wednesday morning attended Jenni Rivera’s memorial service, which her family dubbed a celestial graduation,  at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, which hosted a memorial for an artist for the first time ever, to celebrate the Mexican-American singer’s life.

Jenni Rivera Memorial Service

The memorial, a mixture of laughter, tears and celebration, featured Rivera’s fans often singing loudly along to her videos and the live performances by her friends and family.

During the service, Rivera’s five children, her parents and brothers each took the stage to eulogize the singer, including Rivera’s daughter Jacquie Melina Campos, who said, “My mother was perfectly imperfect.”  Rivera’s youngest son, 11-year-old Johnny Lopez, spoke in what he called “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Pedro Rivera, the family patriarch and the man who helped Rivera launch her career as an artist and a businesswoman, fought hard to keep tears at bay during the two-hour service, but still managed to perform a corrido in his daughter’s honor, accompanied by a full banda.

The event was hosted by the Rivera’s family, including brother and fellow banda Lupillo Rivera; and brother Juan Rivera, a pastor and singer who often opened Jenni’s shows and who welcomed those in attendance.

 

“She has many plans,” said Juan Rivera, speaking of his sister in the present tense and hinting at possibilities for the Jenni Rivera brand and name. “So we have a lot of work to do. So many times I introduced her in her shows: The queen of queens, the Diva of Banda, La Gran Señora and, because you made it this way, I will proudly say, No. 1: Jenni!”

Although the theater was packed mostly by fans who paid $1 on Ticketmaster to purchase refundable tickets (arranged that way to avoid scalping), there was also a number of executives and celebrities, including Marco Antonio Solís; Joan Sebastian, who performed “Más Allá del Sol;” Ana Gabriel, who performed the ranchera hit “Paloma Negra;” Olga Tañón, who performed “Mirame” and Gloria Trevi.

The ceremony included an impassioned sermon by Juan Rivera, who quoted from Ecclesiastes: “There is a time to be born and a time to die… Jenni passed through many tough situations in her life, and she was able to stand up after each one of them, because she had the power of God and the power in herself. She lived a victorious life. She never gave up.”

 

The service culminated with the band gathered around the coffin and fans filing past, leaving white roses.

Rivera, who will be laid to rest later in a private ceremony, was traveling on a private Learjet the morning of December 9 when her plane crashed in the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico.