Jenni Rivera dies: 'Diva de la Banda' lost in Mexico jet crash

Jenni Rivera dies? At press time, her death was officially unconfirmed. But Jenni Rivera's father said her Learjet 25 crashed and all aboard died. Jenni Rivera was a mother, grandmother, and the queen of the grupero music scene in Mexico.

By Galia Garcia-Palafox and Porfirio Ibarra,?Associated Press / December 10, 2012

A woman adjusts a flower in candlelight tribute to singer Jenni Rivera at the Plaza Mexico shopping center in Lynwood, Calif., early Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. (

AP Photo/Patrick T. Fallon)

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Mexico's music world mourned Jenni Rivera, the U.S.-born singer presumed killed in a plane crash whose soulful voice and openness about her personal troubles had made her a Mexican-American superstar.

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Authorities have not confirmed her death, but Rivera's relatives in the U.S. say they have few doubts that she was on the Learjet 25 that disintegrated on impact Sunday in rugged territory in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico.

"My son Lupillo told me that effectively it was Jenni's plane that crashed and that everyone on board died," her father, Pedro Rivera told dozens of reporters gathered in front of his Los Angeles-area home. "I believe my daughter's body is unrecognizable."

He said that his son would fly to Monterrey early Monday to identify her presumed remains

Messages of condolence poured in from fellow musicians and celebrities.

Mexican songstress and actress Lucero wrote on her Twitter account: "What terrible news! Rest in peace ... My deepest condolences for her family and friends." Rivera's colleague on the Mexican show "The Voice of Mexico," pop star Paulina Rubio, said on her Twitter account: "My friend! Why? There is no consolation. God, please help me!"

Born in Long Beach, California, Rivera was at the peak of her career as perhaps the most successful female singer in grupero, a male-dominated regional style influenced by the norteno, cumbia and ranchero styles.

A 43-year-old mother of five children and grandmother of two, the woman known as the "Diva de la Banda" was known for her frank talk about her struggles to give a good life to her children despite a series of setbacks.

She was recently divorced from her third husband, was once detained at a Mexico City airport with tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and she publicly apologized after her brother assaulted a drunken fan who verbally attacked her in 2011.

Her openness about her personal troubles endeared her to millions in the U.S. and Mexico.

"I am the same as the public, as my fans," she told The Associated Press in an interview last March.

Rivera sold 15 million records, and recently won two Billboard Mexican Music Awards: Female Artist of the Year and Banda Album of the Year for "Joyas prestadas: Banda." She was nominated for Latin Grammys in 2002, 2008 and 2011.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/NCxJ_4oDM8s/Jenni-Rivera-dies-Diva-de-la-Banda-lost-in-Mexico-jet-crash

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