Die-hard fans who hang out in Jenni Rivera’s mom’s backyard, fans who inherited their love for Jenni from their mothers, and even a new fan who took three buses to get there, celebrated Jenni’s continuing impact on their lives during the grand opening of the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center at LBCC on Thursday.
“I’ve been a fan for almost three months already, but really she’s changed my life so much and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I started buying shirts. I already have her two new records. The first week of being a fan, I put a picture of her up on my wall. I just can’t get enough,” said a new fan named Isaiah Rojas, who took three buses from El Monte to be at the ceremony.
Fans, LBCC students and staff wait for the renaming and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center to begin on Thursday. This event marked the building officially being named after the singer and the full opening of the building. (Keith Lewis)
Though Rojas’s mom has been a die-hard fan for the longest time, his love for Jenni catapulted when he came across her on his TikTok for you page. It was her story of resilience that spoke to him and led him to her music, which he instantly fell in love with.
“Hearing her story, her kid’s story, it really caught my heart,” Rojas said. “Just all the despair that she went through, the pain, the hurt, she kept going, she did not give up.”
As a Latino, Rojas also expressed how incredible it is that she was the first ever female Latin artist to sell out the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles in 2011, which is now known as Crypto.com Arena.
Listening to her songs has helped him connect to his roots.
“Actually, I don’t speak Spanish, but thanks to her and singing along to her lyrics, I’ve never spoken so much Spanish in my life. So she’s teaching me things as I go along,” Rojas said.
Another fan, Maria Sandoval, on the other hand, has been a fan of Jenni since 2005, and is part of a fan group that meets up twice a year in Jenni’s mom’s house to celebrate Jenni on both her birthday, July 2, and on the day she died, Dec. 9.
The group used to do their gatherings on the front lawn of Jenni’s mother’s home, but after COVID, her mom let them come into her house and host the hangouts in the backyard of the house.
The group celebrates with catering, karaoke, raffles and dancing, and they bring a cake on both dates to celebrate Jenni’s life and legacy, said Maria Lopez, the president of the Chuper Amigos fan club.
A portrait of Jenni Rivera sits on a piano in the home of her mother on March 19. (Paloma Maciel)
Sandoval’s love for Jenni happened unexpectedly. Originally, she was a fan of Jenni’s brother, Lupillo Rivera, back in 2005, when he attended the Pico Rivera Sports Arena, she was occupied with trying to chase him down.
“There we were after Lupillo and then when we saw a girl so pretty, I said ‘This girl is so pretty, she looks like she could be a model and all’…And then when she went up and sang I’m like ‘and she sings too, wow,’ and from there I fell in love with her,” Sandoval said in Spanish.
Sandoval said that before she started listening to Jenni, she would let people walk all over her, but being inspired by Jenni’s confidence and the way she is unapologetically her raw self, she like other women, learned to stand up for themselves .
Another fan in attendance, Ana Medina, is familiar with Jenni because Medina’s mom is a super fan and used to always play her growing up. Jenni’s music became a source of encouragement for her mother, and Jenni’s story of overcoming hardships is one that deeply resonates with Medina.
Fan of Jenni Rivera Ana Medina, grew up listening to Jenni as her mom was a super fan and used to play her. Medina is now also a fan of Jenni, and her admiration for the singer drove her to attend the opening ceremony for the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center at LBCC on Thursday. (Keith Lewis)
“So like I completely understand her in like a lot of her background. You know, struggling like when she said she was living in a garage with her kids, and I’ve been in situations like that with my mother too. And her music, it literally uplifted my moms spirit and so many other females. She was like a I don’t give a fuck vibe, but she’s a warrior,” Medina said.
Jenni was able to break into the male dominated banda industry and gain massive success, earning her household name, “La Diva de la Banda.” Her accomplishments inspire Medina to follow her dream of being a photographer and carve out her own path in this also male dominated field.
Medina added that Jenni directly paved the way for future women musicians in Mexican music.
“She opened the door for many other women, like her daughter (Chiquis) to be able to do what she was doing and it’s just very beautiful,” Medina said.
Chiquis Rivera, daughter of Jenni Rivera, a three-time Latin Grammy winner, sings a cover of her mother’s song “No Llega el Olvido” accompanied by the Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, during an exclusive performance at the opening ceremony of the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center at LBCC on Thursday. Both Chiquis and her sister Jacqie Rivera came together to perform a tribute to honor their mother. (Paloma Maciel)
For Medina, Jenni Rivera’s name on the building means that Jenni is receiving recognition for her ability to empower women during extremely difficult moments in their lives, and when they are doubted in a misogynistic society.
Jenni’s best friend, Elena Jimenez, was in attendance and put into perspective how much Jenni loved her fans, and reminded us of how Jenni advocated for “everyday” people in her community. Which is what makes having her name in a college environment that serves a diversity of people so fitting to her character.
“Honestly, it means a lot to me because Jenni Rivera represented the people. Like Jenni Rivera was that fighter, the one that fought for the everyday people, the working people, the students,” Jimenez said.
Jenni cared for those in need by creating The Jenni Rivera Love Foundation in 2008, helping women and children escape domestic violence and abuse, and helping those in poverty.
Her big heart could also be seen in how she went out of her way to connect with her fans.
“You don’t know everything she would do. She would get a bunch of bracelets, she would buy them, and she would take her shoes off and she would throw them to all the fans and I used to make her jewelry too. So I’m like, ‘You better not throw one of your rings, ’cause that was like a hundred grand.’ So, we always used to joke about it,” Jimenez said.
“But, you know, she just loved her fans and one thing that people don’t really understand, she would take the time, because let’s say we’re driving somewhere, it’s a three hour drive, right. I would drive because she would be answering text by text on the messages on Twitter from her fans. She would read them and reply herself,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez added that Jenni “knew a lot of her fans by name” and would drive hours to visit her fans in the hospital.
Jenni was a strong, confident, boss woman who kept going when life was against her. What was so special about her was that she uplifted others through her experiences, while she became the best version of herself.
A fan of Jenni Rivera wears a fan merch shirt with Jenni on it and the words “Mariposa De Barrio,” which is the name of a song by Jenni and a phrase she’d use to describe her life. Jenni saw her transformation in life of making it through toxic relationships and then blossoming into her singing career, similar to how caterpillars turn into a beautiful butterfly. (Keith Lewis)
Her story is one that resonates so deeply with others, and as seen, it has the power to attract new fans more than a decade after her death.
“I’ve never seen somebody with so much charisma,” Rojas said. Like Jenni once said herself, she’s definitely “unforgettable, baby.”
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