Dolores Janney “Jenni” Rivera Saavedra is mostly known as Jenni Rivera and “La Diva de La Banda” by many of her fans.  She was born on July 2, 1969, and died December 09, 2012, at the age of 43.

Jenni was an American singer, songwriter, actress, television producer, spokesperson, philanthropist and entrepreneur known for her work with  Regional Mexican music genre specifically Banda, Mariachi and Norteño. In life and death, several media outlets like CNN, Billboard, Fox News, and The New York Times have labeled her as the most important female figure and top-selling female artist in Regional Mexican music. Billboard magazine named her the top Latin artist of 2013, and the best selling Latin artist of 2013.  It wasn’t until 1992 when Jenni began recording music. Her recordings often had themes of social issues and personal issues like infidelity, and past relationships.  Jenni  released her first studio album, Si Quieres Verme Llorar, in the late 1990s, but it failed and wasn’t successful.  Her popularity rose in the United States and Mexico with her major-label debut, Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida.

In the early 2000s, she was  criticized and was refused bookings at venues across California for performing Banda music, a male-dominated music genre. However, her popularity grew after she won the Lo Nuestro Award for Regional Mexican Female Artist of the Year in 2007 which she also won nine consecutive times. Her tenth studio album, Jenni, became her first No.1 record on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the United States. In 2010, she appeared in and produced the reality TV show Jenni Rivera Presents: Chiquis & Raq-C. She also appeared in and produced I Love Jenni starting in 2011 through 2013 and Chiquis ‘n Control ending in 2012. Before rising to the top, for many years at the young age of 15, Jenni suffered from domestic violence, verbal/physical abuse, and rape from her first husband and father to three of her children.  Her two daughters were also sexually assaulted too by their father.

Aside from music and her traumatic past, she was very active in her community and donated her time to civic causes like the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence that even appointed her as spokesperson in the United States. On August 6, the Los Angeles City Council proclaimed  it officially “Jenni Rivera Day” for all her charity work and community involvement.  Unfortunately, Jenni Rivera, along with six others, died in a plane crash near Monterrey, on December 9, 2012.  An investigation was unable to determine the causes of the accident.