Jenni Rivera Brought Feminist Spirit to Banda and Became a Superstar
variety.comAndrew Barker Senior Features Writer Though she perished in a plane crash in 2012, Jenni Rivera is still changing the face of Mexican music.
As the first genuine female superstar to emerge out of Mexico’s century-old banda genre, Rivera cut an entirely unique figure throughout the early 2000s, imbuing one of North America’s most male-dominated, storied music genres with a spirit that was unabashedly feminist and entirely modern.
A student of the music’s heritage who steadfastly refused to abide by its strictures, her list of firsts is extensive: she was the first female regional Mexican music star to sell out Los Angeles’ Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena), the first woman to win Mexico’s Premio Lo Nuestro award for Banda Artist of the Year and the first Latin artist to earn a dedicated exhibit at the Grammy Museum, selling more than 15 million albums in her lifetime.
Since then, Rivera’s influence has only continued to spread, with posthumous releases, a bestselling posthumous memoir, a hit TV reality series and an authorized biopic leading a wave of rediscovery that will culminate with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on June 27.
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