Jenni Rivera had a secret she hoped would never be revealed. The Mexican-American superstar of banda music, who died seven years ago at age 43, was getting death threats before the plane crash that took her life and that of several others on Dec. In a chilling, never-before-aired interview with Mexican radio personality Pepe Garza, the California-born Rivera opened up about that experience and how it haunted her.
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Quick Facts
Rivera produced 15 gold, 15 platinum and 5 double-platinum records. Later, this songstress became a reality-TV star, businesswoman and activist. Tragically, she died in a plane crash at age 43 on December 9, Rivera's parents, Rosa Saavedra and Pedro Rivera, discovered they were expecting while illegally crossing from Mexico into the United States. Rivera's youth wasn't easy. She got pregnant at 15 by Trino Marin, and her parents booted her out of their house. She married Marin in and had two more children. Their union wasn't blissful; Rivera described their eight years as physically and mentally abusive. She still managed in this time to complete high school and college, studying business. But her volatile marriage led to depression and two suicide attempts.
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Rivera was the daughter of a self-made Latin recording mogul, and she began her singing career in the s. Her experiences as a divorced mother of three informed her brassy and sometimes confrontational lyrics, which were primarily in Spanish though she was fluent in English as well. She sold more than 15 million albums and received numerous nominations for Latin Grammy Awards. She also had recently explored a career as a reality-TV star. Rivera was killed in a plane crash. Jenni Rivera.
Billboard magazine named her the "top Latin artist of ", and the "best selling Latin artist of ". Rivera began recording music in Her recordings often had themes of social issues, infidelity, and relationships.
