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In the 90s, vocalist/songwriter Jenni Rivera established herself as a major star in the regional
Mexican market. Rivera's specialty is banda, which is also known as corrido and is one of the various Mexican styles that
is extremely popular in Mexico as well as the southwestern part of the United States. Rivera is well aware of other Mexican
styles, such as norteño, tejano, mariachi and ranchero--in fact, the Mexican-American singer has recorded norteño versions
of some songs--but banda/corrido is her main focus. And the fact that Rivera is a major female star makes her a rarity for
the banda/corrido field. While Mexican music has had plenty of famous female artists over the years--everyone from Rocio Durcal
to Lola Beltrán to Selena to the controversial Gloria Trevi--banda has tended to be male-dominated. In the Mexican market,
Rivera has been given such titles as La Diva de la Banda (the Diva of Banda) and la Primera Dama del Corrido (the First Lady
of Corrido). It should be noted that not all Latin artists who use the word banda in their name actually play banda/corrido
music; for example, there are merengue outfits with names like Banda X.
Although Rivera is of Mexican descent, she
didn't actually grow up in Mexico. Rivera was born and raised in Long Beach, CA, the Los Angeles suburb that also gave us
gangsta rap star Snoop Doggy Dogg. Rivera's parents had immigrated to the United States from Mexico, and she grew up speaking
both English and Spanish fluently. Her father, Pedro Rivera, and her brothers both played Mexican music, focusing on banda/corrido,
norteño and ranchero--and they did a lot to encourage her interest in music. When Rivera got to college, however, she didn't
major in music but rather, studied business administration. Rivera went on to work as a real estate agent, although she kept
a hand in music and helped her father run his record company. Working in real estate didn't prevent Rivera from pursuing a
career in music, and around 1994, she signed with Capitol/EMI's Latin division; her first album, Chacalosa, came out
in 1995. Rivera made a few more albums for Capitol/EMI (including Adios a Selena) before recording for Sony's Latin
division in the late 90s. It was In 1999 that Rivera signed with Fonovisa, one of the top labels in the regional Mexican market.
Her first Fonovisa album, Que Me Entierrren Con la Banda (which contained the hit "Las Malandinas") came out in 1999
and was followed by early 2000s releases that included Dejate Amar (which included the hit "Querida Socia") and Se
Las Voy a Dar a Otro. In 2003, Fonovisa released the conceptual Homenaje a las Grandes, which may very well be
Rivera's most ambitious album so far. The title Homenaje a las Grandes means "homage to the great ones," and the 2003
release finds Rivera paying tribute to famous Mexican female stars such as Lucho Villa, Mercedes Castro, Rocio Durcal, Lola
Beltrán and Alejandra Guzmán.
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