Remembering local legend, Jenni Rivera at her Long Beach memorial

On what is the eighth anniversary of her death, fans can remember Long Beach legend, Jenni Rivera at the Jenni Rivera Memorial Park, located at 2001 Walnut Ave., in the City’s Sixth District.

Rivera spent most of her youth in Long Beach, where she was born and raised in the Westside. Through her years she attended Garfield Elementary School, Stephens Middle School, Long Beach Poly High School, Reid Senior High School, Long Beach City College and Cal State University Long Beach.

She became a teen mom at the age of 15 and overcame an abusive relationship she was in for eight years before working for her father Pedro Rivera’s music label, Cintas Acuario, and discovering her own love and talent in music.

Many women found her lyrics relatable as Rivera was known for being raw and openly singing about her own personal struggles and denouncing unfaithful lovers, but also empowered women with songs about her own resiliency and strength.

Despite major sexism in a male-dominated industry, she went on to become one of the most successful female artists in Regional Mexican music, specifically in banda, mariachi and norteño, many of her records going gold, platinum and double-platinum.

Among her honors were winning two Billboard Music Awards, twenty-two Billboard Latin Music Awards, eleven Billboard Mexican Music Awards and eighteen Lo Nuestro Awards. Selling more than 20 million records worldwide, she is still the highest-earning banda singer of all time.

Apart from her music, she did a lot of charity work to aid victims of domestic violence. In 2010, she was named spokeswoman for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and she also founded the Jenni Rivera Love Foundation to help women who have been the victims of violence, children with cancer, and immigrants.

Rivera also became a business mogul, starring in her successful reality-tv series I Love Jenni and launching several businesses including Jenni Jeans, Divine Music, Divina Realty, Jenni Rivera Fragrance and Divina Cosmetics.

She was inducted by Vice-Mayor Dee Andrews into the Poly Walk of Fame on July 26, 2012 for her career achievements and charitable work through her foundation.

Rivera died at the age of 43 after a plane crash claimed the life of her and six others after her final concert in Monterrey, Mexico on Dec. 9, 2012. She was laid to rest at All Souls Cemetery, in her hometown.

The park dedicated to her memory in 2015, is located on the corner of Walnut Ave. and Wesley Dr. and features a bike path and a playground.

Following the bike path, one will encounter the grand finale of the path, a 125-foot mural dedicated to the late, top-selling female Regional Mexican music artist and Long Beach native.

Starting from the left the mural reads “Mariposa de Barrio”, an homage to the songstress and her love of butterflies. A trail of monarch butterflies, representing Rivera, lead to one of three portraits of her in the mural, in this one she’s wearing a cap with a Long Beach logo on it, representing her roots.

The mural then flows into images representing Mexican culture including, an indigenous Mexican dancer, a couple dancing folklorico, and mariachis performing, the monarch butterflies continuing to flow through.

Next appears the second portrait of Rivera, this time she is wearing one of her classic mariachi dresses she would wear during her many performances. Her dress transitions into waves splashing along the Long Beach shore, palm trees and The Queen Mary are in her backdrop, another tribute to her hometown.

This transitions into the last section of the mural, the last portrait where Rivera is holding a microphone in her hand, surrounded by a butterfly and a classic car.

Her memorial piece reads: “Jenni Rivera of Long Beach, Ca. July 2, 1969 – December 9, 2012. Jenni became a pregnant teen victim of domestic violence and eventually a single mother of five. She was expected to fail and give up. She persevered and fought for her children. Like a butterfly, her life was turned and she became the most acclaimed award winning singer television producer, author, and successful entrepreneur. Jenni, however, never forgot where she started. Her struggles became her inspiration and she never stopped dreaming that her success would one day help single mothers like her to never give up. She is the “Hood’s butterfly” / “Mariposa de barrio”. Her dream is now a reality that inspires and helps single mothers to persevere.”

The “Mariposa De Barrio” mural was funded by Jenni Rivera Enterprises, and painted by her son, Michael Trinidad Rivera, Sergio Ramirez and Daniel Antelo of Wall Dogs in 2015.

On Dec. 18, 2019, a new playground adjacent to the mural was officially unveiled to the Sixth District neighborhood with some of Rivera’s own relatives present.

Mayor Robert Garcia, Vice-Mayor Dee Andrews and Rosie Rivera, Jenni’s younger sister, spoke at the event prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Rosie Rivera, Jenni’s younger sister, also spoke at the event, in both English and Spanish, stressing the importance of parks in the community and how they were significant in enriching the lives of Jenni’s own family.

“There were times in my sister’s life where she was a single mother, and the dream was simply, ‘I want to feed my kids and survive,’ and in all that variation, dreams were made in playgrounds like this, for her and her children, when there was no money for Disneyland,” Rosie said. “When the local park was the only place where we would receive that government cheese and we’re still so thankful for. That’s where dreams are made. I know that a woman like my sister, that dreams of other women, other men and other families lifting up, can come and play now, hearing children laugh, stay off their phones and social media, have a safe and free place to come and enjoy family time, which is so important.”

Two of Jenni’s children, her son, Michael and her daughter Jacqueline, arrived with their own children Jaylah, Jenavieve and Jordan who were seen playing in the playground with Rosie’s daughter Sammy.

The new playground, designed for children from ages 5 to 12 years old, features a slide, climbing structures and is designed to exercise children’s motor skills, cognitive skills and social-emotional skills through sensory play.

This story was originally published on Dec. 9, 2019, with an updated version on Dec. 9, 2020.