Fans will have the chance to see Jenni Rivera take the stage for her final concert. A documentary about the late Mexican-American singer is in development, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Made in cooperation with Rivera’s family, the doc tells the life story of the chart-topping artist and features never-before-seen footage of her final show. Her set included a whopping 47 songs.
Rivera, who served as a spokesperson for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, died in a 2012 plane crash at the age of 43.
“We’re really excited,” said Juan Rivera, Jenni’s brother. “We’ve been trying to find the perfect timing for releasing something of this magnitude. It’s taken us a while because it’s such a delicate topic.”
Rosie Rivera, Jenni’s sister and the CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises, told THR, “The first seven years since her passing have been the most difficult for every single person in this family. We’ll never forget her, we’ll never stop working on her legacy,” she emphasized. “But I am concerned about those living and those that stayed behind. That cycle of broken-ness, we’d love to now begin a cycle of celebration of her life.”
As the source details, “Rivera sold millions of records and became the first American-born singer to earn a Latin Grammy nomination for best Banda album. She also starred in reality show ‘I Love Jenni’ for Mun2 (now Universo) and was developing an ABC sitcom at the time of her death.”
Singing was Rivera’s second career. “It has been a rough ride but if I could do it, anyone else could do it. Back in the 1990s, I decided to be a full-time real estate agent and I was doing well,” she told Parade in 2012. “I was licensed and in the top ten percent of agents at Century 21 across the country. After a divorce, I decided to go out with some friends to a club and have a couple shots of tequila. They dared me to go up and sing. I figured at that point I would give my father what he always wanted and become a recording artist. I recorded an album for him and gave it to him for his birthday. That was in 1993 and in 1999, when I was still a real estate agent, I heard my music on the radio. Someone had found it and played it and it’s all history from there.”
Now in its “early stages,” the project will be shopped to TV and streaming outlets soon. It remains to be seen whether the doc, which is being produced by David Broome’s 25/7 Productions and Estefan Enterprises, the company owned by Emilio and Gloria Estefan, will take the form of a feature or a multi-part series.
