Jenni Rivera’s hologram tribute during Hollywood Forever’s Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Celebration

By: Fredwill Hernandez

Universal Music Latin Entertainment [UMLE] in a collaborative effort with Estrella Jalisco [Beer] and Jenni Rivera Enterprises on behalf of the Rivera Family, honored the late Regional Mexican singer Jenni Rivera, known as La Diva de La Banda, Spanish for The Diva of the Band, with the first [ever] Hispanic hologram on Sat. – Oct. 29th, during the 17th Annual Hollywood Forever [Cemetery], Dia de los Muertos [Day of the Dead] The Tree of Life celebration.

 

 

Anticipation for the tribute was very high, even though the public was never [officially] told about the hologram,” ¿ Cuántas personas están aquí para el tributo de Jenni ?, Spanish for How many of you are here for Jenni’s Tribute ?,” asked Fernanda Kelly, [of Univision’s LÁnzate Show] who along with Keven Ramirez hosted the all day celebration on the Muerte y Tradición [Death and Tradicion] main stage which also had performances by the likes of Alejandro y Maria Laura, Buyepongo, and the night’s headliner Julieta Venegas.

 

A couple of minutes before the start of one song hologram tribute where you witnessed the Regional Mexican legend sing ‘Cuando una dama Muere,’ [‘When a lady Dies’], a song she penned, Jenni’s brother Juan, introduced the late singer as he always did before her concerts, then you heard Jenni’s voice, “This is where I was born, in Los Angeles, and this is where I first sang, where the audience that believed me, applauded me, and  launched my career is still here with me. Thank you for your love. I hope you guys all have fun tonight and are satisfied and that this party that we have here in L.A. every year is also unforgettable,” then appeared the musical icon wearing a bright red jumpsuit and a white baseball cap worn backwards, the same attire she wore during a previous concert she had in Tijuana, B.C., on Aug. 4, 2012.

After the hologram tribute the Rivera’s, along Gustavo Lopez, EVP [and GM] of UMLE, and Yonathan Bendesky, Marketing Director of Mexican Imports, Anheuser-Busch’s Estrella Jalisco, held a press conference to talk about the historical [hologram] tribute, Estrella Jalisco’s partnership with Jenni Rivera Enterprises [who oversees the late singer’s estate], and also to unveil a painting commissioned by Estrella Jalisco as a gift to the Rivera Family.

“Good evening, and thank you all for being here, wow what did you all think of that ? [Wow], Estrella Jalisco could of not thought of a better tribute to Jenni – in being the first Hispanic hologram, and without a doubt the star of the night was [Jenni] Rivera,” enthusiastically expressed Bendesky. “Bringing this tribute to life was not an easy process, Estrella Jalisco is gratefully thankful with the Rivera Family in sharing this moment with us, and collectively supporting us each step of the way, as part of the tribute we collaborated with famed painter George Yepes, and brought something else to life in gratitude to the Rivera’s. Rivera Family thank you, and we present to you La Mariposa Estrella [The Star Butterfly] painting, Mr. Yepes would you like to come up and say a few words.”

 

“Gracias a todos, thank you all of the Rivera family, deveras hablo con el pincel, I really express myself best with the brush, thanks,” expressed Yepes, upon unveiling of the 5′ [tall] x 4′ [wide] acrylic on canvas painting of Jenni Rivera which took two and a half months to paint and was born out of sketches inspired by six photographs of the late singer.

As the press conference continued, it was evident, it would be an emotional and special night.

“First of all I would like to thank all the people who worked with us on this, I would like to thank Estrella Jalisco, to Halogram USA, the people of Hollywood Forever for inviting us, to the second family, and my sister’s family, the record company [Universal] thank you, it was very difficult putting this together. This opportunity was offered to us a few years back but my nephews weren’t ready, I really don’t know if  we [really] are ready. This was a very difficult week for us, it took months of work to accomplish this. On our way here, we were kind of bothered by things that occurred [but] let’s put that aside, today we’ll put our personal feelings aside for my sister. I would like to thank all the press who have covered my sister’s life, whether good or bad, you guys were instrumental in the development of her career, and to all her fans who still love and are so passionate about her, that last night at midnight four years since she departed, it debuted at #1, I think to answer Maria’s question, it was something very difficult, we worked with the intention of satisfying her fans, it was scary because no matter how perfect the hologram looks [or feels], unfortunately it’s not my sister, but we wanted to give her fans, maybe those who never got a chance to see her live, or those who would love to touch her and see her on stage singing, we did it for them. I hope my nephews are happy, but when I walked in, I told them I  was so scared. And we worked for you guys so hard [Juan Crying], and I can’t give you your mom back, but I hope you guys got a little bit of what you’ve missed for four years. I hope my mother and my father liked it. I want to expressed my gratitude to my nephews for believing in me. To my little sister, sometimes we are torn to pieces by the media, but we worked so hard just to try and feel our sister, and If in the process, we might of overlooked one of the media outlets, please forgive us, I just want to thank you for being part of this night with us,” emotionally expressed Jenni’s brother Juan.

 

Leading up the hologram tribute was the album release party sponsored by Estrella Jalisco, held on Wed. – Oct. 26th, at Candela [Bar &Grill], Los Angeles [Ca], for Jenni Rivera’s “Paloma Negra Desde Monterey” [Deluxe Version] Spanish for “Black Dove Live From Monterey,” one of two album versions available of the third and final album of a trilogy known as “1969- Siempre,” [Spanish for 1969-Forever] which was released Oct. 28. The album was recorded live the 8th of Dec. – 2012, in Monterey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in what would become the Mexican icon’s last live performance just [3] hours before the tragic airplane crash that would take her life.