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Four months after the tragic death of Mexican-American banda singer Jenni Rivera, Leila Cobo—an author, journalist and the executive editor of Latin content and programming for Billboard—wrote a biography on “La diva de la banda.”
Cobo spoke to Fox News Latino about her biography, Jenni Rivera: La increíble vida de una mariposa guerrera (the incredible story of a warrior butterfly).
FNL: Leila, you had the pleasure of knowing Jenni personally. How was she like in person and what about her stuck with you that made you want to write this book?
Cobo: I knew Jenni for several years, since the mid 2000s, when I started covering her accomplishments on the Billboard chart. I had her as a speaker in several Billboard conferences, including one where she sat in an all-women panel, another one where we had the entire Rivera family at a panel, and finally, a Q&A at last year’s Billboard Latin Music Conference, in addition to many other interviews. What most struck me, every time, was how seriously she took herself and her career and her craft. Although she could wield a great sense of humor, she was very aware of her place as an entertainer, a businesswoman and a mother, and all three were important to her.
Related Video: Jenni Rivera’s Fantastic Basta Ya Video
FNL: What will the fans get out of this book that they will not get from other Jenni Rivera biographies?
Cobo: This is the story of Jenni’s life, told through many different points of views, and in a very objective, step by step fashion. This is really the only document I know of that brings together the main events in her life under one roof, if you will. The media talks a lot about Jenni, but most of that talk is centered on gossip and innuendo. This book is centered on facts. For the first time, for example, we have compiled all her Billboard chart activity—I think it’s a priceless resource for Jenni fans and for fans of Mexian music in general, not to mention that her story is a major inspirational story.
Read the full article on Fox News Latino.
