December 9, 2012: Singer Jenni Rivera and 6 others are killed in a plane crash outside Monterrey, Mexico. The Learjet 25's 2 "black boxes" have allegedly never been found.
The Spanish-language singer known as La Gran Señora, La Diva de la Banda, and La Mariposa de Barrio -- the Great Lady, the Diva of the Dance, and the Butterfly of the Neighborhood -- was 43, and was a huge star in Latin music, but virtually unknown to Anglophone Americans. Being an Anglophone American, I literally never knew she was alive until I knew she was dead.
Dolores Janney Rivera was born on July 2, 1969, outside Los Angeles in Long Beach, California -- 22 days before Jennifer Lopez, another Hispanic music legend, but all the way across the country from her. Jenni began recording music in 1992, and, like another Spanish-singing star who died too young, Selena, her music was produced by her father, Pedro Rivera.
Her recordings often had themes of social issues, infidelity, tax evasion and inflation. In other words, country music. In this case, the "country" was that part of America that speaks Spanish first. What would today be called the Southwest, rather than the Southeast.
She became known for recording Banda, a previously male-dominated subgenre of regional Mexican music in which wind and brass instruments are prominent. By 2005, she was a superstar in Spanish America, but Anglophone America didn't know about her. In 2010, she began headlining in Las Vegas, so Anglophone America at least became aware of her.
She was married 3 times. Her 1st husband, José Trinidad Marín, went to prison for what were once quaintly called "morals charges." Her 2nd husband, Juan López, died of pneumonia in prison, for selling drugs. Her 3rd husband was former baseball pitcher Esteban Loaiza, and they'd filed for divorce 2 months before her death. A few years after her death, he, too, served time for selling drugs, but is out now. Even after her death, her life is a soap opera.
With José, she had 2 daughters, Janney Marín Rivera, known as "Chiquis," born just before Jenni turned 16, and Jacqueline; and a son, Michael. With Juan, she had a daughter, Jenicka, and a son, Juan Angel. She and her family appeared in reality TV shows. Before her death, Jenni and Chiquis were estranged, and were working on reconciliation.
On December 8, 2012, Jenni performed at the Monterrey Arena in Monterrey, Mexico. She then boarded a Learjet 25 to fly to Toluca, to appear on the Mexican version of The Voice. The plane took off at 3:20 AM Central Time, and contact was lost 15 minutes later. Later in the day, the wreckage was found outside the city of Iturbide, in the State of Nuevo León.
No distress signal was ever received. The cause was never determined, but both weather and foul play were ruled out. It should be noted that the pilot was 78 years old, and his co-pilot was only 21. Along with them, Jenni and 4 members of her entourage were killed.
UPDATE: On June 28, 2024, Jenni received the posthumous honor of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. All 5 of her children were on hand, as was a close friend, the controversial Mexican singer Gloria Trevi.
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December 9, 2012 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played:
* The New York Giants beat the New Orleans Saints, 52-27 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.
* The New York Jets beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 17-10 at EverBank Field (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville.
* The Washington Redskins beat the Baltimore Ravens, 31-28 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Carolina Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 30-20 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-21 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
* The St. Louis Rams beat the Buffalo Bills, 15-12 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The San Diego Chargers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 34-24 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.
* The Cleveland Browns beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 30-7 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now Huntington Bank Field).
* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-19 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.
* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Tennessee Titans, 27-23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions, 27-20 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears, 21-14 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-13 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals, 58-0 at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.
* The preceding Thursday night, the Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders, 26-13at the O.co Coliseum (as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was then known).
* And the next night, on ESPN Monday Night Football, the New England Patriots beat the Houston Texans, 42-14 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
There were no games in the NHL, becuase the players were locked out by the team owners. There were 6 games in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Denver Nuggets, 112-106 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 97-88 at the Barclays Center.
* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers, 104-93 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City.
* The Orlando Magic beat the Phoenix Suns, 98-90 at the US Airways Center (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.
* And there was a doubleheader at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. In the afternoon, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Toronto Raptors, 102-83. In the evening, the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 117-110.
