Fans across the world are mourning the tragic death of Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera. The Chicago Tribune reports that she perished on December 9, 2012: her private plane crashed in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
I am sending warm thoughts and prayers to her family, friends, and beloved fans alike.
I will always remember Jenni Rivera as being a free spirit. One of the reasons why she was so popular and loved is quite simple: she was authentic to herself and shared her triumphs and challenges through her music. She was able to match beauty and elegance with down home honesty. This bonded her with her beloved fans and was truly refreshing.
God bless you, Jenni Rivera. I hope the angels gave you a warm welcome home.
One of my favorite Bandas is La Banda Fresa. Their music really gets everyone moving. One can really get lost in the rhythm and beat of their music.
An interesting aspect of this group is their music videos. Their videos are hilarious and some even follow the adventures of "women." In "La Loca" we follow the adventures of a young lady in search of herself. The video starts with her putting make-up on and heading out on the town. No doubt she is in search of a love.
Time after time, love eludes her: she passes a young man in a park; she passes Superman who is rescuing a woman in distress. However, when they find out that she is indeed a man they run away in horror.
With the advice of a friend she goes on a journey of self discovery. This journey includes some hilarious beauty treatments in which she gets various implants, her legs waxed, and comes out a new person.
She emerges from her treatments as a new woman, refreshed and ready to take on the world. The police discover the ladies on the hunt and drive up to them and start a chase. In an amusing twist of fate the ladies begin chasing the police officers.
This video took us on a true adventure. By the end of the video one feels a sense of camaraderie with this young woman.
I give kudos to the band members of La Banda Fresa for being brave enough to take on such a video. This band was formed in 1999 in Guadalara, Jalisco, Mexico. . . .
Here are some podcast comments about this fun video.
Starting a Facebook page for Banda Television was an exciting experience. I never realized, however, that the iStockphoto I used would cause a scandal. On this photo is a picture of a handsome cowboy who I felt represented Banda Television well. My friends, family, and supporters of Banda Television felt otherwise. . . .
Within minutes of sending out the announcement of the Facebook fan page I received a telephone call. "Who is that model? Don't you think your photo should be there?" These were serious questions from my mentor. I felt myself becoming defensive. "Do other business owners use their photo to represent their businesses?" I asked.
Her feelings were echoed by others as well. One friend even told me that she would not "like" the page until she saw my photo up there.
I must admit that I had some anxiety about it: there is the fear that people would not take a show highlighting music of Mexico seriously if they knew it was headed by an African American. I also never wanted to be one of those big headed business owners with their photos plastered over everything.
This anxiety was overcome by the wonderful feedback of my social network, and the overwhelming sentiment that authenticity is important. They know and feel my passion for Banda music and wanted to be sure I was there. I must admit, it did feel great that everyone wanted my photo there. We'll see how creative I will get. . . .
