Jenni Rivera's children emotionally accept posthumous Hollywood star
Jenni Rivera, aka "La Diva de la Banda," is getting her flowers on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 11 years after her untimely death.
On Thursday, the Southern California-born Latin superstar, who died at 43 in a plane crash on Dec. 9, 2012, received a posthumous star in front of Hollywood's iconic Capitol Records building. Her children — Chiquis, Jacqie, Johnny, Jenicka and Michael — accepted the honor on behalf of the late singer, who would have turned 55 next week.
Pop star Gloria Trevi briefly spoke at the event, telling the sizable Hollywood crowd that Rivera "lives through all of us who love her and admire her."
Throughout the event, fans occasionally chanted "Jeni" in support of Rivera's family, which also included her parents and siblings.
Jenni Rivera's children remember her as 'a little girl from Long Beach' with a dream
Singer Chiquis Rivera was the first of Rivera's five children to take to the podium and emotionally pay homage to the Latin music icon.
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"I've been crying since we drove in here," she said. "I am so grateful. It is such an honor to be the daughter of such an amazing woman. A woman that accomplished so much, yes, but more than anything, being the daughter of a woman who has left her footprint on this Earth and in so many people's hearts."
"Even if it's been almost 12 years, she is still living and I see her in my siblings and I see her in all of you guys," Rivera continued. "My mother was a woman that did not give up and did not take no for an answer. Her tenacity, her perseverance, her courage, still lives on in so many of us."
Chiquis Rivera on Jenni Rivera:Singer talks her mom's death, her divorce and feeling 'Unstoppable'
"If anyone could, a little girl from Long Beach who thought she was the ugly duckling — because she wasn't but she thought it — she made all of this possible, you guys. We can do it."
Sister Jenicka Lopez recalled what her mother would say when her family visited Hollywood while she growing up.
"I remember sitting in her car, her Mercedes, and she always dreamt: 'I'm going to have my star here one day.' I thought it was impossible to get it after she passed away. But God has a beautiful way of proving people wrong," Lopez said.
She credited sister Jacqie Campos for her work with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce: "It hasn't been easy, so thank you for making this happen and giving her what she wanted and deserved." She also thanked "my siblings because the road to get here, for us, emotionally, has been really hard. We're all growing."
Campos added, "Even if I wish she was here to do it, it's even cooler to say that she got it from heaven. This moment right here is proof that your dreams can come true no matter the circumstances."
See Jenni Rivera's Hollywood star ceremony
Chiquis Rivera told USA TODAY in 2022 that when her mother died, she didn't "think about it twice," becoming a mother figure to her youngest brother and sister and putting her dreams on the back burner."My first instinct was, 'These are my children, I need to take care of them.'"
Later, Rivera became their legal guardian. "That’s the best way I can represent my mom’s legacy," she thought. "I had no other choice but to be strong for them. At night when I was by myself, I would cry and have my moments, but throughout the day, they kept me strong. I kept them alive and they kept me alive."
Contributing: Pamela Avila