This Year’s ALMA Awards to be Broadcast Live on MSNBC

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and NBCUniveral have announced a partnership to air the 2013 ALMA Awards live on MSNBC with programming on MSNBC, mun2 and digital platforms including mun2.tv and Telemundo.com.

The ALMA Awards will be live for the first time since its inception in 1995.

The awards show, held during National Hispanic Heritage Month, will celebrate the contributions of Latinos in the entertainment industry with a look back at this year’s outstanding achievements; tributes to career excellence, outstanding causes and philanthropy; and inspiring music performances and acts.

The barrier-breaking awards show, which stands for the American Latino Media Arts, is the only nationally televised primetime English-language program celebrating Latino contributions to entertainment and media.

In addition to the live special, MSNBC will also present a one-hour news special discussing issues impacting the Latino community. The special will draw on the most important issues that the Latino community and the country are facing, such as immigration reform and education, as well as the causes featured by the honorees of the awards tributes.

The ALMA Awards will be broadcast live on Friday, September 27 at 10:00 pm ET on MSNBC.

mun2 to Air Footage of Rivera’s Last Concert on “I Love Jenni”

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Here’s your chance to catch a glimpse of footage from the late Jenni Rivera’s last concert.

This Sunday, May 19, mun2 will broadcast the concert the late Mexican American singer gave just before getting on the plane that crashed shortly after takeoff, taking the lives of the artist and another six people, as part of the final season of the network’s hit series I Love Jenni.

Rivera’s show in Monterrey, Mexico, included songs that she dedicated to her fans and to her daughter Chiquis.

Along with the concert footage, the episode will feature backstage shots of the singer and businesswoman celebrating the show’s success with her crew.

In addition, the episode includes pictures of how the family took the news of the deadly plane crash in northern Mexico.

The singer had filmed five of the scheduled 17 episodes for the third season of the I Love Jenni series, which debuted in March 2011 and in which the artist shared with fans details of her family life and artistic career.

New Jenni Rivera Biography Due in Late April

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

La Diva de la Banda may be gone too soon… But Jenni Rivera’s legacy will live on in another biography…

Leila Cobo, the executive director of Latin content and programming for Billboard, has written a biography of the late Mexican American singer.

The book, which is titled Jenni Rivera: The Incredible Story of a Warrior Butterfly, is heralded as an “intimate portrait of the difficult, successful life” of Rivera.

Her life was cut tragically short in a plane crash on December 9, right as Rivera’s fame was reaching new heights. Along with being a top-selling artist in her musical genre and the star of a highly successful reality TV show on mun2, she earned rave reviews for her acting debut in Filly Brown and had just signed on a deal to develop a comedy series for ABC. She also had her own lines of makeup and fashion, and even set up a not-for-profit foundation.

In the biography, Cobo notes that she had an indomitable determination.

Rivera was born in the Los Angeles area, the first girl among four brothers. She grew up like a princess – but also like a warrior, because she soon learned to stand up for herself among men.

Rivera, a good-grade earning student, got pregnant at the age of 15. But she never gave up her studies, thanks to support and encouragement from her teachers.

Rivera’s life as a young mom wasn’t easy, mainly because her man abused her.

Years after the couple separated, the book says, Rivera learned that her daughter and her sister had been abused by the same man. She was determined that justice be done and eventually got even.

She recorded her first album in 1993 as a gift for her dad, an album of traditional songs that didn’t attract much attention. Every year afterwards she recorded another for her father – because she wanted to do it and because it made her happy.

By the start of the last decade she had climbed the heights of stardom, traveling, recording, and forging very close ties with her many fans.

The book will be released on April 24.

Rivera’s Memoir, “Unbreakable,” to be Released in July

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

The late Jenni Rivera’s last words or wisdom will be revealed this summer…

A memoir from the late Mexican American singer, which she completed before her untimely death in a plane crash in Northern Mexico in December, will be published in July.

Entitled Unbreakable, the memoir will be published in English and Spanish by Simon & Schuster‘s Atria Books imprint, according to the Associated Press.

Rosie Rivera, the sister of la Diva de la Banda, said the memoir captures her sister’s determined spirit.

“I miss my sister every moment, but on days that I want to feel her close, I open her book written in her own words, and feel her right next to me,” she said in a statement from Atria.

Unbreakable will allow fans to “enjoy her as we have,” she added.

Atria said the book provides “an intimate look into the heart and soul of this self-made woman, who ascended to the top of the charts against all odds, becoming a legend in a completely male dominated music category.”

News of the book’s release comes on the heels of mun2’s announcement that the third season of Rivera’s highly popular I Love Jenni reality series will premiere in April.

Lopez Reportedly Looking to Produce Jenni Rivera Biopic

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

“Jenny from the Block” could be bringing another Jenni’s story to the big screen…

Jennifer Lopez is reportedly looking to produce a biopic about the late Jenni Rivera through her production company Nuyorican Productions, according to TV y Novelas.

The 43-year-old Puerto Rican singer/actress is looking to buy the rights to move forward to developing the biopic on la Diva de la Banda, who passed away in a plane crash in Northern Mexico last December.

Lopez has even taken the initiative and reached out to Rivera’s sister, Rosie, whom Rivera left in charge of her estate, finances and children, according to the publication.

“I didn’t know her personally but I knew of her,” said Lopez after news of Rivera’s death broke. “For me, just being on tour right now, you live the same type of life. You know what I mean? It’s traveling, it’s doing shows.”

“…I’m sure she was rushing to get home to her kids at that time so she took the flight at 3 in the morning. So you go like, wow, it’s just like a wake-up call for everybody. It’s tragic. She was so young, so young, and she had five kids. It just wasn’t her time, it feels like.”

TV Y Novelas reported that Lopez admires that the Mexican-American banda and ranchera singer had thick skin and a never-give-up attitude toward the obstacles she faced in life.

“Jennifer (Lopez) knows that she (Rivera) was very strong, a warrior,” said the source. “Just like the movie of Selena Quintanilla was a success for her career, she feels that Jenni deserves a movie with all the Hollywood glitz and glam.”

In the meantime, Rivera’s fans will have the chance to see the last images of their idol on mun2. The cable network has announced that the third season of her hit series I Love Jenni, which includes footage shot a month before her passing, will premiere in April.

The Third Season of Rivera’s “I Love Jenni” to Premiere in April

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a bittersweet day for Jenni Rivera’s fans…

mun2 has announced that the third season of the late Mexican American singer’s hit reality series I Love Jenni will premiere in April.

Rivera’s series, the top-rated Hispanic reality show on cable, comes four months after the superstar banda and ranchera died in a plane crash in Northern Mexico on December 9 after giving her last performance in Monterrey.

The new season’s episodes will include footage shot in the month before her untimely passing, as well as footage shot afterward as Rivera’s family deals with her death. Rivera’s five children Chiquis, Jacqui, Michael, Jenicka and Johnny, as well as Rivera’s sister Rosie will also appear in the new episodes.

Rivera, a major star in the Latin American community and Mexico, was in the midst of preparing to cross-over into the English-language market in the U.S. Rivera’s death came just days after she’d sealed a deal to headline her own sitcom for ABC.

Season three of I Love Jenni will premiere on mun2 on April 14 at 9:00 pm ET.

Morales Starring on mun2’s “Fugitivos de la Ley: Los Angeles”

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Roman Morales is ready to hunt down people running from the law…

The long-time government agent joins a team of bounty hunters in the new action series Fugitivos de la Ley: Los Angeles, which will run on mun2.

“It’s a program about bounty hunters in English and Spanish, but I don’t speak much Spanish – we’re bounty hunters with different abilities that come to light during the show,” says Morales. “When they work together you’re going to see a lot of good action, good fun, but with a seriousness that makes it all very realistic.”

Fugitivos de la Ley: Los Angeles will feature 24 episodes, of which six have already been shot in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

The program is a dramatization of real cases registered at bail bond companies that intercede on behalf of people arrested by the police.

“Bounty hunting goes into action when defendants skip bond, when they don’t show up at court when they’re supposed to, and we have to go find them and turn them in to the authorities,” Morales said.

“We go out to arrest individuals who sometimes go quietly, but other times we come up against those who are really tough,” he said.

Fugitivos de la Ley: Los Angeles is directed by Lou Pizarro, creator of the Operation Repo program about cars being repossessed because their owners fail to pay up.

Fugitivos de la Ley: Los Angeles will premiere this Sunday January 13 and air every Sunday at 8:00 pm ET.

Ortiz Hosting “DUB Latino” on Mun2

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Gerardo Ortiz isn’t putting the brakes on his singing career… But he is making a slight detour into the world of television.

The 23-year-old Mexican singer is serving as the host of Mun2’s new series DUB Latino, which shines a spotlight on what vehicles Latino celebrities drive.

“It’s something totally different for me and at first it was hard to decide whether to do this program or not because it involves so much (work), but we decided to do it because the concept is a perfect fit for Gerardo Ortiz, for my personal life, because I love everything to do with cars,” the singer told Efe.

“And now, being able to know what celebrities think and some of my pals in music as well, and above all, the world of exotic cars and ‘Dub Latino,’ it’s got everything,” said the artist, who has interviewed the likes of Ivy Queen and Prince Royce on his show.

Ortiz shares hosting duties with model Magda Angel.

“I had my first car at 18 and I’ve always loved sports cars – but in Mexico it was more pickup trucks for the rough tracks around the ranches,” said Ortiz about the first vehicle he drove on the dirt roads of the western state of Sinaloa.

DUB Latino airs Sundays at 11:00 pm ET on Mun2.

Hernandez Gets His Own mun2 Reality Show

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

It’s lights, camera, and action for Larry Hernandez…

The Mexican-American singer will expose television viewers to his daily goings-on on Larrymania, a 10-episode reality show that will begin airing on Sunday, October 7 on mun2.

“I’m going to expose my edgy feelings, I’m going to present my children, my mother, my girlfriend in filming we’re doing in five U.S. cities, and also in Sinaloa (Mexico) where I went to visit the cemetery where my grandparents rest in peace,” the singer told Efe.

Hernandez, who was born in Los Angeles but moved to Sinaloa at age 4, knows the reality show brings with it some serious personal risks.

“It was hard for me to decide to do a show about my private life, because that means making known what I love most, which is my family, including to criminal groups like those who kidnapped my brother in 2004 in Phoenix and tried to kidnap me in 2006,” Hernandez said.

But Hernandez – who sings narcocorridos, ballads about the lives and often-violent deaths of drug traffickers – Believes the inconveniences of the project will be a positive experience for him and his family.

“I decided to participate fully in the production because … my two children’s friends don’t believe them that their dad is the singer who’s on television and so they’ll be part of the reality (show) in which I do what I always do, which is take care of them, play with them and tell them that I want them to do well in school,” he emphasized.

In addition to composing songs and corridos, the talented singer-songwriter also plays the accordion and drums.

Rivera’s “I Love Jenni”: the Top Hispanic Reality Show on Cable

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Talk about a diva on top… It seems there’s plenty of love for Jenni Rivera.

The second season of the 43-year-old Mexican-American singer/songwriter’s series I Love Jenni reigned as the No. 1 reality show on Hispanic cable during its 19-episode run, which ended Sunday.

Rivera, who has released 16 banda and norteña albums, launched her reality show last year on Mun2 and has since became the cable channel’s “most effective weapon in reaching an influential population of bilingual Hispanics,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Commonly known as “la diva de la banda,” Rivera’s musical success has remained steady throughout her career. She’s been nominated for two Latin Grammys, won the Premios Lo Nuestro female artist of the year several times and scored a No. 1 album on the U.S. Billboard Top Latin Album charts in 2008.

And now she’s moving beyond her musical career, capitalizing on her appealing personality and glamorous lifestyle to gain more acclaim. Rivera, who has five children and a grandchild and is married to Mexican-born former pro-baseball pitcher Esteban Loaiza, recently signed on to become a mentor on La Voz… Mexico.

Rivera’s also a radio host and entrepreneur, with her own fragrance and curvy jeans line.

Rivera says I Love Jenni is about her life and what it’s like to be a Mexican-American woman living in California., even though she says the show can be enjoyed by viewers from any background.

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