Her Name Was Dolores Page 10

  Jen understood from early on that in order to emulate the success stories she so admired, such as Jennifer Lopez’s career, she had to keep her eye on the ball. She may not have been the one negotiating the deals—that was usually my role—but everything that was on the table had been reviewed or requested by Jenni herself. If her signature was needed, you best believe she knew what was going down. Nothing happened without her final okay. She diligently did her homework on the particular business she was starting up, so she could walk into subsequent meetings well informed and ready to hit the ground running.

  Jen’s goal was to expand her brand past music and offer her Mexican Regional fans merchandise and products that had long been available for the general U.S. market, but not for them. In this way, she was set to be the first to make such a move in this music genre. She kept her finger on the pop-culture pulse and closely observed the Kardashians’ entrepreneurial success and how artists such as Beyoncé ventured out of music and into various other business endeavors, and she knew she had what it took to follow those footsteps. Let’s not forget, before becoming an artist, she was a college-educated businesswoman. She understood how commerce worked and had the know-how and natural business savvy to put her ideas in motion, and that’s exactly what she did.

  When I first came on board, she had already launched her first business venture, her concert merchandise line. As a child she had seen her father grab a Polaroid camera at the end of his workday and head out to the nightclubs to take photos of the patrons in exchange for some dollars. This memory stuck with her, and when she launched her music career, she applied it to herself in hopes of making some extra cash at each of her gigs, and it worked. She’d meet her growing number of fans after every performance, take a Polaroid picture with them, and offer it up as a memento for twenty bucks. It became so successful that some promoters and security teams at certain venues began to ban this photo op because they didn’t have the resources to handle the growing crowd, but that didn’t stop Jen. She’d just turn to her fans and say, “Meet me at the gas station down the block,” or she’d ask them to find her at the nearest taco truck, and they did. Hundreds of fans would line up for a chance to take a photo with their idol, and she stood there and smiled for every last one of them, making their dream of meeting and interacting with her come true while generating five to seven thousand dollars of extra revenue a night. After taking note of the Polaroid photo-op’s popularity, she decided to develop her own concert merchandise, giving birth to her first business venture outside of singing and recording.

  As she became more successful in her music career and began to develop new lines of business, one thing was clear: Jen never solely envisioned these ventures to pad her pockets. They usually surfaced from ideas that would ultimately support, cater to, or provide an opportunity for others in her community. Of course she benefitted from all she did, but if she could figure out a way to provide jobs or give back to her community, her fans, her friends, her family, she didn’t think twice about it. Such was the case with her first cosmetics line and real estate venture.

  When Jen came up with Divina Cosmetics, she didn’t just want to sell products to her people. She wanted to give them the opportunity to be empowered by these products and be a part of this business venture. She envisioned a line that followed a multilevel marketing plan, such as the Avon or Mary Kay business model. When she was a kid, Jen had seen her mom sell Avon products on the side to generate extra income for their family; she knew what a difference this could make in a struggling family’s livelihood, and she wanted to extend this possibility to others who were suffering similar circumstances. Unfortunately, the managers she selected weren’t successful, so she ultimately had to shut down operations and put Divina Cosmetics to rest, but her vision and heart were in the right place.

  Then, another interesting opportunity presented itself. One of Jen’s close high school friends, who worked in real estate, approached her asking her for her support to get a broker firm off the ground and running. In this case, Jen didn’t have to invest capital, she just had to lend her celebrity status to the venture in exchange for a royalty fee. Jen not only saw this as a good, low-risk business opportunity for her, she also knew it could be a great service for her fellow Latinos. She had worked in real estate, she knew the market, and she knew all too well how intimidating it was for Latinos to step into a bank and ask for a home loan. Lending her image and brand to a company that would help make the lending and buying process Latino-friendly was a no-brainer in her eyes, and that’s how Divina Realty was born. The intentions were good, the deal was solid, but no one was able to foresee the big housing market crash of 2008. When Jen realized that some of the loans handled at this company were questionable, she decided to withdraw herself from this agreement and stop promoting this firm, but she let them keep the name.

  Meanwhile, with Jen’s finger always on the pulse of pop and urban culture, a new idea sprung to life: it was time to try her hand at perfumes. Artists like Beyoncé and Britney Spears were coming out with their own fragrance lines, and Jen wanted in. She put together a plan and put her daughter, Chiquis, to work. Chiquis was instrumental in developing Jen’s fragrance line. While Jen continued her tours, performances, recordings, and media blitzes, Chiquis took off to China to carry out the necessary research and gather the information they needed to make this dream a reality. She put in a lot of hours and eventually helped Jen launch a perfume line that to this day is still on the market and available for purchase, becoming one of Jen’s first successful and long-lasting business ventures.

  Another one of her successful business endeavors, which is still alive and thriving, is the Jenni Rivera Tequila, but we sure hit quite a few roadblocks before being able to get that one off the ground! One of Jen’s staple moves during her concerts was downing shots of tequila with her audience. They loved her for that, and she loved creating such an intimate setting for them, no matter how large the venue. Once her career took off and her fan base was off the charts, it only seemed natural for us to seek a tequila endorsement deal for her, but we never thought it would become such an uphill battle. I reached out to all of the brand ambassadors, but no one was biting. Why would they pass up such a lucrative opportunity? It didn’t make sense. She played sold-out shows where concertgoers downed tequilas like water—let’s not forget the record-breaking alcohol consumption at the Kodak Theater!—but the company executives just didn’t get it.

  Ever the creative genius, Jen decided to entice them further. She recorded a song called “Chuper Amigos,” where she mentioned practically every tequila brand in the lyrics, then we put some images together with her and the brands and went back out to market possible partnerships … to no avail. We all knew Jenni’s pull and how easily she would up the sales of any brand that would deem to endorse her, but none of them dared to take the plunge. Frustrated at their lack of vision, as I further analyzed the situation, I realized that most of these companies were controlled by general market agencies or agencies located on the East Coast, and neither knew Jenni Rivera was such a household name in the West Coast and Mexico. They hadn’t heard of her yet, so they weren’t willing to take such a risk on someone who they believed had yet to achieve the celebrity status of the likes of Shakira.

  We also suddenly noticed another underlying problem: machismo. Yeah, while the tequila brands were saying no, no, no, counteroffers from several wine labels started pouring in. It was clear that these execs thought it more appropriate and feminine for Jen to go with a wine label than tequila, but they didn’t know Jen. Sure, she’d have a glass of wine here and there with a meal, but she wasn’t really a wine drinker. Her go-to drink was hard liquor, especially on stage. It represented her music, her performance, her message to her fans, so she wasn’t about to sell out and sign off on a wine endorsement. She chose to remain true to herself and simply wait it out, which paid off in the end.

  Veronica Nava, one of Jen’s good friends, managed to secure an endors
ement deal for her with Nuvo Vodka. True, it wasn’t tequila, Jen’s first love in the hard liquor world, but at least we kept it in the family, so she went with it. The initial deal required Jen to feature the vodka in one of her music videos; however, when we realized how this move had affected Nuvo Vodka’s sales, we agreed to extend the agreement to include endorsing the brand at her shows for a full year. The company did so well it was sold to Diageo spirits, the world’s largest producer of spirits, for millions of dollars, yet Jen didn’t see a dime because she hadn’t negotiated to receive a percentage of the sale. You live, you learn. That’s when Jen decided to take matters into her own hands, cut out the middle man, and create her own brand of tequila, approving the label design, the tequila, all of it. Jenni Rivera Tequila was in the works when she passed away. It hit the shelves after her accident and is still available to this day. Another successful business move, another great vision, another step closer to becoming a renowned business magnate.

  After these first ventures, licensing opportunities finally came a knocking. Up until this point, Jen had equity in everything because she wanted to be able to control the products that carried her name, but it was time to open up to other business opportunities. The established brand BH Cosmetics expressed interest in working with Jen and proved to be a good partner and smart choice for her. Had she not left our world so soon, this profitable venture featuring her line of cosmetics and hair appliances would’ve likely had a longer run.

  Meanwhile, parallel to these endeavors was Jen’s dream of providing a line of clothing that would help dress her fans to the nines, and that’s how her apparel line was born. Her ultimate goal was for Latina women to finally feel good about themselves, to at long last learn how to embrace their God-given curves and feel sexy inside and out. I don’t think I ever learned so much about body types than as in those initial meetings when Jen started planning her line of jeans, from the muffin top and the pear to the apples and the bananas. Who knew fruit could so perfectly describe them all? One thing was clear from the get-go: Jen didn’t want her fellow Latinas to feel the need to change their bodies; she simply yearned to see them feel comfortable in their own skin.

  What was great about this venture is that Jen got it. She understood the struggle on a personal level, often going on tiring escapades in search of a simple, well-fitted pair of jeans. She’d observed and celebrated Jennifer Lopez’s Kohl’s clothing line launch, hoping this might be the solution she and her fellow Latinas so desperately needed, but was quickly disappointed. The pieces looked expensive, but the quality was poor, and Jen was a stickler for quality. She had a hunch this line wouldn’t last because of this main issue, and she was right. That’s when she decided to take matters into her own hands.

  Jen built from experience, she was very meticulous, and she made a point to learn from other people’s mistakes. So she hired a fashion designer and set out to create a high-quality and flattering line of jeans for her fellow Latinas, jeans that would celebrate their curves and make them look and feel stunning. She was as hands-on in this venture as any other or more, participating in the selection of material, tags, zippers, buttons, and keeping a close eye on the quality control of the jeans themselves, trying to make sure the end product faithfully reflected her vision. It was very near and dear to her heart, but unfortunately she passed away without seeing the line’s official launch, which happened after her accident, together with another big dream of hers: opening her own boutique. This last plan was in full motion before she passed away. It was to be a place where she would sell not only her jeans, but also other apparel, such as tracksuits—her go-to style while on the road and at home—and dresses, as well as her fragrances and eventually her own shoe line. The sky was the limit.

  The Jenni Rivera Boutique was set to open in Panorama City, a predominantly Latino community, perfect for her merchandise, and only a fifteen-minute drive from her house. As with every business, she was hands-on with this one too, together with Chiquis’s tireless efforts and support. When she passed away, prior to the boutique’s opening, I honestly found it all to be a bit eerie. I couldn’t help compare this to Selena’s story, the Mexican-American singer who had been murdered shortly after opening her own boutique. This was yet another one of Jen’s great ideas that she never got to see flourish, but her family followed through for her, and the Jenni Rivera Boutique is still open to this day.

  The Diva’s Blossoming Media Empire

  Jen had already ventured into perfumes, cosmetics, and had her tequila, apparel line, and boutique in the works. Now it was time to build her media empire, expanding her charm and magic into television, radio, film, books, and more!

  I Love Jenni

  The first time we considered venturing into the TV world was when Latin World Entertainment, the same company that manages Sofía Vergara, approached us about doing a reality show. The proposal piqued Jen’s curiosity, so we went along with the idea, attending meetings to pitch this idea to different cable networks; however, the executives didn’t quite know what to do with our angle. They weren’t sure how a Latina mother of five with Jen’s history would translate to TV, so, although they had expressed initial interest, everyone we reached out to politely declined. Discouraged by the rejection, Jen opted to shelve the TV world for the time being and continue focusing on her many other ventures.

  Nevertheless, a few months later, I gave the idea another shot, approaching it from an angle we hadn’t previously considered: executive producers. It was less of a risk for Jen. If the show tanked, as executive producer it was less likely that her name would be splashed all over the media, and she found comfort in this option. She didn’t want to expose her career to a major hit or miss, but was definitely interested in exploring this new outlet, so she asked me what I had in mind. “What if we cast Chiquis and her friends to represent Latinas in L.A.?” Jenni hesitated at first. Always the protective Mama Bear, she asked me to first run the concept by Chiquis herself to see how she reacted, and then we’d go from there. Chiquis wasn’t too convinced, saying she was comfortable working behind the scenes at home, but I insisted she give it a shot. I knew she had something special. She just needed to be coaxed out of her shell. Chiquis was kind of shy, somewhat of a girl-next-door type, so I introduced her to my friend RaqC, a radio host back then in L.A. She was a red-head Salvadorian with a firecracker personality who would complement Chiquis well and had radio experience, which meant she was good on air and knew how to interact with others and hold her own, so it was settled.

  Once every party agreed, I went to my friends at Mun2, Telemundo’s bilingual channel, and pitched the show. I expressed my concept and added that Chiquis and one of her friends would carry the show, and Jen would lend her name as an executive producer. They liked what they heard and gave us the green light to shoot a pilot, which showed well, so we moved on to the next step: filming the first season of Chiquis and RaqC. We were all set and ready to roll, and things were moving along smoothly, when RaqC began clashing with production. We did our best to navigate the tension, but it got so bad that we ultimately had to let her go midseason, which left us with a whopping hole to fill in the remaining episodes. That’s when Jen came to the rescue. She just stepped in to pick up the slack, but her presence on the show became so crucial to its success that it eventually organically morphed into I Love Jenni, the first reality show featuring a Latina and her family, another milestone for Jen’s career, another one she hit out of the ballpark.

  As I Love Jenni took off, Lieberman Broadcasting, which also owned the radio station Que Buena, approached Jenni in 2011 with the idea of hosting her own talk show for its channel Estrella Network. That was music to her ears! She was keen on the idea of becoming the Mexican Oprah Winfrey, and this seemed like the perfect platform to get the ball rolling. They said she could bring in her own producer and they’d build a special set for the show. The pay wasn’t great, but the opportunity was hard to pass up, so she was all in. However, as soon as production
began, Jen quickly realized she didn’t have the creative control she’d been promised, and it all went south from there. Jen simply refused to continue working on something that wasn’t true to her heart, so she called it quits. We had a discussion with the company’s owners and the show’s producers, which ended in a standoff and ultimately a lawsuit against Jen for breaking the contract she had signed by refusing to tape more episodes. However, after many tense exchanges, we finally agreed to settle with them. She no longer had to continue the talk show, but she had to agree to be a judge on Tengo talento, one of the network’s talent shows. Done deal. She recorded thirteen Tengo talento episodes, fulfilled her obligations, and moved on to greener pastures. Meanwhile, her budding goal to become the Mexican Oprah Winfrey found a new home: radio.

  Contacto Directo con Jenni Rivera

  By the time Contacto Directo con Jenni Rivera hit the airwaves, Jen became a media queen by all accounts: sound recording artist, television, and now radio. Previous offers to do radio had fallen through until Gabo and one of Jen’s good friends, Nestor “Pato,” suggested we reach out to Entravision Communications. Good things come to those who wait, and now it was Jen’s turn. They struck a deal and her radio show was born.

  Like always, she was hands-on with everything, from choosing the topics to bringing her sister Rosie in as a cohost as well as her long-time friend Diablito as one of the producers. It worked like a charm because there was a familiarity on air among them that made it relatable, authentic, and plain old fun. Jen’s show aired once a week and covered a range of topics, including fashion, relationships, pop culture, and more. She loved it. The show was her way of staying in touch with her fans, supporting her colleagues in the music industry, and playing the music she enjoyed. Furthermore, it was the first time a woman had a nationally syndicated show with more than a million dollars of advertising in the first year—that’s just unheard of in the industry—another huge milestone in Jen’s thriving career, another media platform under her wing. Little did she imagine that the movie industry would come a knocking next.