Jenni Rivera, whose legendary singing career was cut short more than a decade ago, will get another hometown accolade this week when Long Beach City College adds her to its hall of fame, honoring her groundbreaking musical career and contributions to Long Beach.
Rivera, a Long Beach native who already has a local park named in her honor and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has left a lasting legacy locally since she died in a plane crash in 2012.
“She would be so amazingly humbled and blessed by how many people love her,” said Abigail Rivera, Jenni Rivera’s niece. “Tia, you actually made a mark in the world,” she said.
This Thursday, Long Beach City College will hold a ceremony to induct Rivera alongside actor and disability rights activist Jennifer Kumiyama and attorney Norm Rasmussen, recognizing each for excellence in their fields and impact on Long Beach. They will join the ranks of about 200 esteemed LBCC alumni — educators, civil servants, athletes, activists, artists, musicians and politicians — inducted since the hall of fame was established in 1972.
Rivera grew up in Long Beach, “from the hood,” she said in a 2012 interview with television host Mario Lopez. She excelled academically at Long Beach Poly High School but became pregnant her sophomore year. Rivera didn’t expect to finish high school, she said in a 2003 interview with journalist Gustavo Arellano, adding: “But my counselors told me there was no way they would let me drop out — I had too much promise.”
She graduated from Reid Continuation High School as valedictorian in 1987, the same year her father started his record label, Cintas Acuario, and began producing corridos, regional Mexican ballads.
Rivera developed her business sense working for the label, then honed her skills at LBCC and Cal State Long Beach, earning a business degree in 1991.
“I became a singer because I’m a businesswoman,” she told Arellano in 2003. Women rarely sang earthy, brazen corridos — but Rivera did, and her songs proved popular.
Every weekend, she would wake up at 6 a.m. to sell CDs at the swap meet, Abigail Rivera said. “Back in the day, you didn’t just secure your spot,” she said. “You had to fight to get there.”
Jenni Rivera released her first album in 1992. In the next two decades, she was nominated for more than 100 awards and named Top Latin Artist by Billboard in 2013.
“She told me to always discover yourself, discover your talents,” said Abigail Rivera, who now runs the local food truck Casa Camarón y Sushi. “When I was doing my food truck, I just kept thinking that: Just believe in yourself.”
Many Long Beach residents feel similarly inspired by Rivera, who created a foundation to support single mothers and victims of domestic violence and sang of her own hardship and perseverance. In 2015, Long Beach dedicated the Jenni Rivera Memorial Park, recognizing the accomplishments of “La Diva de la Banda,” as she was nicknamed.
LBCC Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz said that, when many immigrant students are navigating uncertainty, now is “a powerful time to lift up the legacy of Jenni Rivera.” Her story “reminds our students that their identities and journeys are not only valid, but worthy of celebration and honor,” he said in a statement.
The other hall of fame inductees have also worked in different ways to improve Long Beach. In each case, LBCC launched their careers. Together, this class of honorees, selected through a rigorous nomination and review process, represents “varying perspectives of a community college education,” said Paul Kaminsky, CEO of the LBCC Foundation. “It’s not cookie-cutter at all,” he said. “People really find their calling.”
Jennifer Kumiyama developed a love for musical theater in her multi-ethnic Long Beach household. Her family moved to the Inland Empire, yet she felt a pull to return and studied voice training at LBCC in 2000. “I really found myself in the music program,” Kumiyama said.
“There aren’t people in the industry that look like me,” said Kumiyama.“I have always been in a plus-size body, a woman of color, disabled.” But the people she met at LBCC “shoved me into bravery,” she said.
Kumiyama has found success in musical theater and voice acting, while advocating for disability rights in Long Beach. In addition to founding the annual Long Beach Disability Pride event, she now serves as Citywide Accessibility Coordinator.
Norm Rasmussen, an estate planning and business attorney and lifelong resident of Long Beach, began his law career at LBCC in 1950, back when classes “only cost $5 a semester,” Rasmussen said. His accounting professor motivated him, saying, “You know, you’re pretty good at this. You ought to continue,” Rasmussen remembered.
Continue he has — earning a law degree from UCLA and practicing in Long Beach for over 65 years. In that time, he has served on boards for Long Beach hospitals, museums and the arts organizations.
“This community has been very good to me, and I’ve always wanted to put something back in the pot,” Rasmussen said.
He hopes the hall of fame will galvanize others to do the same.