Jenni Rivera

“'Malandrinas' means 'bad girls,' but not bad in a negative way. I wrote it in homage to my female fans.”

“I made a living out of singing Mexican music.”

“I've been recording since 1993. It was a hobby for six of those years. In 1999, I decided to do it full time and take it seriously.”

“You work hard and you have expectations. So I'm living my expectations right now.”

“I can't get caught up in the negative because that destroys you.”

“Perhaps trying to move away from my problems and focus on the positive is the best I can do.”

“Mexican music runs through my veins. I loved it. Growing up, my father didn't allow us to listen to English music at home. That's all I heard. I had no choice.”

“I'm just being myself. To me, that people are interested in Jenni, not necessarily the artist, but the woman... it amazes me still.”

“I had no choice but to work hard. I was a straight-A student, went to college, and I loved business. I never thought I was going to be a singer myself.”

“I realized going back and writing and explaining in details the difficulties I had lived actually became emotional again. It's like therapy but sometimes therapy can be painful. But it's part of life and part of the autobiography so I'll have to finish it sooner or later.”

“No one else has ever opened doors for me. I opened them myself.”

“I vowed that I would never tell anyone of my shame. They say that when you kept a secret, it eats you up inside, but I felt it was better that way. I wanted to appear strong in front of my children and my family. I didn't want anybody to know. And I would maintain my persona as Jenni, the Rivera Rebel who had never lost a fight. But deep down inside I knew I had lost a piece of myself that I would never recover. My soul had been shattered, but to the outside world I did just as I had been taught since I was a little girl; I kept my head up and continued forward. It is, after all, the Rivera way.”

“My inspiration is always what I think my fans want to listen to. I often write about social problems. If I'm not going through it or I haven't gone through it, I want to make sure it touches someone. That's what I base my music on.”

“Being a mother by far is my favorite and most important career.”

“I want to be the Mexican-American Oprah Winfrey. That's a small goal, isn't it? That's something that I want. And of course not just to host, I want to OWN it! So, that's in my future.”

“I am the same as the public as my fans.”

“The number of times I have fallen down is the number of times I have gotten up.”

“I'm really in touch with my fans. Through their emails, letters and stories is how I decide what music I'm going to perform.”

“I'm happy for the success that I've had, but I've worked so hard at it.”

“It doesn't bother me at all that some people think I am too outspoken.”