After the tragic passing of the well known Spanish-American singer, Jenni Rivera, fans continue to remember her through her music and the legacy she left behind in the regional mexican industry. In 2017, two years after her passing, Telemundo released Mariposa de Barrio, a show that recaps the singer’s fascinating story. On January 1st, 2021, Netflix released the telenovela and it is no surprise that it has gained recognition. The series, Mariposa de Barrio, was based on Jenni Rivera’s biography Unbreakable: My Story, My Way and brought her story back to life. The 91 episodes not only highlight Jenni’s singing career, but her struggles that go all the way back to her childhood.

 The first few episodes recap Jenni’s relationship with her first husband, Trino Marin, and her first born “Chiquis”. Since the beginning of her relationship with Trino, she experienced both physical and emotional abuse that continued even after she attempted to take her own life. The raw scenes from this show truly show Jenni’s struggles but an extreme insight into her personal life. Although some of the scenes can be sensitive for some viewers, it brings awareness to survivors of domestic violence, which Jenni Rivera continued to recognize and help throughout her career. 

Her road to fame was not the easiest, and many events were put between Jenni and her singing career. After forgetting the lyrics to a song at a singing contest when she was younger, Jenni despised singing in front of crowds and promised herself she would never do it again. As we see her grow up in the show, she gains the love for singing again and begins to build a career with the help of her father, her siblings, and the recording studio, Cintas Acuario, her father owned. 

The Rivera family was the opposite of distant, both her mother and father supported her through every single hardship, as far as her several toxic relationships. Jenni grew up with 5 siblings, and throughout the show we see their close bond to one another, and wanting to protect eachother through anything and everything. “Please don’t ever die sister.” Rosie Rivera told her sister everytime Jenni was there by her side. That one line was repeated throughout the series, foreshadowing her death. Jenni was seen as a huge role model to her siblings and children, and her bright, strong attitude is not hard to miss in Mariposa de Barrio. 

It seems as though every single event her life was portrayed with so much detail and emotional connection that kept me so intrigued and fascinated. Jenni’s reality was the opposite of calm and laid back. As she was a survivor of domestic violence, she continued to fight every battle that came her way, despite the years of pain she faced. Every episode shows the outspoken person she was, and told her truth in every situation. Some episodes were harder to watch than others, and I found myself tearing up. This Netflix series was incredible to watch and definitely did not leave Jenni Rivera’s legacy, La Diva De La Banda, left in the dark.