In Queens Mexican Communities, Mourning a Voice Gone Silent

Librado Romero/The New York Times Guadalupe Perez, a worker at a store in Jackson Heights, said Jenni Rivera, the Mexican singer who was killed in a plane crash on Sunday, wrote lyrics that spoke honestly about the kinds of struggles many Mexican women face.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press Jenni Rivera

It was only after her death in a plane crash that Jenni Rivera attracted significant attention in the English-language news media, introducing her to a broad audience that may have known little about her.

But in the neighborhoods in Queens where Mexican immigrants have settled, Ms. Rivera's life story is well known and celebrated, not just for her accomplishments as a singer and a reality television star, but also for the example she set for determination and pride in her Mexican roots.

On Tuesday, inside many stores and businesses along Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights and Corona, televisions were tuned to Spanish-language channels where image after image of Ms. Rivera played. Many who were interviewed lamented the death of Ms. Rivera, 43, who was known as “the Diva of Banda” and who was killed on Sunday in the crash of a private jet outside Monterrey, Mexico.

Women in particular considered Ms. Rivera a role model because she was a star in a Mexican music genre that is dominated by men and because she was honest about the troubles she had faced in her personal life.

“She was an example for all Latin women,” said Guadalupe Perez, 50, a worker at a shop called Decoraciones Lupita in Jackson Heights.

Ms. Perez, who was born in Mexico, said she identified with the singer's candid lyrics.

“She never shied away from her problems,” she said. “She shared with us, her audience, a message to keep going for our children. I think it was a way for her to vent to other women.”

Ms. Rivera was born in Long Beach, Calif., a daughter of Mexican immigrants and one of six children. She rose to fame in banda, a genre of music that has not attracted many women, and was known for touchi ng on delicate topics, like domestic abuse.

In 2010, Ms. Rivera was named a celebrity spokeswoman for the organization National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She also founded the Jenni Rivera Love Foundation, a support organization for single mothers and victims of domestic violence.

“She stood up for a lot of people - women and children in poverty, and children of immigrants,” said Diane Moreno, 55, a hair stylist at a beauty salon in Corona.

Ms. Moreno said she was also deeply moved by Ms. Rivera's music.

“She didn't only talk about her problems, she talked about how she would solve them,” Ms. Moreno said. “She achieved the American dream, but she had to work very hard just like all the women and men who have come here to achieve something better for themselves.”

Ms. Moreno said it was the singer's ties to American and Mexican culture that contributed to her popularity.

“Jenni Rivera was an ambassador here for Mexica n music,” she said.

Ms. Rivera also gained fame recently as a reality television star, appearing with her five children in programs that were broadcast on Mun2, a Spanish-language cable channel. She was also a coach on the Mexican version of a singing competition show, “The Voice.”

But to many of those interviewed, Ms. Rivera, despite her celebrity status, was someone just like them, with the same dreams, facing the same challenges.

“Like so many women,” said Ana Maricela Lopez, 25, a worker at a taqueria in Corona, “a lot of us go through the problems she spoke about.”