Alex Tisdale 
A shot of Long Beach City College/Photo credit: LBCC
Long Beach City College is receiving spotlight after recently deciding to rename its performing arts center after the famous singer Jenni Rivera. Rivera attended the institution more than three decades ago and has now been inducted into its Hall of Fame.
This came after the board of trustees voted unanimously last week to change the name. This also marked the 13th anniversary of the plane crash in Monterey, Mexico, that tragically took her life.
Some songs she was famous for were “La diva de la Banda,” and she has also written albums called “La chacalosa” or “The Jackal.”
The new facility, named after her, will open in spring 2026, and her enterprise has agreed to donate more than $2 million to the Long Beach foundation over 10 years.
“Long Beach shaped who Jenni was as an artist, a mother, and a woman committed to her community, knowing that young performers will grow trained by their creative voice in a center that carries her name is profoundly meaningful to us,” Jacqui Rivera, one of Rivera’s children and CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises, said in a statement.
The center will include 300 seats in the theater and 50 in the black box venue. It will also include recording, digital production, and rehearsal spaces. This will replace the music building G and the theater arts building H. The project itself is 67,000 feet and worth $75 million.
According to the agreement, 70% of the $2 million in donations will go to scholarships and programs at the performing arts center and college. While 20% will go to maintenance, and the remaining 5% will go to the president.
Even though the theater will be renamed after Jenni Rivera, this isn’t the first place in Long Beach to have her name. Back in 2015, Chittick Field was named in her honor. In the park, there is a 125-foot mirror of Riviera with the words “Mariposa De Barrio.”
Back in 2012, Riviera reflected on her upbringing in Long Beach. In an interview with Mario Lopez, she talked about how she did in school despite having good grades she fell pregnant in her sophomore year.
Due to her pregnancy, Riviera doubted that she would finish high school. In another interview in 2003, she told journalist Gustavo Arellano, “My counselor told me there was no way they would allow me to drop out. I had too much promise.”
In 1987, she graduated from Reid Continuation High School as valedictorian. This year was also the year when her father started his own record label. In 1992, she released her very first album. She also earned her business degree at Cal State Long Beach after transferring from Long Beach City College.
In a statement, LBCC superintendent and president Mike Munoz said that Riviera’s story “is one of perseverance, authenticity, and pride in her roots and mirrors the experiences of so many LBCC students. We hope her name on this beautiful new facility reminds every student that their voice matters and their dreams are within reach.”
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Brandon Foley 
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