Singer Jenni Rivera's public memorial service took place today as sales of her music showed a heavy increase following her death.
Rivera died along with six others on the morning of Dec. 9 as the plane departed from Monterrey, Mexico at 3:30 a.m. (local time) on her way to Toluca de Lerdo, west of Mexico City. The plane was reported missing about 10 minutes after liftoff.
According to the Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transportation Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, she died in the Learjet 25 falling more than 28,000 feet at speeds reaching approximately 620 miles per hour.
"The plane practically nose-dived," said Ruiz Esparza during an interview with Radio Formula. "The impact must have been terrible."
Over a week later, the two funeral services went in order. The first was open to the public with over 6,000 people attending the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Tickets were made available to the public on Tuesday and sold out within the hour.
The memorial service features songs and speeches from members of the Rivera family and singers Olga Tañon and Joan Sebastian.
The two and a half hour ceremony, referred to as the "Celestial Graduation," featured Rivera's red colored coffin, the favorite color of the singer.
"We're not here to mourn the death," said Michael Rivera, the singer's son. "We're here to celebrate the life and graduation of a singer, an entertainer, a diva, a fighter, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and more than anything, a mother - the best mother."
The youngest son of 'La Diva de La Banda,' Johnny Rivera, at 11 years old, stated, "Mama, I've been crying so much these last few days. I miss you so much," said the little boy, wearing a red bow tie like many of his family members. "I hope you're taking care of my dad and I hope he's taking care of you, too."
The ceremony also featured videos of the singer as Billboard confirmed on Tuesday that her album sales increased by 1,014 percent.
Three of Rivera's albums topped the Latin Albums chart on Billboard. The album "La Misma Gran Senora" debuted at number one with 27,000 sales, the best numbers for any Latin album for 2012.
"It's also Rivera's best sales frame for an album, beating the 16,000 racked by 'Jenni' in its debut week in 2008," reported Keith Caulfield of Billboard.biz.
The number two and three positions of the Latin Albums chart was Rivera's "Joyas Prestadas: Pop" and "Joyas Prestadas: Banda," selling 14,000 (up 532%) and 13,000 (up 578%), respectively.
Rivera has sold more than 15 million copies of her 12 major-label albums during her career.
She was also set to make her big screen debut with "Filly Brown," opening in theaters April 2013.
A private ceremony was made after the public memorial.
The plane company is currently under investigation, notably executive Ed Nunez by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, claiming ties to a Tijuana cartel. Click here for more information on the plane company, Nunez, and previous troubles.
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