Salsa producer and percussionist Willy Calderon dreams of winning a Grammy. The Los Angeles-born and raised musician just submitted his latest record The L.A. Impromptu to the Recording Academy for consideration in the Best Tropical Latin Album category.

The independently produced album is the first record by Willy Calderon & the L.A. Impromptu Orchestra, a band that brings together Southern California-based tropical talent like Grammy Award winner Luis Conte, Brigido “Macondo” Chaverra and Alberto Salas. The ensemble mixes salsa with jazz, son and other popular genres. 

“L.A. Impromptu was born from my heart, my home, my passion,” says the 31-year-old, L.A.-based percussionist. “I was inspired to create a band that would showcase all the talented artists on the west coast.” He adds, “I wanted this album to represent the best of Los Angeles and to remain a legacy of this period of time in music, of L.A, and of quality production and passion.”

Calderon recruited many other salseros from L.A., the U.S. and around the world, such as the also-Grammy Award winners Alex Acuña, Tony Succar and Luisito Quintero and Grammy Award-nominated artist Alberto Salas. 

The album consists of 12 tracks including “Mister Magic,” “Ifa,” “Gimme Some Money,” “Fiesta en Shibuya” and “La Tiene Que Pagar” and “Why? Why Not!”

The more than 30 featured musicians on the record include Roberto Quintero, Eliel Lazo, Adonis Panter Calderon, Oscar Ivan Lozano, John Egizi, Diego Camacho, Green Grizz, Hugo Motta, Ostual Serna, Kiwzo Fumero, Lito Hernandez, Jonathan Pintoff, Joe Motter, Luis Manuel Vadel, Anthony Ambriz, Luis Eric Gonzalez, Edgar Cruz, David Gomez Herrera, Pedro Ramirez, Jaime Andres “Gato” Salazar, Edwin Blas, Carlos Centeno, Andres De Cali, Mahesh Balasooriya and Steve Giraldo “Mofongo.” 

Calderon also features a Hollywood star lending his voice to the record. An introduction to L.A. Impromptu is narrated by actor Bill Pullman, who co-starred in the blockbuster film Independence Day as the United States president and also appeared in the BBC series Torchwood.

Calderon will find out if he nabs a Grammy nod for L.A. Impromptu when the Academy announces nominations for the 64th edition of the coveted award on Nov. 23.

In addition to being available as a CD, L.A. Impromptu can be streamed on Spotify and Amazon Music.

(Don’t miss Latin Heat’s exclusive interview with Willy Calderon later this week.)

Featured Photo: Willy Calderon (Credit: The Herrera Agency)

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Considered one of the top-selling tropical/salsa singers of all time, the multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winner will launch the Marc Anthony Tour Aug. 27 in San Antonio, Texas. He’s reportedly the first artist to perform at the AT&T Center since the venue shuttered early in the pandemic in March of 2020.

San Antonio will be the first stop of the artist’s tour, visiting 23 American and Canadian cities through the end of this year.

The “Vivir mi vida” singer will then visit Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Uncasville, New York City, Chicago, Kansas City, Tulsa, Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, Ontario, Phoenix, Fort Myers, Orlando, Miami. He’ll cross into Canada to perform in two cities, Montreal and Toronto, before coming back for two performances in California, first in San Jose and then Los Angeles, where he’ll end the portion of his American tour Dec. 18. 

New York-born Puerto Rican Marc Anthony has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide and won three Grammys and six Latin Grammys. He has 26 Billboard chart hits like “Vivir Mi Vida” which has more than one billion views on YouTube and “Flor Pálida” with more than 142 million plays on Spotify. The singer also holds the Guinness World Record for best-selling tropical/salsa artist and the most number-one albums on the Billboard Tropical Albums year-end charts, an honor he shares with Romeo Santos and Eddie Santiago. 

The Boricua superstar was named after the Mexican balladeer Marco Antonio Muñíz. While a global salsa icon for a long list of Spanish-language hits, he started his recording career singing English, performing a dance music genre known as freestyle. That changed when he switched to salsa in 1993 and put out three commercially successful salsa albums in four years, Otra Nota, Todo a su Tiempo, and Contra la Corriente. 

But he also found success in the mainstream American market. Marc Anthony’s eponymous English-language album debut went triple-platinum in the U.S., becoming part of the nation’s so-called “Latin boom” in music during the waning years of the past millennium. 

Marc Anthony has received a total of 29 Premio Lo Nuestro awards, the ASCAP Founders Award, 12 Billboard Latin Music Awards and three Billboard Awards.

The singer also turned to acting in the mid-1990s. His film credits include Big Night, Bringing Out the Dead, In the Time of the Butterflies, Man On Fire. He played Puerto Rican salsa legend Héctor Lavoe in the 2007 biopic El Cantante. Additionally, he performed on Broadway, starring opposite Rubén Blades and Ednita Nazario in Paul Simon’s The Capeman in 1998.

In In the Heights, Marc Anthony has a small role. He plays Gapo, the alcoholic father of Sonny, the cousin of central character Usnavi, played by Anthony Ramos. The salsa legend is also part of the soundtrack. He lends his vocals to the song “Home all summer,” written by Lin Manuel Miranda and also featuring vocals by Ramos and Leslie Grace, who plays Nina.

Featured Photo: Marc Anthony in concert in New York last year (Credit: Magnus)

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The event was filmed on Miches, a beach town located on the northeast coast of the Caribbean nation. Guerra is accompanied by his legendary band 440 in front of sea waves and beautiful palm trees, interpreting his classic and recent hits. The special will also provide a look into arrangements from the singer’s most recent audiovisual work titled Privé. 

A multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy award-winning artist, Guerra is credited with internationalizing bachata, a music genre born in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the twentieth century that mixes Spanish, Taino and African musical elements. 

After graduating from Boston’s Berklee College of Music in the early 1980s, Guerra went back to his homeland and recorded his debut album Soplando with a group of local musicians that later became known as Juan Luis Guerra and 440. His album Ojalá que Llueva Café showcased tropical genres like merengue, salsa and bachata-fusion as well as rock and romantic ballads and made him an international star. That was followed by the hit-making album Bachata Rosa, with songs like “Burbujas de Amor,” “Bachata Rosa,” “Rosalía” and “Como Abeja al Panal,” which won him his first Grammy. His other albums include Areíto, Para Ti, La Llave de Mi Corazón and Literal.

A winner of more than 20 Latin Grammys and three Grammys, Guerra has collaborated with legendary and top-selling artists like Tony Bennett, Alejandro Sanz, Luis Fonsi, Enrique Iglesias, Juanes, Maná, Diego Torres and Nelly Furtado.

“Providing impressive visual beauty amidst an inspiring backdrop, this concert will bring joy to all Latin Americans during these difficult times through Juan Luis Guerra’s songs of hope, love, happiness and joy, brought to life with his energetic merengues, salsas, and classic bachatas,” said the streamer in a press release. “This concert special is an intimate experience, from the most beautiful beaches of the Dominican Republic.”

The music event was shot during the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 75 crew members, 20 musicians and a dozen assistant crew members following safety and social distancing protocols, according to HBO. 

Juan Luis Guerra: Entre Mar y Palmeras is produced by Miami-based Loud and Live Studios an Entertainment and Santo Domingo-based Guerra Films. It is directed by Jean Guerra, the artist’s eldest son who has led his latest audiovisual projects. 

The performance is one of several concert specials of HBO Latino such as Piano y Mujer and Havana Street Party Presents: Beatriz Luengo earlier this year as well as others from the past few years featuring Diego Torres, Shakira, Orishas, Farruko, Gente de Zona and Pedro Capó–all of which are also available on HBO Max.

Featured Photo: Juan Luis Guerra (Credit: Universal Music Latin Entertainment)

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The Hecho en México concert, inspired by the award-winning album of the same title, will play in nearly 20 cities in the U.S. including Reno, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Houston, Chicago, Boston, New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

A Latin Grammy winner, Fernandez has sold more than 35 million records worldwide and scored number-ones on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums in each of the past four decades, including his latest work Hecho en México. This album debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top Latin Album chart and marked the singer’s return to the mariachi format. It also earned him a Latin Grammy for Best Ranchera/Mariachi Album, the fourth award he has received from the Latin Recording Academy. The album also won Fernandez a Grammy nomination for Best Regional Mexican Music Album. 

Hecho en México has produced four consecutives number one radio hits in the U.S. and Mexico with “Caballero,” “Te Olvidé,” “Decepciones” and his current single “Duele” featuring the also Latin Grammy winner Christian Nodal.

As live touring shut down in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fernández got involved in raising awareness about health and other causes. He partnered up with Univision’s Dr. Juan Rivera to share vital information about health and COVID-19 on TV and social media. He also helped raise funds for the artist community impacted financially by the coronavirus crisis. Fernández released a rendition of singer/songwriter Joan Sebastian’s classic song “Eso y Más,” using the proceeds to help out-of-work musicians. He donated 100 percent of the proceeds to MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund in the U.S and MúsicaMéxico COVID-19 in Mexico.

In October 2020, the singer lived streamed his concert América a Una Sola Voz (America Together in One Voice), which was reportedly viewed by more than 150,000 fans in 19 different countries in the Americas. With the U.S. presidential elections around the corner, in the show Fernandez reminded his fans of the importance of voting. He also joined a coalition of artists for the “Vota Por Nosotros” (Vote For Us) get-out-the-vote campaign airing on Estrella Media. 

In accepting his Latin Grammy last November, the singer dedicated the award to the victims of recent hurricanes in southern Mexico and donated one million Mexican pesos, about $50,000, to the Mexican Red Cross to help with the relief efforts. Most recently, Fernandez joined Mana’s lead singer Fher Olvera as the face of the “We Are Home” campaign calling for humane immigration reform for the millions of Latino immigrants living in the U.S.

Fernandez’s U.S. concert is presented by Live Nation Entertainment. Opening for Fernandez will be the American Latin pop duo Ha*Ash integrated by the sisters Ashley Grace and Hanna Nicole Pérez. Tickets are already on sale.

Featured Photo: Alejandro Fernández (Credit: Bernardo García)

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Arthur Hanlon, pianist, songwriter and arranger is widely known in the Latin music realm having had multiple hits on the Billboard charts. For Piano y Mujer he is collaborating with Puerto Rico’s Kany García, Colombia’s Goyo, Venezuela’s Nella, Spain’s Natalia Jiménez and Venezuelan-American Evaluna Montaner.

Filmed at the Faena Theater in Miami last October in the middle of the pandemic, the special includes renditions of Garcias’ Hoy Ya Me Voy, Nella’s Me llaman Nella and the tropical classic Gotas de Lluvia/La Reina del Combo. The hotel was closed off to the public due to COVID-19 but a section was transformed into an intimate venue and temporary studio to record all the live performances following local pandemic protocols.

The concert followed the recording of Hanlon’s latest album of the same title earlier last year. The album is produced by Motiff (Gloria Estefan, Gente de Zona, Yandel) and consists of 13 tracks—three instrumentals by the pianist and 10 collaborations with the same five female artists. The album is set to release April 9. 

Detroit-born Hanlon plays a blend of Detroit street, jazz, Motown, classical virtuosity and Latin beats and collaborated with Latino stars like Luis Fonsi, Fonseca, Laura Pausini, Marc Anthony, Juanes, Chocquibtown, Ozuna, Prince Royce, Myriam Hernandez and Ricardo Montaner among others. The album has hit No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts.

García has won six Latin Grammys and received two Grammy nominations. The Boricua singer-songwriter released her latest album Mesa para dos in 2020. She also had her own HBO concert special, Kany García: Soy Yo en Vivo, that is currently available on HBO Max. García was also part of the line-up for the musical series A Tiny Audience’s second season earlier this month.

Goyo is a singer and rapper who co-founded the Latin Grammy award-winning ChocQuibTown, an Afro-Colombian hip-hop group that combines electronica, Afro-Latin rhythms and Latin jazz.

For her part, Madrid-born Jiménez has sold three million albums worldwide and recorded duets with luminaries like Marc Anthony and Ricky Martin. In 2019, the Latin pop artist released the “rancheras” album México de Mi Corazón to honor that Mexican genre. She also has been a guest in A Tiny Audience.

Actress turned singer, Montaner is an up-and-coming Venezuelan-American artist who still combines music and acting. She made her TV debut on Nickelodeon’s Latin American series Grachi. Montaner was featured in the film Hot Pursuit, a dramedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara, and Club 57, another Nickelodeon TV series. Her singing career started accompanying his famous father, legendary singer Ricardo Montaner, who is a recipient of a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Finally, Latin Grammy-winning singer Nella sound mixes her native Venezuela’s music with Andalusian influences. She won the music award with her debut album Voy in 2019.

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Artists Linda Ronstadt, Bad Bunny, Fito Paez, Natalia Lafourcade, Grupo Niche, and Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra won Grammys at the 63rd annual awards ceremony that recognizes musical achievements.

Ronstadt took home the gilded gramophone to Best Music Film for Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, an award shared with video directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and video producers Michele Farinola and James Keach. The prize recognizes concert and performance films or music documentaries.

The documentary about the legendary singer chronicles Ronstadt’s life and career from her childhood in Tucson, Arizona, through her successful decades-long career in many music genres, film, television and theatre, to her retirement a decade ago due to Parkinson’s disease. An independently-minded artist, she recorded any style of music she wanted including Mexican music in honor of her heritage. In 1987 Ronstadt released the acclaimed mariachi album Canciones de Mi Padre that went on to win the Grammy for best Mexican/Mexican-American album.

Also in the running for Best Music Film were Beastie Boys’s Story, Beyoncé’s Black Is King,  Freestyle Love Supreme’s We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, and ZZ Top’s That Little Ol’ Band From Texas.

Bad Bunny received the award for best Latin pop or urban album, a category that for the first time included the urban genre. The Puerto Rican singer won the honor with YHLQMDLG, an acronym that stands for Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana, or I do whatever I want. YHLQMDLG was the first of three albums released by the rapper and reggaeton singer during the pandemic, reaching number 2 on Billboard–the highest-ranked Spanish-language album at the time. Released singles from the album included Vete, Ignorantes, La Difícil, and Yo Perreo Sola.

Bad Bunny was nominated along two fellow Puerto Ricans, Kany Garcia with Mesa Para Dos and Ricky Martin with Pausa, as well as Spanish singer Camilo with Por Primera Vez and L.A.-based Costa Rican performer Debi Nova’s with 3:33.

Fito Paez won the best Latin rock or alternative album with La Conquista del Espacio. The Argentinian rocker defeated Argentinian-Uruguayan band Bajofondo’s Aura, Chilean singer Cami’s Monstruo, Puerto Rican reggae band Cultura Profética’s Sobrevolando, and Colombian-Canadian Lido Pimienta’s Miss Colombia. Again, this was the first time this category did not include the urban genre, which instead joined pop music in another category.

In the best regional mexican music album category, which includes Tejano, the prize went to Lafourcade for Un Canto por México, Vol. 1. The Mexican singer prevailed over the work of some compatriots that included Alejandro Fernandez’s Hecho en México, Lupita Infante’s La Serenata, Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez’s Bailando Sones y Huapangos con Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez, and Christian Nodal’s Ayayay!

For their part, Colombian salsa band Grupo Niche won the Grammy for best tropical Latin album with 40. Vying for the honor in this category were: Cuban singer José Alberto El Ruiseñor’s Mi Tumbao, Puerto Rican Edwin Bonilla’s Infinito, Colombian Jorge Celedon’s Sigo Cantando al Amor, and Puerto Rican Víctor Manuelle’s Memorias de Navidad.

The Grammy for best Latin jazz album went to Mexico’s Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra for Four Questions. This category recognizes recordings that blend jazz with Latin, Iberian-American, Brazilian, and Argentinian tango music. Competing this year were Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra’s Tradiciones, Brazilian composer Chico Pinheiro’s City of Dreams, Cubans Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Aymée Nuviola’s Viento y Tiempo-Live at Blue Note Tokyo, and Mexican-American Poncho Sanchez’s Trane’s Delight.

In other awards with Latino connections, Panamanian musician Danilo Pérez won a gramophone for best jazz vocal album for his collaboration with Kurt Elling in Secrets Are the Best Stories.

Hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, the 63rd Grammy Awards took place Sunday in and around the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Featured Photo: Bad Bunny receiving award Photo Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2021 CBS

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Latin global musical sensation Bad Bunny has greatly raised his profile since last year with a performance at the Super Bowl, three successful consecutive albums in the middle of the pandemic, and a recent appearance at a major wrestling event. Next in line: Saturday Night Live.

The Puerto Rican rapper is set to perform as SNL’s musical guest this Saturday, his first time on the legendary late-night live sketch comedy and variety show.

That honor is well earned. El Conejo Malo’s latest album El Último Tour del Mundo debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the first all-Spanish-language album ever to top the popular list. Also, the 26-year-old artist is currently nominated for two Grammy Awards, in the best pop duo/group performance category for Un Dia (One Day) along with J Balvin, Dua Lipa, and Tainy, and in best Latin pop or urban album for YHLQMDLG, which stands for “Yo hago lo que me da la gana,” that loosely translates into “I do what I want.”

MUSIC FROM THE PANDEMIC
YHLQMDLG was the first of three albums released by Bad Bunny during the pandemic, a challenging time for many artists facing lockdown. A studio album, YHLQMDLG was dropped in late February, just a few days after the Boricua artist joined pop sensations Shakira and Jenniffer Lopez and fellow rapper J Balvin for last year’s Super Bowl’s half-time concert. YHLQMDLG reached #2 on Billboard, the highest-ranked Spanish-language album at the time.

In May, El Conejo Malo released another album, Las Que No Iban a Salir (Those Who Weren’t Going Out), debuting at #7, followed by El Último Tour del Mundo de Mundo in late October. He is the first and only artist to place three consecutive albums in the top 10 of Billboard 200 in one single year.

In addition to his Superbowl’s appearance, Bad Bunny’s speedy road to SNL’s Saturday performance has also included stops at other popular shows, such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show With James Corden. 

A FAN OF WRESTLING
In late January, the chart-topping singer/songwriter was featured at WWE’s annual Royal Rumble, where he performed his single Booker T. The rapper is reportedly a fan of wrestling. 

His musical accomplishments led the trade publication Variety to honor Bad Bunny with its second annual Achievement in International Music Award. In addition to collaborations with Latin stars such as Ozuna, Farruko, Residente, and Daddy Yankee, El Conejo Malo has worked with Cardi B and Drake.

Bad Bunny is also exploring acting. Soon, Bad Bunny will be seen in an episodic series. He is set to appear on the popular series Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico, starring Scoot McNairy (Fargo), Diego Luna (Amores Perros), and José María Yazpik (Mr. Pig). 

There is no doubt that El Conejo Malo has come a long way really quickly. He burst into the spotlight just five years ago. 

Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Bad Bunny’s career started out as an independent, unsigned singer on SoundCloud. He would upload his music while working at a supermarket and studying at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. His rising popularity on the cloud caught the attention of a record label. His first hit was Soy Peor. Stardom arrived after he collaborated with Grammy Award winner Cardi B and Drake on the hits I Like It and Mia, number one and three, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100.

His debut album X 100pre in 2018 won the Latin Grammy for Best Urban Music Album. He later joined with fellow rapper J Balvin for to record Oasis, an album that produced hits like Qué Pretendes and La Canción and earned him three Billboard Music Awards and a Grammy Award nomination.

Bad Bunny has won more than 52 awards, including two Latin Grammy Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, two American Music Awards, and six Premios Lo Nuestro, among others. 

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While attending Wesleyan University Miranda wrote the draft of what would become his first hit Broadway musical, In The Heights. The play, about a Latino neighborhood in New York, premiered on Broadway in 2008 and was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning four: Best Musical and Best Original Score and a Best Actor Tony Award for Miranda, and a  Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

The world-renowned musical Hamilton about President Alexander Hamilton was Miranda’s next Broadway hit.  The idea for the play started with a rap about Hamilton which he wrote and performed for the White House Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word in 2009.  

On the first night of the Hamilton previews (prior to opening), over 700 people were lined up for tickets. The play opened on Broadway in 2015 to rave reviews and sold-out houses.

Hamilton won the Tony Award for Best Musical; Miranda won the Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical and received a nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Miranda won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical, and the Hamilton cast album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. 

While these two groundbreaking musicals launched his career, they do not uniquely define the artistic genius of Miranda.  He has had numerous musical collaborations, appeared in TV shows, and was in the film Mary Poppins Returns.  In 2021 Miranda makes his directorial debut with the musical drama film tick tock, BOOM based on a musical by Jonathan Larson. 

Featured Photo: Grammy Awards

— Latin Heat News Service

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Celebrating a birthday today is rapper, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist Armando Christian Pérez AKA PitBull.  He was born in Miami on January 15, 1981, and began his career recording reggaeton, Latin hip hop, and crunk music, eventually rebranding himself as a pop artist. Now he has been immortalized with a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood.

Pitbull has sold over 7.5 million studio albums and over 100 million singles worldwide.  As of May 2020, he has over 15 billion views on YouTube. He was ranked by Billboard as the 45th Top Artist of the 2010s and the 24th Top Latin Artist of the 2010s. As of May 2019, Pitbull had won 35 Billboard Latin Music Awards and has received Grammy Awards, Latin Grammy Awards, Nickelodeon, Premio Lo Nuestro, IHeart Radio Award among many others.

Pitbull’s Planet Pit album is the most commercially successful album to date, according to Wikipedia.

The immensity of his work is breathtaking having released music in both Spanish and English throughout his career.  He has performed to support causes bringing awareness to issues like Global Warming, Feeding America, COVID 19, Hurricane Maria, and others.  He has performed alongside and/or collaborated with some of the most well-known recording artists and celebrities around the world including Britany Spears, John Travolta Blake Shelton, Jennifer Lopez,  Priyanka Chopra, Flo Rida, Jessica Mauboy, Belinda, Jason Derulo, and Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson, Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera, Cypress Hill, Paulina Rubio, and so many more

He is determined to help the Latino community. Pitbull’s social impact focus for the last decade has been closing the poverty gap through educational initiatives. During Hurricane Maria, Pitbull used his private plane to bring cancer patients from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States for treatment.

Pitbull also donated all proceeds from song sales, streaming, and views to Feeding America and the Anthony Robbins Foundation from the single titled I Believe That We Will Win (World Anthem) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On December 31, 2020, Pitbull performed for a crowd of first responders in Times Square adhering to the COVID-19 pandemic guideline for the famous New Year’s Eve celebration.

— Latin Heat News Service

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Naya Rivera was born on January 12, 1987 in Valencia, California.  She began her career as a child actress and model, appearing in national television commercials. She landed her first TV role in  CBS’s sitcom The Royal Family in 1991. However her breakthrough role came in 2009 when she was cast as the lesbian cheerleader Santana Lopez on the FOX television series Glee.  She received various awards for this role including a SAG Award, an ALMA Award and two Grammys for her singing in the series.

A few years later she signed with Columbia Records and had begun her solo musical career recording the single Sorry. 

Her film credits included the horror film At the Devil’s Door. She also worked on the comedy (2014) Mad Families (2017). And in 2016 she published a memoir titled Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up. 

Besides performing, Rivera championed various charitable causes, particularly for LGBT rights, immigrants’ rights, and women’s rights.

Rivera was getting ready to return to her role of the female role of Collette Jones in the TV series Step Up, when on June 8 she died in Lake Piru in California while swimming with her four-year-old son. Her body was found five days later on July 13, 2020.

Rivera left an indelible mark on the TV screen with her roles and having been a vanguard of Afro-Latino and queer representation on television.

— Latin Heat News Service

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