Two big winners emerged at Tuesday's 2013 Billboard Mexican Music Awards: Jenni Rivera and Geraldo Ortiz.
Rivera was the most notable winner, due to her untimely death at the age of 43 during a plane crash last year. The Banda vocalist and six others died after her flight from Nuevo León went down due to what's believed to be a fuel system error. The incident occurred less than a week before the American release of her compilation album La Misma Gran Señora.
The album brought seven awards to the performer as those in attendance marked her legacy in Mexican music. La Misma earned her the award for Artist of The Year (Female), Digital Download Artist of The Year, Albums Artist of The Year, Banda Artist of The Year (Banda is brass-based Mexican music, including subgenres including rancheras, corridos and boleros), Album of the year, and two more.
Although memorializing Rivera was the major highlight of the night, a few other acts enjoyed time in the spotlight. Ortiz, who specializes in Norteño, an accordion-based genre, brought home four more awards to add to his record collection of 17 Billboard Mexican Music Awards. Album El Primer Ministro won Norteño Album of The Year, and Ortiz himself won for Norteño Artist of The Year, Songs Artist of The Year, and Artist of The Year (Male).
A special honor was given to El Recondo, a banda now entering its 75th year and still relevant. Founded by Cruz Lizárraga in 1938, his sons Joel and Alfonso now play in his steed.
