My Life as a Singer

As told by Jerry Rivera

People think we singers always have everything under control, but we are human beings. In my case, when I’m on stage, I give so much of myself in each song, that sometimes I forget that, aside from holding the microphone, I also hold a water bottle in my hands. I often get confused and find myself talking into the water bottle and trying to drink water from the microphone. It sounds funny, but it could also be embarrassing, especially when it happens in front of three or five thousand spectators…

Fortunately, my fans are very kind with me and they understand that I am a human being. Oftentimes, I have tripped on stage, tore my pants or forgotten the words to a song. But the worst is when I’ve fallen. And boy have I fallen! Sitting down, on my knees, to the side, and I always, always have been able to laugh at myself.

What wasn’t very funny was what happened to me in Venezuela. When I went off stage, an out-of-control fan was waiting for me; she was so hysterical that instead of kissing me, she began to punch me in the mouth, to the point where I started bleeding.

A lot of curious things have happened to me as well, like when I was in Colombia, as I was leaving a concert as well. The exit way was very narrow and a group of fans began kissing me, but suddenly a fan came out from the group, lifted me up off the ground and kept hugging me as she was carrying me. I kept saying to her, “Let me go honey, I’m going to fall.” But she wouldn’t listen and, when I grabbed her arms so as to not fall off, I was very surprised to feel how hairy they were. It was man wearing women’s clothes!

As a singer you learn that you’re never safe, even in the most secure of hotels. It’s happened three times already that after a concert, as I am getting ready to undress, I’ve been surprised by a female fan who jumps out of the curtains or the closet. Now that’s really scary! Because I have been so tired when it’s happened, I’ve left the room and called security. Besides, as a singer, one should think that if someone is capable of doing something like that, they are probably clever enough to do something even more aggressive; it’s not worth the risk.

There are some who believe that we singers don’t have time for our fans. I have never allowed this to happen. I always check my e-mails and my webpage, and I keep in touch with my fan clubs, after all, aside from being great supporters, they are great promoters and my best travel guides. Through them, I know if there is a sketchy businessman in a particular country or if I should take certain precautions at certain events. They are something similar to a security fence. And great friends as well!

My fans are very sweet and they always bring me stuffed animals, flowers… so many that I’ve designated a room in my office in Puerto Rico to store all their gifts. And you should see what they write! They are usually very sweet, pure, cute notes. Seeing so much sweetness, I can only ask myself, Do they really see me like this, or am I just the mirror where all their sweetness is reflected?

Because they are so special, I have dedicated my new CD, ¡Ay Mi Vida!, to them. It is the essence of what I have been doing for all these years — some salsa tracks and some pop, it even has a plena dedicated to Puerto Rico.

My music is the best way to know who I am. I constantly get asked, “Who is Jerry Rivera in an intimate setting?” I always answer: I am how you hear me in my music. Most of my albums include tracks that talk about what was happening when I recorded them. This album is not an exception. It has tracks like “Right on Time,” “No Te Rindas,” “Ay Mi Vida” and they are very biographical, but also very relevant to the rest of the world.

The songs on my new album talk about the problems we all face and the doubts we all live through, but they have a very positive message, so that we never give up and keep going forward. Because that’s the way it should be — we all have problems, but we have to fight to overcome them, we have to always keep moving forward.