Jenni Rivera's Remains Arrive in LA, Funeral Preparations Begin

Jenni Rivera: A Nation Mourns

Fans pay tribute to Jenni Rivera, the Mexican-American singer coined “La Diva de la Banda” who was killed in a plane crash at age 43.

A jet landed at Long Beach Airport in California Thursday night carrying the remains of Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera hours after her brothers identified her remains from a plane crash in Mexico.

Funeral preparations are underway in Los Angeles for sometime early next week. The family has promised funeral services will be open to the public and could be offered to fans in both the U.S. and Mexico. However, plans have not been confirmed.

These aircraft require an awful lot of skill to fly and don't leave a lot of margin for error.
— Lee Collins, Executive Vice President of the Coalition of Airline Pilot Associations

Her brother Lupillo was greeted by close friends and family in a private terminal. The singer's brothers Juan, Gus and Lupillo Rivera traveled to Nuevo León, México with the grim task of having to positively identify their sister's remains.

"We have received 100 percent confirmation that my sister Jenni is gone to be with the Lord," her brother Pedro Rivera Jr. said Thursday afternoon during a press conference at their mother's home in Lakewood, California. "She is in the presence of God now."

Her remains were taken to All Souls Cemetery and Mortuary in Long Beach, her hometown, and the family returned to Lakewood where fans welcomed them with cheers and tears.

More On This...

"They did show pictures to my brothers of the body; it is not the full body," Rivera said at the press conference. "They did show some pictures in where Juan said 'That is my sister, I don't need to see anymore.'"

Rivera's other brother, Lupillo, told CNN en Español that "La Diva de La Banda" left a will behind weeks her Learjet 25 nose-dived from 28,000 feet early Sunday morning killing all seven onboard.

"Jenni always had consultants that helped her work and to do things the right way," said Rivera. "She prepared a will approximately a month, a month and a half ago."

The singer left her sister, Rosie, in charge of her will as well as specific instructions as to when and how the will's wishes should be met.

Rivera specifically asked that she not be cremated, and she emphasized that her body be present at the funeral with the coffin closed.

"The good thing is that we've been able to enjoy her for all this time," Rivera's brother Pedro said at the press conference. "I think she is singing a song to God called "I Thank You" for everything he gave her."

With reporting by The Associated Press.

Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino

Antisemitism Exposed