Lupillo Rivera Reveals His Most ‘Bitter Moments’ in Autobiography: ‘Many People Won’t Like What I Say’

Regional Mexican vocalist Lupillo Rivera has conscionable released his autobiography Tragos Amargos: Gloria e Infiero de El Toro del Corrido, a retrospective of his beingness successful which helium makes profoundly idiosyncratic revelations — from a wellness contented that could jeopardize his vocation to details of his past brushwood with his precocious sister, Jenni Rivera.

With her, helium shared a touching infinitesimal conscionable a fewer days earlier her tragic decease successful a level crash, erstwhile astatine 1 of his performances — helium writes — she arrived unexpectedly and went up connected signifier to sing with him “Tragos Amargos,” the classical opus by norteño fable Ramón Ayala, which present serves arsenic the rubric of his book.

With his raspy dependable and unsocial style, Lupillo Rivera (real name: Guadalupe Rivera Saavedra) is known for hits similar “El Moreño,” “Baraja de Oro,” “Fondo, Fondo,” and “Grandes Ligas.” His emergence to stardom allowed him to assistance motorboat his sister Jenni’s career. The siblings worked astatine their family’s grounds label, Cintas Acuario, portion waiting for their accidental to record.

Through 33 chapters, Tragos Amargos (Bitter Moments) — released successful Spanish the U.S. connected Sept. 16 via Penguin Random House and soon to get successful Mexico — offers an affectional travel done the artist’s childhood, his clip astatine Cintas Acuario, and his analyzable household relationships — particularly with his father, Pedro Rivera, with whom helium severed ties implicit concern matters. He besides discusses his past loves, confirming a erstwhile narration with popular prima Belinda. (A Billboard connection to a representatives of the vocalist hasn’t been answered.)

“I conscionable stock what I lived, I speech astir everything, and I cognize galore radical won’t similar what I say,” Rivera admits. Below, helium discusses immoderate of those revelations with Billboard.

You worked alongside your begetter astatine Cintas Acuario. What did that acquisition thatch you?

I learned the euphony manufacture from the crushed up. From my father, I learned the worth of hard enactment to enactment a family. Back then, my dada didn’t bash thing wrong. He made deals to bargain and merchantability songs. At the extremity of the day, artists merchantability their talent.

You had the accidental to conscionable singers similar Chalino Sánchez and Valentín Elizalde astatine Cintas Acuario, some of whom became large stars. What peculiar memories bash you person of them?

Chalino was an honorable man. He ever carried a gun, but helium ne'er looked for trouble. He was superior successful his dealings and incredibly talented. Many radical deliberation his singing benignant meant helium didn’t cognize music, but helium didn’t request to — helium understood precisely what helium had to do.

Things started going good for maine successful 1999, and by 2000, my vocation had taken off. Valentín utilized to kick to my dad, saying helium lone promoted me. I’d archer him to beryllium patient, that his clip would come. I knew he’d succeed. He had thing special, his beingness was striking. When helium moved to different label, we competed astatine fairs and events, but we got on truly well.

In your book, you notation signaling demo vocals, which led to your begetter giving you the accidental you’d been waiting for arsenic a singer. But this happened during a hard clip successful your life.

I became a begetter astatine a precise young age. I was already signed up to articulation the Marines, but my woman was pregnant. This was during the Gulf War; my friends who went didn’t survive. I stayed down and started my euphony career. My narration with Maria, my archetypal wife, was fantastic for galore years, though she didn’t privation maine to beryllium a singer, adjacent erstwhile I started earning a bully income.

I utilized to look astatine my parents’ ...