Singer and actress Itatí Cantoral announced that she will be joining the cast of a new television series that will focus on the life of the "Diva De La Banda" as the Mexican singer Jenni Rivera.
"I'll have to get in touch with Jenni's family, whom I have good memories of," Cantoral said, while stating that she will have to undergo a major characterization that will take hard work and preparation.
"Is it already a fact that you will play the role of Jenni?" the actress was asked. "Yes, it is a fact," she answered. Cantoral claimed to be excited and a little worried about the short time she has to start work on the series because of her commitments to the telenovela "Fortuna." The actress also shared some insight into what she thinks will be one of the more demanding roles of her career.
"The singing bit is what may get me in trouble. It is not something new to me but Jenni and I have very different pitches so I will have to work very hard on that," the actress said. "I had the pleasure of meeting Jenni a few times. I talked to her, I visited her on several occasions, I presented her with awards and spent time with her family as well," Cantoral added.
The "Fortuna" actress also said that she will put all of her effort into portraying the "Diva De La Banda" under the best light possible to avoid making a caricature out of who she consideres to be themost famous Latin American singer in the United States. "The challenge is going to be when people see me, that they are able to see Jenni and not Itatí," she said.
Award winning actor Damian Alcazar is also under consideration by the series' producers to play the role of Jenni's father, Don Pedro Rivera. The actor claims that there are a lot of elements that will come into play into whether or not he takes the role.
"I have been reading more and more about her so that when the informed decision," Alcazar concluded.
The series will be called "Yo Soy Jenni" and will be produced by the U.S. based Latino oriented network Estrella TV.