Last year, Rivera spoke to one of the key elements to maintaining such a successful and expansive career, especially in an industry like theater which demands much from its actors night after night.
“You have to like and care about what you’re doing,” she told the Harvard Business Review in an interview for its July-August 2023 issue. “If you find yourself bored, that’s not the play’s fault. It’s your fault.”
She continued, “When I’m onstage, everybody in the audience may be applauding, but if one person is sitting on their hands, that’s who will catch my eye, and I’ll feel I’ve got to win them over. In that moment the performance is your life. It’s your breath. It’s important.”
Rivera is predeceased by her sister Carmen and, in addition to her daughter, is survived by her siblings Julio, Armando and Lola del Rivero, along with many nieces, nephews and friends.
