Rubí Ibarra, from the nightmare of her XV years to a possible future on TV

Alejandra Wiessner and Rubí Ibarra, former participants of ‘La Academia’, the ‘reality show’ of TV Azteca. (Photo: Pedro Mera/Getty Images).

Ruby Ibarra He made an unexpected and nightmarish leap to fame when a video in which his father invited everyone -literally- to his XV years party became the talk of the press in Mexico and the rest of the world in 2016 and the celebration ended up getting out of control. Now, after her recent and highly questioned participation in The academythe aspiring singer seems to have found an opportunity in the entertainment world with a possible foray into driving.

It all started with a video posted on Facebook. Rubí, dressed in a quinceañera dress, posed with her parents announcing the celebration for the last week of December 2016 (actually, the girl’s birthday is in August) in the small community of La Joya, in the state of San Luis Potosí, located right in the center of the Mexican territory.

Credencio Ibarra, her father, publicly invited everyone who wanted to attend to the entertainment because, in addition to celebrating the birthday girl, among the attractions there would be a chiva -horse race- with a top prize of 10,000 Mexican pesos (about 488 dollars in that year), in addition to the presentation of several northern music groups.

But according to Anaelda García, Rubí’s mother, the invitation was only for the neighboring regions, “then I don’t know what media outlet copied it, uploaded it to the Internet and it became like, I don’t know, an invitation to the whole world.” The Mexican press reproduced the video ad nauseam and from being a local and regional event, the news soon occupied spaces in the international press such as the BBC Y CNN. Almost all the media, no matter how respected or traditional, joined the celebration. even the magazine TV and novels he dedicated an entire edition to the party.

On the official page —yes, official page!— of Facebook created for the event, some 1.3 million assured their attendance. The general secretary of the City Council of Villa Guadalupe, San Luis Potosí -to which La Joya belongs-, Jorge Antonio Belmares Hernández, assured that they were prepared to receive 10,000 visitors. Some media reported that this figure was not reached, that some 4,000 people arrived, but the majority handled much higher figures between 30,000 and 60,000 people..

Once the nightmare was over — a person died during the party — and trying to rescue some of the celebrity achieved, in 2017 the record company Video Visa Records, from Dallas, Texas, offered Rubí a contract to record his first album in the group pop genre. Nevertheless, his first single was in the urban genre, ‘I don’t want anything’, which, according to what he said, was born inspired by J Balvin, Nikki Minaj, Ariana Grande and Thalía. “What doesn’t really attract my attention is histrionic art, I like music more, it’s what I want to dedicate myself completely to.”

With a few campaigns in between, the occasional presentation, it seemed that Rubí would achieve the success she wanted, but inexperience took its toll and a bad decision brought her face to face with the dark side of fame.

Rubí Ibarra at the 2017 MTV MIAW Awards at the Palacio de Los Deportes. (Photo by Victor Chavez/WireImage)

Rubí Ibarra at the 2017 MTV MIAW Awards at the Palacio de Los Deportes. (Photo by Victor Chavez/WireImage)

In May 2018, some of his followers noted that the young celebrity was absent from her social networks. “Many people have told me what has happened to my social networks, more so with Instagram, with which I was verified; I have not wanted to tell them but I am going to tell them: my ex-manager (representative of Lorena Herrera and Maribel Guardia) took away my page, which was already verified as well as Facebook and Instagramhe took them from me, he kept them, I don’t know if I delete them, he hid them, I don’t know, the joke is that they no longer appear, “he said from a new account.

Without a representative involved, the budding singer took several more songs on his Youtube channel but a short time later he announced that he would retire to begin his studies in Communication, specializing in television.

Already without all the media attention (and morbidity) caused in 2016, Rubí maintained a moderate profile on social networks where he implied that his days in modest La Joya were behind him and now he surrounded himself with a luxurious lifestyle between mansions, large swimming pools, vans, fantastic tourist destinations and even on television forums where she was once a guest.

Once again, her YouTube channel was flooded with makeup tutorials, challenges, and answers to questions that her followers asked her about her private life. In one of them she told how difficult it was for him to face the virality of his XV-year party, for which he had to take psychological therapy.

“When I saw all that on social networks… many people began to mess with my physique, with my parents (…). When I saw all those kinds of comments they really affected me too much because we were oblivious to all that. I was very time with anxiety, they created insecurities, I didn’t want to leave my room, I cried. My mom even took my cell phone. I lived in Monterrey for a while and went to the psychologist, but to be honest it didn’t help me, I felt worse. For me the best therapy without a doubt was time and my family,” said in an interview in 2021.

That same year, the return of one of the most famous TV Azteca reality shows, The Academy 20 years, It meant a new opportunity for Rubí in her attempt to be a singer and, perhaps, to get rid of the quinceañera image that haunts her once and for all.

Rubí Ibarra at the first concert of 'La Academia 2022' in June 2022 (Photo: Media and Media/Getty Images).

Rubí Ibarra at the first concert of ‘La Academia 2022’ in June 2022 (Photo: Media and Media/Getty Images).

When it became known that the former fifteen-year-old would be part of the new generation of the program, several screamed in heaven, including the fearsome judge Lola Cortes who initially criticized the new members considering that they had no talent and lashed out against those who chose them.

Arturo López-Gavito, another of the recurring judges throughout several editions, joined the criticism and tweeted that the young woman did not have the voice to stay in the contest. “Perhaps your future is in social networks or in another profile.”

Rubí’s fans reacted to what they consider bullying by López-Gavito, a strategy of marketing by the production or the harshness with which they were directed at it. In an attempt to calm the audience, the program reported that Rubí was very close to a psychologist to work with her emotions. However, the pair of judges insisted that if she was not prepared to face the accusations and criticism to improve her performance as a singer, then her music career was not for her.

For that third week of the contest, the applicant had also expressed her desire to leave. “To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable anymore because I’m not moving forward, and I’ve been told many times, I don’t have it, I don’t know what I’m doing here.” Director Acha tried to prevent it by means of sentimental dissuasion, alleging that if she did, she would be turning her back on those who supported her and would not be aware of the unique opportunity she was experiencing.

The blackmail worked and Rubí remained until she became one of the five finalists. The contest was won by Honduran Cesia.

Once the reality showRubí’s future seemed like a mystery until today, when in a talk on the program no desire to disturb La Potosina revealed that she has received multiple proposals to join as a host on the small screen and precisely in the Ajusco company. “There are some things (proposals) about hosting programs, yes (on TV Azteca) but also outside the television station, but that’s not in programs, TV Azteca is,” said the young woman.

We are still talking about that. They offered me driving things, the truth is that they have offered me many things, in programs, in digital, which have obviously been in many areas that obviously in these days we are going to be seeing (…), if in a program, in something digital or get into something morning.Ruby Ibarra

Even without certainty in its future, it is unknown to no one that among the more than 300 graduates of The academy since 2002, only a few have achieved stardom and not precisely in singing (with exceptions such as Carlos Rivera and Yuridia).

The program has become more of a quarry to train professionals of other arts such as musical theater, cinema and even driving, as has been the case of Yahir and Cynthia Rodríguez. Perhaps this is the same course for Rubí once the negotiations are finalized.

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Rubí Ibarra, from the nightmare of her XV years to a possible future on TV