Gerardo Ortiz will take Jenni Rivera’s place on Espinoza Paz tour

There’s no performer who can replace Jenni Rivera en los corazones de sus fanaticos.

But the show must go on. So Mexican regional music star Espinoza Paz, who was planning a major U.S. tour with Rivera this year, has announced that his fellow up-and-coming regional star Gerardo Ortiz will take the stage in the absence of La Gran Señora, according to reports.

The tour was scheduled to include stops in 40 cities; Ortiz’s official website has a number of upcoming dates listed.

PHOTOS: Jenni Rivera remembered

Paz (a.k.a. ‘El Canta Autor del Pueblo’), like many of Rivera’s Mexican regional musician colleagues, understandably says that he has been struggling to deal with his close friend’s death in a plane crash last year. At a recent performance in his native Sinaloa, he showed a video in which Rivera appeared singing “Fue un Placer Conocerte” -- “It Was a Pleasure to Know You.”

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