Was Luisa Rivera an American National by Choice?

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Luisa Rivera is a famous personality from the entertainment world who rose to fame in the nineteen eighties as a dancer with the group referred to as the Doobie Brothers. As a dancer, she achieved notable success, such as being listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In later years, she decided to take on a career as a songwriter and performer, and began a prolific period of work that would help define the sound of modern country music. A talented vocalist and composer, her extensive musical career are often mentioned in terms of great female talent, even going so far as to have twenty songs written specifically for her.

Age is one of the main factors that define someone’s nationality or ethnic background; however, there are other aspects to consider as well. In Luisa Rivera’s case, her height is definitely an issue; this is compounded by the fact that her nationality (American) doesn’t place her anywhere near the twenty tall quota. While some people believe that a person born in the United States may not technically be an American by birth, anyone over a certain size can be considered an American by choice if they choose to identify as such (or by reason of having certain nationalities, such as Swedish or Norwegian, which place them near the bottom of the list of countries in the world population pyramid). Because Rivera was not of legal age when her marriage to Richard Nixon’s brother, Richard was not entitled to vote in the union that resulted in their divorce, and her citizenship was legally terminated at the time of her death. In addition, her nationality was not legally changed at the time of her death, as it was not her intent to renounce her citizenship, and the lack of documentation is what allowed Richard to claim her as his wife.

What does height matter? Does it really matter whether someone is American or not? Height is one of those things that seem to be a legitimate reason for a person to apply for a position, but it is always appropriate for applicants to carefully check their facts before doing so. While the particulars of her death are open to debate, and her birthplace (some sources say she was Mexican) is uncertain, the facts on her resume, her nationality and her height certainly do not support the suggestion that Luisa Rivera was not an American national by choice, and was thus denied her American citizenship.

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