| Los Tigres del Norte | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | San Jose, California |
| Genre: | Pacific Norteño, Norteño with Sax |
| Years Active: | –present |
| Label: | Discos Fama Golondrina EMI POPS MGM Music Profono Internacional Poster Melody Musivisa FonoVisa Universal Gamma Gran Vía Musical De Ediciones Discos DLB |
| Associated Acts: | Zack de la Rocha |
| Current Members: | Jorge Hernández 1968–present Hernán Hernández 1968–present Eduardo Hernández 1988–present Luis Hernández 1996–present Óscar Lara 1968–present |
| Past Members: | Freddy Hernández (Deceased) Raúl Hernández 1968–1995 Guadalupe Olivo 1968–1988, 1997–2001 |
Los Tigres del Norte (English: The Tigers of the North) are a norteño band from San Jose, California.[1] Originally founded in the small town Rosa Morada in the municipality of Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico, with sales of 32 million albums,[2] the band is one of the most recognized acts in regional Mexican music, due to their long history and their successes within the Mexican community in the diaspora. The band is famous for its political corridos, some of which have been censored, even in its own country. The band is the only Mexican group to win 7 Grammy awards and 12 Latin Grammys. In addition, the band has made 40 films alongside the Almada brothers (Mario and Fernando) among other well-known Mexican actors.
The band's style is based on regional music of Mexico, using mainly instruments such as the electric bass (or double bass), accordion, bass, drums, and sometimes other percussion instruments. The lyrics in their songs fluctuate between the romantic and the corrido. In recent years the band has begun to make music in a new genre called narcocorrido, in which they narrate the experience of members of drug gangs operating in Mexico. The narcocorrido song "Muerte Anunciada", for example, stands out, as it is dedicated to the legendary Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, "El Jefe de Jefes." In that song, the band tells the story of the power and influence of the now imprisoned Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo. Another of their famous narcocorridos, "The Queen of the South", is based on a novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte from which a television series was made based on the Spanish writer's work. They have become famous in Mexico and the United States, especially in California and Texas, mainly due to the large number of Mexicans living there. They also have found considerable fame in Colombia.
The band won a Grammy Award in 1988 for their album Gracias, América sin Fronteras, and twelve years later their album Herencia de Familia won the award for Best Norteño Album at the first ever Latin Grammys. A year later, in the second edition of the awards, they were nominated again for Best Norteño Album, this time for De Paisano a Paisano, and Best Regional Mexican Song for the song of the same title from that album.
The band was started by, Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico natives Jorge Hernández, his brothers, and their cousins. They began recording after moving to San Jose, California in the late 1960s, when all the members were still in their teens.[3] They were sponsored by a local record company, Discos Fama, owned by an Englishman named Art Walker, who took them under his wing and helped them find jobs and material, as well as recording all of their early albums.
Los Tigres del norte were at first only locally popular, but took off after Jorge and Art Walker heard a Los Angeles mariachi singer perform a song in early 1971 about a couple of drug runners, Emilio Varela and Camelia la Texana. There had been occasional ballads (corridos, in Mexican terminology) about the cross-border drug trade ever since Prohibition in the 1920s, but never a song as cinematic as this, featuring a woman smuggler who shoots the man and takes off with the money. After getting permission to record this song, Los Tigres del Norte released "Contrabando y traición" ("Contraband and Betrayal") in 1974.[4] The song quickly hit on both sides of the border, inspired a series of movies, and kicked off one of the most remarkable careers in Spanish-language music.
In norteño form, Los Tigres del Norte have been able to portray "real life" in a manner that strikes a chord with people across the Americas. Many of their most popular songs consist of tales or corridos about life, love, and the struggle to survive in an imperfect world. They regularly touch on the subject of narcotics and illegal immigration, but they have also shared stories of love and betrayal between a man and a woman. Together, the band and its public has turned norteño music into an international genre. The band has modernized the music, infusing it with bolero, cumbia, rock rhythms, and waltzes. They also prominently incorporate a saxophone into some of their songs. As a result, it can be said that they also perform norteño with sax in addition to traditional accordion-led norteño.
On January 9, 2007, Los Tigres del Norte was honored as a BMI Icon at the 14th annual BMI Latin Awards. Los Tigres, who were saluted that evening with an all-star musical tribute, were being honored as BMI Icons for their "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." They joined an elite list that includes such Latin music giants as Juan Luis Guerra and Carlos Santana.[5]
On October 16, 2009, Los Tigres del Norte held a Concert in Guadalupe, Nuevo León (outside of Monterrey) at the Annual Expo Guadalupe that lasted 12 hours, breaking their own record of 9 hours from previous year. It began on Saturday night and ended on Sunday at 9 a.m., not uncommon for Los Tigres del Norte. They are known for having encores at their concerts that can last more than an hour after the scheduled ending of the concert.
They have performed before the United States Armed Forces in Japan and South Korea.[6]
In 2010, the band made headlines by joining in a massive international boycott of the U.S. state of Arizona, in response to the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.[7]
On October 8, 2013, Los Tigres del Norte played at an immigration reform rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Their set list included songs that underscored the themes the rally would address including “La Puerta Negra” (1986), “De Paisano a Paisano” (2000), and “Mis Dos Patrias.” The band was introduced by then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Mexican-American singer-songwriter and actress Lila Downs also accompanied the group in a series of duets.[8]
In 2014 Los Tigres del Norte released the album Realidades, which contains the song “Era Diferente” (meaning “She Was Different”) about a lesbian teenager who falls in love with her best friend; according to lead singer and songwriter Jorge Hernández, this is the first time a norteño group has ever written a gay love song.[9] [10]
The band had sold 32 million records as of 2007.[11] As of 2015, they had won 7 Grammy Awards, 6 Latin Grammy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[12] [10] They received the Special Recognition (Spanish language) Award at the 26th annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2015, for their song "Era Diferente" ("She Was Different").[13] The band ranked number 15 in the list for "The 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time" by Billboard magazine.[14]
In 2018, many artists sought permission to record at Folsom Prison, more so for the 50th anniversary of Johnny Cash's recording there. However, Los Tigres del Norte was the only act authorized by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In fact, Los Tigres are the only band to record an album at Folsom since Johnny Cash released his 1968 opus.[15]
All group members are naturalized American citizens.[16]
The group's lyrics have been cited as examples of leftist sentiment in popular music.[17]
In May 2000, Los Tigres del Norte founded the Los Tigres del Norte Foundation, which is committed to fostering appreciation and preservation of Mexican and Mexican-American folklore. The Los Tigres del Norte Foundation donated $500,000 to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, which was used to digitize over 32,000 Spanish-language recordings contained in the Strachwitz Frontera Collection.[18]
Through their career, Los Tigres del Norte have appeared in numerous Mexican films, many of which are based on some of their hit songs. In genre, they range from action to drama. Many of the actors in these films include Mario and Fernando Almada, Eric Del Castillo, Pedro Infante, Jr., Jorge Reynoso, Lucha Villa, Cecilia Camacho, and Bernabe Melendez "El Gatillero".
In December 2016, media reports stated that Amateur Films would be producing Jefes De Jefes, a feature-length documentary about Los Tigres del Norte's history and cultural influence; no release date was announced.
| Year | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Otro México | Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album | ||
| Gracias!...América...Sin Fronteras | |||
| Ídolos Del Pueblo | |||
| Corridos Prohibidos | |||
| Para Adoloridos | |||
| Con Sentimiento Y Sabor (Tan Bonita) | |||
| La Garra De... | |||
| Jefe De Jefes | |||
| La Reina Del Sur | |||
| Best Norteño Album | |||
| Raíces | |||
| Tu Noche con los Tigres Del Norte | |||
| MTV Unplugged: Los Tigres Del Norte And Friends | Best Banda or Norteño Album | ||
| Realidades (Deluxe Edition) | Best Regional Mexican Music Album (including Tejano) | ||