Los Tigres del Norte
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,[2] Sinaloa, Mexico, with sales of 32 million albums,[3] 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.
Los Tigres del Norte
1965–present
Jorge Hernández
1968–present
Hernán Hernández 1968–present
Eduardo Hernández 1988–present
Luis Hernández 1996–present
Óscar Lara
1968–present
Freddy Hernández (Deceased)
Raúl Hernández 1968–1995
Guadalupe Olivo 1968–1988, 1997–2001
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.
Philanthropy[edit]
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.[19]
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.