The Hispanic community isn’t as outspoken as the black community when it comes to the political and social injustices that happen. They don’t have a #blacklivesmatter type of movement, their hidden weapon is musicians that are rocking the vote and singing about social injustice. This is the case for Los Tigres del Norte, who sing about real stories, things that no one dares to talk about, they sing corridos about immigration, love, and even narcos–some of their songs are even banned from Mexican radio stations.
They dare to talk about issues of immigration because they lived it themselves at an early age. The group which is composed of 3 brothers, Jorge, Hernán, and Eduardo Hernández, plus their cousin Oscar Lara. When the Hernández brothers crossed the border in 1968, an immigration officer called them “young little tigers” and the name stuck.
“Since the beginning of our career, we’ve sung what people live, what’s currently happening,” says bass player Hernán Hernandez to Ravinia Magazine. “And the audience themselves give us the stories. They’re the ones who say, ‘Sing about this. No one else dares to do so.'”
One of their most daring songs is called “José Peréz León,” a corrido about a young man that suffocates inside a truck as he attempts to cross from Mexico into the U.S. The song references the 2003 case where 16 immigrants suffocated inside a truck in Texas, something that continues to happen on a day-to-day basis to many immigrants that attempt to cross the border.
In “La Bala” (The Bullet), they address the tragedy of the many Latino and African-American neighborhoods that are affected by drug-related gang violence. They even talk about “Las Mujeres de Juárez,” which criticizes how the government and police have covered up the brutal murders of over 300 women in the border city of Ciudad Juárez.
The “Jalua de Oro” talks about life in a “golden cage” representing all of those children of immigrants that enjoy the luxuries of living in the U.S. and often forget their culture, language, and where they came from.
“Maybe a song can’t resolve a problem, but you can at least let people know about what’s not being done. More people will listen to a song than will read a newspaper,” says Hernández.
“I like the stories,” says bandleader Jorge Hernández. “Whether the protagonist is good or bad, it speaks the truth. It has character, strength.”
They’ve even joined forces with rock group, Maná to sing about the power of the Latino vote in the upcoming 2016 US election. People react to their songs because they talk about issues that no one dares to talk openly about. At the same time, it has brought people together, bringing awareness to the issues that really matter.