Already boasting an unparalleled career
resume as “the most influential regional Mexican group” (Billboard) and “the
genre’s greatest statesmen” (New York Times), the legendary Los Tigres Del
Norte remain one of Latin Music’s leading creative and socially outspoken
voices, as they continue to sell millions of albums, regularly top sales and
airplay charts, and win the recognition of their peers with multiple GRAMMY
& LATIN GRAMMY Awards.
Now, ‘Los Jefes de Jefes’ turn their eye to the future with the forthcoming
release of their new album Detalles y Emociones (Details & Emotions). The
album continues Los Tigres’ heralded role as “the leading voice of the
immigrant community” with 15 new songs that give life to the emotions of the
‘pueblo in the form of corridos, ballads, cumbias and rancheras.
This album features prominent composers of the genre such as: Paulino Vargas
Jr., Manuel Eduardo Toscano, Francisco Quintero and Pablo Castro among others,
in this form Los Tigres del Norte narrate us the songs that give life to the
emotions of the ‘pueblo.’
The album’s first single “Detalles” (which is already racing up the Latin
music charts), is a heartfelt corrido that is a reminder to the band’s fans
that while many are pursuing dreams of material wealth, that genuine
demonstrations of affection and care for our loved ones are still a man’s
greatest riches.
Another sure highlight of Detalles y Emociones and one of Los Tigres’ most
controversial songs to date is “El Muro” (The Wall), a highly outspoken track
that challenges the idea of a proposed Border Fence between the United States and Mexico. A special bonus version of
the track finds Los Tigres’ famed front man Jorge Hernandez sing in Spanish,
English, German, French and even Farsi to symbolize failed border walls
throughout history.
Further tracks in the grand tradition of Los Tigres del Norte include
"Lágrimas de sangre;" “Un Hombre De Ley;” the emotion driven ballad
“Corazon Herido;” “Los Mal Portados;” “America Central”, a rhythmic cumbia
(which pays homage to the people of Central American who have welcomed the band
with open arms throughout their career); “Cuidado Con La Mesera” which details
the story of an undercover police woman who manages to trap fugitives through seduction.
The album concludes with a special message from Los Tigres del Norte, thanking
their fans across the world for their years of loyal support and encouraging
them to continue the struggle in spite of the adversities encountered along
their life’s path.
***
The release of Detalles y Emociones marks the eagerly awaited follow-up to Los
Tigres’ highly praised 2006 album Historias Que Contar. Spearheaded by the #1
single Señor Locutor” which paid tribute to the growing role of Latin radio
DJ’s in connecting estranged family members in the immigrant community,
Historias Que Contar contained 14 heartfelt corridos and proved to all that Los
Tigres remain at the forefront of Regional Mexican artistry by winning both the
most recent GRAMMY® and LATIN GRAMMY® Award for ‘Best Norteño Album.’
Shortly after the Spring 2006 release of Historias Que Contar, Los Tigres del
Norte once again demonstrated their role as the leading “voice of the pueblo”
by joining en masse with their community as the principal musical participants
of the Great American Boycott’ (A Day Without Immigrants) rally in downtown Los
Angeles. By appearing front and center at the biggest of the nation-wide
rallies, Los Tigres were lending highly visible support to the millions of
immigrants that came together to demonstrate their essential role to the
economy and culture of the United States.
Los Tigres del Norte in the new
millennium
The dawn of the new millennium has seen the continued growth of Los Tigres
del Norte, with the legendary group expanding their reach into new
international markets and experiencing the most successful years yet in their
nearly 40 year career.
Los Tigres’ role as an essential influence to a generation of new Latin music
performers was clearly seen with the 2001 tribute album “El Mas Grande Homenaje
A Los Tigres del Norte.” The album, which is now a highly sought after
collectors item, saw a wide range of leading Mexican rock bands performing a
collection of Los Tigres del Norte’s greatest hits and demonstrating that the
group’s fan base now spanned multiple-generations.
This respect for Los Tigres was demonstrated again in 2002, when the band gave
the most highly anticipated performance at Mexico’s ‘30th Annual Festival
Cervantino’. As a special tribute to the group’s influence, Los Tigres was
joined onstage by top rock performers such as Molotov, La Barranca and Julieta
Venegas.
The year of 2002 continued as a pivotal year for Los Tigres Del Norte with the
release of the internationally critically acclaimed album “La Reina Del Sur.”
Inspired by the group, Arturo Perez Reverte, a Colombian born author living in Spain, penned
the fiction novel ‘La Reina Del Sur’ - inspired by the heroine (Camelia La
Tejana) from the group’s famed early corrido “Contrabando Y Tracion.” In
support of the album, Los Tigres mounted an extensive and highly successful
tour of Spain
This would signal the start of Los Tigres Del Norte’s greatest international
expansion to date, as tours soon followed that took the band to Asia
(performing to U.S. troops stationed in Japan and Korea), as well as much more
in-depth touring in Chile, Colombia and throughout Latin America.
As Los Tigres was winning over a legion of new fans across the world that were
demanding recordings that highlighted the group’s rich history, Fonovisa
Records decided to launch the highly successful ‘Herencia Musical’ (Musical
Heritage) collection in CD/DVD format.
This collection compiled the group’s musical legacy, along with new material;
an accompanying DVD that includes the group’s videos, photo gallery and
biography. Thus far, the following collections have been released:“20 Corridos
Inolvidables,” (2003) “20 Boleros Romanticos,” (2003), “20 Norteñas Famosas,”
(2004) and “Cumbias y Algo Mas” (2005), all which have scored top tier
positions on Billboard magazine’s ‘Top Latin Albums’ sales chart.
Adding to the success of Los Tigres del Norte’s discography (albums &
collections), Fonovisa Records recognized the importance of highlighting the
group’s film career by releasing DVD and CD soundtrack packages of some of
their most important films - works that not only marked a milestone in the
groups’ career but have become historical archives in Mexican cinema.
Two of these 2006 re-releases highlight Los Tigres’ work with the renowned
director Ruben Galindo, a leading filmmaker in the genre of ‘Cine de Frontera’
(Border Cinema), which addresses the economic and cultural divides between The
Unites States and Mexico
The first film recently made available once again was the 1976 classic “La
Banda Del Carro Rojo.” The re-released package spent two weeks at #1 on the
Regional Mexican album chart and was quickly followed by the release of 1977’s
“La Muerte Del Soplón.”
With “Historias Que Contar” of course still charting throughout 2006, the
success of both the soundtrack re-releases and the ‘Herencia Musical’ series,
saw Los Tigres chart three simultaneous titles in the Top-20 of the Regional
Mexican album chart, and most impressively, chart a total of six albums in one
calendar year.
This success was celebrated in the fall of 2006, when Los Tigres del Norte were
recognized by Billboard with both an in-depth cover story, and an invitation to
be the featured Q&A subject at the magazine’s first ever ‘Regional Mexican
Music Summit.’
Their History
Simply put, Los Tigres del Norte have achieved worldwide success by becoming
the leading musical storytellers for multiple generations of Latin immigrants.
The group has taken the century old tradition of ‘corrido’ (story, song,
celebrating the enduring pursuit of truth, justice and opportunity, whether by
heroes or ordinary folk) as an art form. They’ve made it their own powerful
vehicle to express not only the plight and adventures of many who have come to
this country from different parts of the world seeking a better life for their
families, but also to bring attention to the many challenges faced by working
people.
The godfathers of the Norteño genre have towered in the realm of Latin music,
taking the polka rooted Norteño sound and mixing it with true tales of social
injustices and current events. Their unique lyrics of social conscience have
endeared them to millions of people who see in them a reflection of their past,
present and future. Thus their fans have affectionately nicknamed them ' Los
Idolos Del Pueblo", (Idols of the town) for their sincerity and
humbleness.
A career span of more than three decades, millions of records sold, extensive
concert tours throughout the United States,
Mexico, Latin America,
Europe and Asia, have made Los Tigres Del
Norte international legends.
Comprised of founding musical director, lead vocalist and accordionist Jorge
Hernandez, along with his brothers Hernán, Eduardo, Luis and cousin Oscar Lara,
Los Tigres del Norte have followed their unique calling as musical messengers
and documentarians on a journey that has brought them to unimaginable heights.
From the beginning, Los Tigres Del Norte’s music had been steeped in emotions
of honor, pride and respect for their culture.
In 1968, a band of young brothers led by eldest child Jorge – all of 14, left
their hometown of Rosa Morada, Mocorito in the state of Sinaloa,
Mexico and headed to the United States
in the hope of providing help in the support of their family. The group’s name
came about when an immigration official called them ‘little tigers’ (nickname
for kids) while crossing the California
border. Since they were headed North, the name of Los Tigres del Norte (The
Tigers of The North) was born.
The group established themselves in San
Jose, California -
the city that to this day remains their base. It was in San Jose during the
early 70’s, that Los Tigres Del Norte was discovered by an aspiring music
impresario named Art Walker - who happened to listen to a live radio
presentation of the group broadcast from the local Parque De Las Flores on
Keyes Street, where San Jose’s Mexican community congregated on Sundays.
The group quickly became the first artist signed to Walker’s upstart Fama Records, which in time
became the leading Spanish language recording company on the West Coast. Upon
signing, the group was advised to modify their sound from their traditional
acoustic, to more of an electric sound with a full set of instruments (drum
set, electric guitar, and bass) and went on to record their first album. With
time, the group modernized their music, exploring elements of boleros, cumbias,
rock, and waltzes.
Their socially conscious tradition began to manifest itself on Los Tigres Del
Norte’s earliest hits, such as “Contrabando Y Tracion,” a tale of contraband
and betrayal starring drug trafficking couple Emilio Varela and Camelia La
Tejana (1971), and 1973’s “La Banda Del Carro Rojo”. Their preeminent role as a
leading voice on the struggles of immigration took form with later songs such
as: “La Jaula De Oro” (1986) which spoke of life in the ‘gilded cage
represented by the United
States, where immigrants enjoy economic
progress but their childen often forget their culture.
As part of Los Tigres’ mutually agreed musical mission, the group has never
allowed their image to be misrepresented by being photographed with weapons or
by the use of offensive language in their music. They have also taken it upon
themselves to express their love and respect of women in their songs and to
never glorify ‘narcotic’ themes, instead approaching the subject in the group’s
role of “true-to-life” storytellers.
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