Los Tigres del Norte

No other norteño group tells the story of the immigrant experience in the U.S. quite the way Los Tigres del Norte do. Mexican immigrants themselves, they moved to San Jose, California, from Sinaloa, Mexico, in the late 1960s as teenagers. Led by vocalist and accordionist José Hernández, they started playing locally. 

When the Hernández troupe of brothers and cousins caught the attention of aspiring music promoter Art Walker, he recorded their early material and made them the basis of his Fama Records. 

In 1971, the frontman heard a live mariachi song about cross-border drug trafficking, a pivotal moment that would inspire Los Tigres' heartfelt and cinematic songwriting. Their wildly popular first corrido, the polka-driven "Contrabando y Traición" ("Smuggling and Betrayal") even inspired a movie of the same name in 1977. 

Just about every year since their emergence, the prolific Northern Mexican cowboys have served as working-class heroes, narrating candidly the lives of the voiceless population in songs that transcend generations — hits like "La Jaula De Oro," "La Bala," "La Puerta Negra," and the recent "Un Consentido de Dios."