Merle Haggard and Los Tigres del Norte


The Mexican band that became Los Tigres del Norte was founded in 1968 when the Hernandez brothers of Sinaloa, Mexico formed a part time musical act to make money tht might help their poverty-stricken parents get out of debt. The brothers decided to move to the United States, where they could play their corridos (historical ballads) in bars and restaurants throughout California’s Hispanic communities. On their journey north the teenagers were detained at the border, where a guard nicknamed them “los tigres” (the tigers). Los Tigres del Norte was born. In 1972 the band released “Contrabando y Traición” (Contraband and Treachery) about a drug smuggler, his partner, and the betrayal that led to their deaths. The song was immensely popular throughout the U.S. and Mexico, leading to the creation of an entire genre of “narcocorridos,” songs about smugglers and the treachery of the illegal drug trade. One writer has compared narcocorridos with gangster rap, recognizing both forms’ violent content and great popularity.

Over the past thirty years, Los Tigres del Norte have combined conjunto-styled norteño music (fast-paced music utilizing an accordion) with the flash and intensity of rock and roll. Their record sales and touring power (they regularly play to more than 50,000 people at a time in stadiums and at fairgrounds from Seattle to Mexico City) reflect their appeal. They have been nominated for ten Grammys. In 1988 they won with “ America Sin Fronteras.”

Los Tigres del Norte


Merle Haggard was born in California in 1937 to Oklahomans (perjoratively called Okies) who had moved west a few years earlier. He grew up very poor, living most of his childhood in a train car converted to housing. After the death of his father, Haggard lived in homes for troubled youth until he married at age seventeen. Three years later he was in prison for burglary. When he was released, Haggard began writing songs about his life both before and after jail. As he sang in one of his hits, he was a “Branded Man.” Clearly, Haggard’s experience as a prisoner shaped him as a man and as a storyteller.

Merle Haggard


Between 1971 and 1976 Haggard had more than ten number one hits on country radio, including “Okie from Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me.” Haggard once described these two songs, which he penned with intended-sarcasm, as the silliest he ever wrote. Regardless, both songs became anthems for anti-hippie and pro-Vietnam conservatives. Haggard’s lyrics can only be characterized as unadorned and, with a few notable exceptions, heartbreakingly serious. From a man’s description of society’s disapproval of his love for a woman of another race in “Irma Jackson,” to a convict’s explanation of utter failure in “Mama Tried,” Haggard has kept his songs true to life.

1. Although their musical styles are decidedly different, Merle Haggard and Los Tigres del Norte share much in common lyrically. Whether singing about outlaws on the run, or about working class men and women down on their luck, both Los Tigres and Haggard tell stories about society’s outcasts. Why do you think stories about men and women living on the fringes of society appeal to so many fans, both Anglo and Hispanic? Why do criminals and fugitives capture so much of the media’s attention? Look in your paper for stories about today’s outlaws. Do their stories interest you? Why?

2. Listen to Los Tigres’ “Contrabando y Traición,” about a couple acting together in crime in the 1970s. Next, listen to Haggard’s “The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde,” about two renowned young outlaws who roamed the American Southwest during the 1930s. How are the songs different and similar musically? Imagine that you understand neither Spanish or English. Could you guess whether or not these songs were filled with tales of action? How so? What clues guide your judgment?

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