Chicago is a city in which many musicians have found inspiration.
For the Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte, the city is present in the verses of their most famous and successful songs.
As such, Chicago is the third city they will visit during the Siempre Contigo” tour, on Feb. 10.
“Chicago has been the inspiration for so many songs and memories. This is the case of the song ‘La jaula de oro’. We have been fortunate enough to have several songs that have emerged from the emotion that is experienced in that city,” said Jorge Hernández, lead vocalist and accordionist of the group in an interview with La Voz.
This song was written by the late Enrique Franco Aguilar,, one of the most prolific Mexican composers and a key figure behind other of the group’s greatest hits such as “Pedro y Pablo”, “Ni parientes somos”, “Mi buena suerte” and “Tres veces mojado.”
“The first time I remember [being in Chicago] was in a place called El Acuario in 1977 or 1978; it was like a [dance] hall and I have in my mind the memory of how people sang the songs, how they expressed themselves. Whenever they tell us ‘Chicago’, the emotion of that place comes to me”, the “jefe mayor” or “big boss” said , as Jorge Hernández is also known for being the eldest of his brothers who make up the group, which also includes Hernán (on electric bass and vocals); Eduardo (saxophone and vocals); Luis (sixth bass and vocals), as well as Oscar Lara (drums).
He also remembers other performances in places like the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, especially when they performed with their “good friends” Los Humildes.
Over the years they have performed in places like Plaza Garibaldi in Little Village, where a stretch of 26th Street is named after them. They’ve played Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on several occasions since 2007, too.
It was 10 years ago that they teamed up with “the king of jaripeo” Joan Sebastian, during their La última maroma tour.
“We have very nice memories of those times. Now we are in a completely different stage, where we have all evolved and we have the joy of being able to enjoy every moment,” said Hernández.
“This is our life. We don’t know how to do anything else. Since we were children, this is what we’ve done and we do it with love,” he shared about his life and career with his brothers since their beginnings in their native Mexico .
In their songs, the story of the migrant has been a constant theme since their beginnings.
This year, being an election year, will be an “interesting and stressful year,” Hernández said, though he acknowledged that he tries not to get too involved in politics. He recalled that in the 2016 elections, Los Tigres del Norte gave their support to Hillary Clinton, then-Democratic candidate for president, and currently have not made public who they’re supporting. .
“Now we see a similar panorama, the truth. It is difficult to predict what will happen, policies change overnight. What we can all do as Latinos is take care of ourselves and not fall into something that prohibits our freedom,” he said.
They will continue to sing for Latino issues in songs like “A mi gente de acá”, one of the songs from their most recent material, “La reunión” (2021).
“We continue to make songs that talk about society, about the problems that all our people who hope to make a life in this country [deal with]. Those songs are part of our essence, of what the public does every day. Their successes, their outbursts are our songs,” he added.
In April, they will return to Spain after a 14-year absence to perform in Madrid, La Coruña, Barcelona, Bilbao and Pamplona. And in April they will perform for the first time in London, marking a new chapter in their history.
Other future projects include the possibility of making a television series about his life and career, glimpses of which are featured in documentaries such as “Historias por contar” (2022), and “Los Tigres del Norte from Folsom Prison,” (2019).
