July 24, 2024 • 16 mins
In our final episode of Los Tigres del Norte journey, we explore their new era with the youngest brother joining the band, solidifying their staying power. Over the decades, they’ve released some of their most artistically renowned work and championed immigrant causes. From playing for tips at cantinas to international stardom, they’ve performed across the globe and at political events. Los Tigres' legacy is truly built to last.
Lilliana Vazquez and Joseph Carrillo are the hosts of Becoming An Icon with production support by Nick Milanes, Santiago Sierra, Rodrigo Crespo, Evelyn Uribe and Edgar Esteban of Sonoro Media in partnership with iHeart Radio's My Cultura Podcast network.
If you want to support the podcast, please rate and review our show.
Follow Lilliana Vazquez on Instagram and Twitter @lillianavazquez
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
The last time we checked in with Los Figres, they
were one tigre shy of a street streak. A streak
is a group of tigers.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We learned so much on this show. Anyway, Laaro had
gone solo after twenty eight years making music with his
Hermanos Iprimos.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
He left the band when they were on top of
the world. The singles off their most recent album, nineteen
ninety five's Leshemplo, had competed for chart domination week after
week with the likes of Luis, Miguel and Selina.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You got to hand it to the lone Thede. He
chose a gutsy time to walk away.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Raoul had wanted to expand into Banda and Mariacci music
to show another musical side of Sinaloa, but the band
wanted to stick with Norteno.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I knew Raoul was a Leo Moon, so.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
The band was in a bit of a bind. Luckily,
there was one Ernanda's brother waiting in the wings, and
when the band got started in Mexicali, he wasn't even
born yet.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Oh oh, it's the little baby from when the family's
watching Simpren Domingo.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yes, that's right, Luis Ernandez, named after his father Don.
Luis was born in nineteen seventy four, the very same
year Los Diigres del Norte broke out with Contrabando Ytracion.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Imagine growing up seeing her brothers on TV, movies and
records and posters.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Those are actually some of Luis's earliest memories. Later in
the seventies, Los Diigo's had a cameo in a movie
based on one of their songs, La Bana del Carojo,
and Louise remembers his mother crying in the seat next
to him because she was afraid their characters would get
killed on screen.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
It sounds like you knew better as a child, like mom,
it's not real anyway. After years of seeing his family
in the limelight, Luise gets a call from Jorge and.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
He immediately thinks he's in trouble for something.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Because Horgue has been the man in the house for
a while now.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
But it turns out today is Luis's lucky day. Jorge
wants to keep the band in the family, and he's
inviting Louise to join them.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Didn't we tell you that Thedi's story was just like
a fairy tale?
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Luis's live debut with Los Diigias is at a show
here in New York, and when he's introduced to the
crowd and invited to step on stage and join the
band for the very first time, he takes one step
and falls flat on his phone.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Oh my god, Luisito. Now I'm crying, just like his
mom watching the movie.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Okay, but he does get up with a little scrape
on his chin and a big smile on his face.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And that was the world's first taste of Los FIGIs
as we know them and love them today. Porque Ernan edue,
Alo Cousin, Oscar and.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Luis and Lusito wasn't a mere replacement for Raoul as
a third vocalist. The littlest or Nanda's brother kept the
band young, giving them a youthful edge even as their
founding members were entering their forties. By the way, that
is not old.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
That is not old, It is not And that right
there is what you call staying power, y'all, staying relevant
with the younger friends, and staying true to yourselves.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
And lostitas what spend the next decades doing just that,
putting out some of their most artistically renowned work and
doing right by the downtrodden.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Down trodden you mean, Luisito.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Now that we're recording this in person, I'm going to
smack youl.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Do we get that? On the mic? I'm calling HR.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
I'm your host Liliana Orosquez.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
And I'm Joseph Carrio And this is Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on
how today's most famous LATINX stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And given the world some extra level.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Because we are going in the only way we know how,
with buenas vias, unassas chime and a lot of opinions
as we relive their greatest achievements on our journey to
find out what makes them so iconic.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Like we said in the intro, Los Dignas were enjoying
chart recognition well into the nineties, alongside acts like El Ricodo,
Bronco and of course Selena.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
We're always seeing how great the nineties were for culture,
and it turns out that was true for Mexico too.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
In a departure from the traditional Mexican pop that used
to rule the charts, regional music was taking off, and
not just Norteno but the Hanno Mariacci, Francero and more.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And in nineteen ninety eight, Los Digitis released their magnum
opus of Corridos Nortenos, the album Hefe The.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Hefes That's Me Wait I thought it was me. No,
we did talk about this title track a little bit
in our last episode. It's the one with Felix Gayadro,
the cartel boss, bragging about his power in influence.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
He's the sun and the shade. Everyone wants his protection
and fears his punishment.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
By the time this album came out, Felix Cayaradro was
just one of a whole cast of drug kingpins whose
empires had spread throughout Latin America.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
We're talking of Pablo Escobar, El Chapo, Griza, Bablanco.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Los Digre sang about the common man's struggles, and by
then Narco Trafico had impacted the lives of millions of
Mexicans and Mexican Americans, not.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
To mention Los Siga's home state of Sinaloa. Helloo, the
Sinaloa Cartel.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
You can bet that they thought about Rosa Morada every
day they heard a piece of news about Nadco Trafico.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So even though the Mexican government and the radio were
trying to shut them up. Lostigis went and wrote an
entire album of corridos about losn.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Aracles, a double album. Joseph, Damn.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
If I didn't know any better, I say they were trolling.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
More like going for the jugular. The album starts off
with the title track that we talked about half of
the heif is Me not You, which sends a clear
message about how powerful the cartels had become. Then on
the same disc you have songs like Hello Lord de Padre,
which is sung from the pov of a father watching
his children succumb to addiction. And if you're wondering if
(06:18):
it glamorizes Los Nacos, like the critics argued, just give
the closing lyrics a read quote.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
I know some folks who are traffickers. Now they know
I lost a son and you all are the reason.
Sorry to offend you, but it's the pain of a father.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Damn, Lostigits aren't fucking around here. Like the very first
thing you hear on the album is someone's voice saying
I like corridos because they sing the pure truth. And
then Lostgras go and do that for nineteen tracks.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Straight and the truth resonated with the people. This is
their best selling album, y'all, their first number one on
the Billboard Latin Album Chart, and their first platinum record.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
So despite all the efforts to ban the Natco Corrido,
Los Theras wracked up ri double A certifications and accolades
from Lonuestro Awards to the first Latin Grammy for Best
Northeneo Album for Edencia Defamidia in two thousand.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
But don't get it twisted. They weren't just writing a
trend of regional music. This was years in the making.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Thegiras had and still has the kind of following you
can't buy or manufacture. They have cred. Fun fact we
love a fun fact. When Los Digas first hit big
with Condrabandracion, their first ever tour was built around the
harvest season. So when migrant farm workers were picking potatoes
(07:41):
in Idaho, Los Thegos were in town two, grape season
in California, apple season in Washington, asparagus in Michigan, oranges
in Florida. Wherever the fruit was ripe, the Los Thegras
we're playing.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
That's actually genius. I wonder how many bands do that? Now?
Speaker 1 (07:59):
You got to follow the greats, right. But remember Los
Thegras didn't just know their audience.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
They lived that life, and they weren't just singing songs
about it.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
They were doing the work. Remember how Los Thegras had
to moonlight as musicians and work during the day m hm.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
And they weren't doing something cute like making lattes, no shade.
They were out there picking tomatoes, gardening, scrubbing toilets.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Right. It's important to remember that, not just to show
how far they'd come, but to show how they came
from exactly the same circumstances as their fans.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
So when they wrote to Corrido in nineteen eighty nine
versus out of Chavez, the farm workers union leader, they
weren't singing about him as a folk hero.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
They were singing about un compagnero, one of their own.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
And then years later, in two thousand and six, when
Losdes marched in the streets for immigrant rights, it wasn't
just solidarity. They had skin in the game.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta, La, New York, all across the country,
Latino immigrants staged a walkout dubbed a Day without Immigrants
Latinos Simpapelees, just like Los Thegras showed the world how
much this country relies on them.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
So when you think of Ernan Raoul and Oscar picking
tomatoes and gardening his children, when you think of Jrge
breaking his back as a janitor and taking English classes.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Care workers, kitchen workers, drivers, I mean remember essential workers.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Immigrants, immigrants, immigrants from the bottom of society. Two stars
like lostidras.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
And even though Los Thegras have become fathers of US citizens,
they haven't forgotten where they came from. In a New
York Times profile at None the Basis says, my sons
have lots of friends, kids they went to school or
soccer games with that I always thought were born here,
but are threatened with deportation because they came here as
little kids. There's so much like my own boys that
(09:57):
you would never imagine they're here illegally. Some of them
don't even speak Spanish. So how are you going to
deport them?
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Little kids who are probably even younger than THEEFNA this
boys when they got here. Damn, I feel like I
need to go out and do something now, like Lositas
are putting us all to shame.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Wait, come on, boo, it's not a competition. It's not
about shame. It's about being proud to be Latino. Oh
and speaking of pride, that was last month, boo, I
know that. But in twenty fourteen, Los Tita's released their
first corrido featuring a queer romance.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I got oka degress, brothers. What's the story?
Speaker 1 (10:39):
So the song is actually about a woman in the
old neighborhood whom all the men would fight over, but
none of whom could win her interest.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
He not always the way. So who's she checking for?
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I mean, who else? She gives flowers to her best friend?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Oh oh, and her best friend is a girl.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
You know it? Oh honey, Los thes y'all they know
authenticity when they see it.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Wait, isn't this the song that domask me from Rolling
Stone told us about. They helped me come out to
my dad.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Actually, that's so funny, but loss and they played a
big role in making what Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
We need to know this story to tell us the story.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Basically, Los Thedos have this song about like a lesbian daughter.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
It's like a fake story.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
And so I played that song from my dad after
I had come out of the closet and it hadn't
gone as well as I wish it had. And I
heard him bopping along and I could tell that he
was listening to the lyrics, and I think his like
nodding was like my way of like finally accepting that
he accepted me.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Wow, Wow, that's really yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
And then like three years later, I interviewed ose Theos
in North with my dad and he told the story
can stop it.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Absolutely unplugging this. I'm unplugging right now, goosebumps right now.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Well, Joseph, We've traveled a long road with Vegas and
we've got one more stop to make. Los Diigres del
Norte went from playing for tips at Cantinas to touring
across the US for farm workers and then rose to
(12:18):
international stardom.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
They've performed all across the Americas, in Spain, in Japan,
and Korea. They've played immigration rallies and political events from Washington,
d C, Tol Socalo in Mexico City, and.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
They even played MTV and plugs with artists like Juanis
and Caya Trese and Rage against the Machines. Zak Bela
Rocha joined them for a rendition of the fan favorite
somos mas Americanos.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
The song practically made the phrase I didn't cross the border,
the border across to me into a rallying cry.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
For Mexicans who trace their ancestry back to this land
before the US of A. The song is an anthem.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And a middle finger to racistas.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
That resonates across generations. The legacy of Los Degres is
one that ignites hope in Latinos of all ages and
inspires artists from besl Pluma to Jujeta, Venegas and Mana.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
But there was one audience. Lostigitias had always wanted to
play for, an audience they were supposed to play for,
but never got a chance to.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
That all changed in twenty eighteen, the fiftieth anniversary of
Johnny Cash's legendary concert at Folsom State Prison. Oh sh
Here we Go.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
And fifty years after, Lostigies, back when they were Los
L'tennos at Chihuahua, found themselves seen papellis in front of
Solidad Prison in San Jose. Now Los Theiters were finally
going to play a legendary show for inmates.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
The performance was captured in a documentary directed by Tom Donahue,
for Netflix, and at the time the documentary was released,
forty three percent of Fulsome's inmates were Latino.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
At an unset of the show, quote our idea was
to expect what Cash said about why he played here,
to bring light to a dark place. These human beings
lost their original path and may not find it again,
but we believe there's a possibility of hope and redemption.
Our contribution is on this visiting day to give them that,
and in return we take away reflections on the beauty
(14:17):
of freedom and the harshness of being an inmate.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Eduarddou continued, Latinos go through rough times equally. It doesn't
matter if you're legal or not. They put you in
the same situation when they see you on the street.
We're accused of being the worst. When we came to
live in the United States, we were illegal and we
experienced it. We understood that for an hour, we were
there to feed their hope.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
So Lastite's donned matching black suits a la Johnny Cash,
and they played a set that included haw La de Orto,
the Golden Cage. They're owed to the plight of the Mexicano,
unable to return home over more than fifty five albums
with over seven hundred songs, over thirty million copies sold,
(14:57):
sixteen film appearances and fifteen Grammy not nations, and numerous collaborations.
It's safe to say Losigo's legacy is built to.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Last, and they've made sure that the legacy of the
Corrido lasts as well. Through the Los Digres del Norte Foundation,
they've established a program at UCLA for the study, research, acquisition, preservation,
dissemination and presentation of authentic, traditional and folk musical traditions
in Espagnolo, helping to ensure recognition for the past, present,
(15:29):
and future of the proud musical storytelling tradition they have
held the banner for throughout their entire lives. They be
doing the best for our culture.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
You should go check that s out and see if
our past selves are there.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Just look for an old, dusty photograph of Las Sombra.
You love going there. On the next Becoming an Icon,
we're stripping down and getting dirty. Joseph cannot contain his excitement.
(16:07):
Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael
Guda podcast Network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast
The last time we checked in with Los Figres, they
were one tigre shy of a street streak. A streak
is a group of tigers.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We learned so much on this show. Anyway, Laaro had
gone solo after twenty eight years making music with his
Hermanos Iprimos.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
He left the band when they were on top of
the world. The singles off their most recent album, nineteen
ninety five's Leshemplo, had competed for chart domination week after
week with the likes of Luis, Miguel and Selina.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You got to hand it to the lone Thede. He
chose a gutsy time to walk away.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Raoul had wanted to expand into Banda and Mariacci music
to show another musical side of Sinaloa, but the band
wanted to stick with Norteno.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I knew Raoul was a Leo Moon, so.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
The band was in a bit of a bind. Luckily,
there was one Ernanda's brother waiting in the wings, and
when the band got started in Mexicali, he wasn't even
born yet.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Oh oh, it's the little baby from when the family's
watching Simpren Domingo.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yes, that's right, Luis Ernandez, named after his father Don.
Luis was born in nineteen seventy four, the very same
year Los Diigres del Norte broke out with Contrabando Ytracion.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Imagine growing up seeing her brothers on TV, movies and
records and posters.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Those are actually some of Luis's earliest memories. Later in
the seventies, Los Diigo's had a cameo in a movie
based on one of their songs, La Bana del Carojo,
and Louise remembers his mother crying in the seat next
to him because she was afraid their characters would get
killed on screen.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
It sounds like you knew better as a child, like mom,
it's not real anyway. After years of seeing his family
in the limelight, Luise gets a call from Jorge and.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
He immediately thinks he's in trouble for something.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Because Horgue has been the man in the house for
a while now.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
But it turns out today is Luis's lucky day. Jorge
wants to keep the band in the family, and he's
inviting Louise to join them.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Didn't we tell you that Thedi's story was just like
a fairy tale?
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Luis's live debut with Los Diigias is at a show
here in New York, and when he's introduced to the
crowd and invited to step on stage and join the
band for the very first time, he takes one step
and falls flat on his phone.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Oh my god, Luisito. Now I'm crying, just like his
mom watching the movie.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Okay, but he does get up with a little scrape
on his chin and a big smile on his face.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And that was the world's first taste of Los FIGIs
as we know them and love them today. Porque Ernan edue,
Alo Cousin, Oscar and.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Luis and Lusito wasn't a mere replacement for Raoul as
a third vocalist. The littlest or Nanda's brother kept the
band young, giving them a youthful edge even as their
founding members were entering their forties. By the way, that
is not old.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
That is not old, It is not And that right
there is what you call staying power, y'all, staying relevant
with the younger friends, and staying true to yourselves.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
And lostitas what spend the next decades doing just that,
putting out some of their most artistically renowned work and
doing right by the downtrodden.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Down trodden you mean, Luisito.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Now that we're recording this in person, I'm going to
smack youl.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Do we get that? On the mic? I'm calling HR.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
I'm your host Liliana Orosquez.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
And I'm Joseph Carrio And this is Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on
how today's most famous LATINX stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And given the world some extra level.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Because we are going in the only way we know how,
with buenas vias, unassas chime and a lot of opinions
as we relive their greatest achievements on our journey to
find out what makes them so iconic.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Like we said in the intro, Los Dignas were enjoying
chart recognition well into the nineties, alongside acts like El Ricodo,
Bronco and of course Selena.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
We're always seeing how great the nineties were for culture,
and it turns out that was true for Mexico too.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
In a departure from the traditional Mexican pop that used
to rule the charts, regional music was taking off, and
not just Norteno but the Hanno Mariacci, Francero and more.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And in nineteen ninety eight, Los Digitis released their magnum
opus of Corridos Nortenos, the album Hefe The.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Hefes That's Me Wait I thought it was me. No,
we did talk about this title track a little bit
in our last episode. It's the one with Felix Gayadro,
the cartel boss, bragging about his power in influence.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
He's the sun and the shade. Everyone wants his protection
and fears his punishment.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
By the time this album came out, Felix Cayaradro was
just one of a whole cast of drug kingpins whose
empires had spread throughout Latin America.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
We're talking of Pablo Escobar, El Chapo, Griza, Bablanco.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Los Digre sang about the common man's struggles, and by
then Narco Trafico had impacted the lives of millions of
Mexicans and Mexican Americans, not.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
To mention Los Siga's home state of Sinaloa. Helloo, the
Sinaloa Cartel.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
You can bet that they thought about Rosa Morada every
day they heard a piece of news about Nadco Trafico.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So even though the Mexican government and the radio were
trying to shut them up. Lostigis went and wrote an
entire album of corridos about losn.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Aracles, a double album. Joseph, Damn.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
If I didn't know any better, I say they were trolling.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
More like going for the jugular. The album starts off
with the title track that we talked about half of
the heif is Me not You, which sends a clear
message about how powerful the cartels had become. Then on
the same disc you have songs like Hello Lord de Padre,
which is sung from the pov of a father watching
his children succumb to addiction. And if you're wondering if
(06:18):
it glamorizes Los Nacos, like the critics argued, just give
the closing lyrics a read quote.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
I know some folks who are traffickers. Now they know
I lost a son and you all are the reason.
Sorry to offend you, but it's the pain of a father.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Damn, Lostigits aren't fucking around here. Like the very first
thing you hear on the album is someone's voice saying
I like corridos because they sing the pure truth. And
then Lostgras go and do that for nineteen tracks.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Straight and the truth resonated with the people. This is
their best selling album, y'all, their first number one on
the Billboard Latin Album Chart, and their first platinum record.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
So despite all the efforts to ban the Natco Corrido,
Los Theras wracked up ri double A certifications and accolades
from Lonuestro Awards to the first Latin Grammy for Best
Northeneo Album for Edencia Defamidia in two thousand.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
But don't get it twisted. They weren't just writing a
trend of regional music. This was years in the making.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Thegiras had and still has the kind of following you
can't buy or manufacture. They have cred. Fun fact we
love a fun fact. When Los Digas first hit big
with Condrabandracion, their first ever tour was built around the
harvest season. So when migrant farm workers were picking potatoes
(07:41):
in Idaho, Los Thegos were in town two, grape season
in California, apple season in Washington, asparagus in Michigan, oranges
in Florida. Wherever the fruit was ripe, the Los Thegras
we're playing.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
That's actually genius. I wonder how many bands do that? Now?
Speaker 1 (07:59):
You got to follow the greats, right. But remember Los
Thegras didn't just know their audience.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
They lived that life, and they weren't just singing songs
about it.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
They were doing the work. Remember how Los Thegras had
to moonlight as musicians and work during the day m hm.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
And they weren't doing something cute like making lattes, no shade.
They were out there picking tomatoes, gardening, scrubbing toilets.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Right. It's important to remember that, not just to show
how far they'd come, but to show how they came
from exactly the same circumstances as their fans.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
So when they wrote to Corrido in nineteen eighty nine
versus out of Chavez, the farm workers union leader, they
weren't singing about him as a folk hero.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
They were singing about un compagnero, one of their own.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
And then years later, in two thousand and six, when
Losdes marched in the streets for immigrant rights, it wasn't
just solidarity. They had skin in the game.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta, La, New York, all across the country,
Latino immigrants staged a walkout dubbed a Day without Immigrants
Latinos Simpapelees, just like Los Thegras showed the world how
much this country relies on them.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
So when you think of Ernan Raoul and Oscar picking
tomatoes and gardening his children, when you think of Jrge
breaking his back as a janitor and taking English classes.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Care workers, kitchen workers, drivers, I mean remember essential workers.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Immigrants, immigrants, immigrants from the bottom of society. Two stars
like lostidras.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
And even though Los Thegras have become fathers of US citizens,
they haven't forgotten where they came from. In a New
York Times profile at None the Basis says, my sons
have lots of friends, kids they went to school or
soccer games with that I always thought were born here,
but are threatened with deportation because they came here as
little kids. There's so much like my own boys that
(09:57):
you would never imagine they're here illegally. Some of them
don't even speak Spanish. So how are you going to
deport them?
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Little kids who are probably even younger than THEEFNA this
boys when they got here. Damn, I feel like I
need to go out and do something now, like Lositas
are putting us all to shame.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Wait, come on, boo, it's not a competition. It's not
about shame. It's about being proud to be Latino. Oh
and speaking of pride, that was last month, boo, I
know that. But in twenty fourteen, Los Tita's released their
first corrido featuring a queer romance.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I got oka degress, brothers. What's the story?
Speaker 1 (10:39):
So the song is actually about a woman in the
old neighborhood whom all the men would fight over, but
none of whom could win her interest.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
He not always the way. So who's she checking for?
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I mean, who else? She gives flowers to her best friend?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Oh oh, and her best friend is a girl.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
You know it? Oh honey, Los thes y'all they know
authenticity when they see it.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Wait, isn't this the song that domask me from Rolling
Stone told us about. They helped me come out to
my dad.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Actually, that's so funny, but loss and they played a
big role in making what Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
We need to know this story to tell us the story.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Basically, Los Thedos have this song about like a lesbian daughter.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
It's like a fake story.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
And so I played that song from my dad after
I had come out of the closet and it hadn't
gone as well as I wish it had. And I
heard him bopping along and I could tell that he
was listening to the lyrics, and I think his like
nodding was like my way of like finally accepting that
he accepted me.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Wow, Wow, that's really yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
And then like three years later, I interviewed ose Theos
in North with my dad and he told the story
can stop it.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Absolutely unplugging this. I'm unplugging right now, goosebumps right now.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Well, Joseph, We've traveled a long road with Vegas and
we've got one more stop to make. Los Diigres del
Norte went from playing for tips at Cantinas to touring
across the US for farm workers and then rose to
(12:18):
international stardom.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
They've performed all across the Americas, in Spain, in Japan,
and Korea. They've played immigration rallies and political events from Washington,
d C, Tol Socalo in Mexico City, and.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
They even played MTV and plugs with artists like Juanis
and Caya Trese and Rage against the Machines. Zak Bela
Rocha joined them for a rendition of the fan favorite
somos mas Americanos.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
The song practically made the phrase I didn't cross the border,
the border across to me into a rallying cry.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
For Mexicans who trace their ancestry back to this land
before the US of A. The song is an anthem.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And a middle finger to racistas.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
That resonates across generations. The legacy of Los Degres is
one that ignites hope in Latinos of all ages and
inspires artists from besl Pluma to Jujeta, Venegas and Mana.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
But there was one audience. Lostigitias had always wanted to
play for, an audience they were supposed to play for,
but never got a chance to.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
That all changed in twenty eighteen, the fiftieth anniversary of
Johnny Cash's legendary concert at Folsom State Prison. Oh sh
Here we Go.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
And fifty years after, Lostigies, back when they were Los
L'tennos at Chihuahua, found themselves seen papellis in front of
Solidad Prison in San Jose. Now Los Theiters were finally
going to play a legendary show for inmates.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
The performance was captured in a documentary directed by Tom Donahue,
for Netflix, and at the time the documentary was released,
forty three percent of Fulsome's inmates were Latino.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
At an unset of the show, quote our idea was
to expect what Cash said about why he played here,
to bring light to a dark place. These human beings
lost their original path and may not find it again,
but we believe there's a possibility of hope and redemption.
Our contribution is on this visiting day to give them that,
and in return we take away reflections on the beauty
(14:17):
of freedom and the harshness of being an inmate.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Eduarddou continued, Latinos go through rough times equally. It doesn't
matter if you're legal or not. They put you in
the same situation when they see you on the street.
We're accused of being the worst. When we came to
live in the United States, we were illegal and we
experienced it. We understood that for an hour, we were
there to feed their hope.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
So Lastite's donned matching black suits a la Johnny Cash,
and they played a set that included haw La de Orto,
the Golden Cage. They're owed to the plight of the Mexicano,
unable to return home over more than fifty five albums
with over seven hundred songs, over thirty million copies sold,
(14:57):
sixteen film appearances and fifteen Grammy not nations, and numerous collaborations.
It's safe to say Losigo's legacy is built to.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Last, and they've made sure that the legacy of the
Corrido lasts as well. Through the Los Digres del Norte Foundation,
they've established a program at UCLA for the study, research, acquisition, preservation,
dissemination and presentation of authentic, traditional and folk musical traditions
in Espagnolo, helping to ensure recognition for the past, present,
(15:29):
and future of the proud musical storytelling tradition they have
held the banner for throughout their entire lives. They be
doing the best for our culture.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
You should go check that s out and see if
our past selves are there.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Just look for an old, dusty photograph of Las Sombra.
You love going there. On the next Becoming an Icon,
we're stripping down and getting dirty. Joseph cannot contain his excitement.
(16:07):
Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael
Guda podcast Network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast
Hosts And Creators
Lilliana Vazquez
Joseph Carrillo
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