The group is centred on lead vocalist Jorge Hernández, joined by his brothers Hernán, Eduardo and Luis, and cousin Oscar Lara. Their parents were campesinos – small farmers living and working in a tiny village in Sinaloa. Since the late 1950s this family band has detailed the struggles and triumphs, romances and heartbreak of working people, families, immigrants, outlaws and farmers. Over more than 70 albums, they have infused Norteño, an accordion-based polka music indigenous to Northern Mexico, with boleros, cumbias, rock, and waltzes.

Their 1974 breakthrough single, Contrabando y Traición, about a drug deal and love story gone bad, established them in the US. 1984’s Jaula de Oro was their first chart topper, and 1985’s A Ti Madrecita marked their first million seller. 1989’s Corridos Prohibidos kicked off the modern narcocorrido movement, paving the way for the 21st century’s alterna-movimiento. In 2014 Los Tigres del Norte released the album Realidades, which contains the song Era Diferente about a lesbian teenager who falls in love with her best friend; according to Jorge Hernández, this is the first time a norteño group has ever written a gay love song.

In 2019, Los Tigres del Norte were the first musical act since Johny Cash to film a concert at Folsom Prison. In 2021 they released Y Su Palabra Es La Ley: Homenaje A Vicente Fernandez – a tribute to the legendary mariachi and ranchera singer – and followed it with La Reunion in 2022.

The band is the only Mexican group to win 7 Grammy awards and 12 Latin Grammys. In addition, the band has made 40 films alongside the Almada brothers (Mario and Fernando) among other well-known Mexican actors.

In May 2000, Los Tigres del Norte founded the Los Tigres del Norte Foundation, which is committed to fostering appreciation and preservation of Mexican and Mexican-American folklore.

Part of La Linea – The London Latin Music Festival 2024