Oscar León Bernal: he concept of an MTV Unplugged is, for the most part, linked to the genre of rock. For the norteña music, at least, you guys are a first. How did the idea come about?

Luís Hernández: We planned the project three years ago, more or less. At first, when MTV reach out to us, we were a bit hesitant because we didn’t know how this fusion would work. As you point out, Unplugged is usually done with musicians from other genres. But once we received the invitation and were provided with more details about the process, we became more interested in it. We got the list of the artists who were invited by MTV and found out the artist were also interested in working with us. Once we discussed the details, it became much easier to envision the project. MTV was respectful of the instruments we play on stage and only added additional instruments to bring that feeling of intimacy of an Unplugged. When the guest artists arrived to the studio we realized they were much more involved and had actually chosen the songs they wanted to participate in. When we got on with the Unplugged and now we’re very happy with the outcome.

OLB: Los Tigres have amassed a following among Latin American rock musicians probably because of the topics you sing about. Because of that, it’s not surprising to find people like Zach de la Rocha, Andres Calamaro or Rene from Calle 13 involved in your Unplugged. However, we were surprised by the inclusion of someone like Paulina Rubio. How were the participants picked for the recording?

LH: Well, MTV just gave us a list of guest artists. We’ve been interested in recording a song with a pop artist for some time and we already had a friendship with Paulina. Still, for various reasons, Los Tigres and Paulina had not participated together in any musical projects. Once she was invited to participate Paulina herself choose to sing “Golpes En El Corazon,” a song she really likes. People seem to like the collaboration, the public has reacted favorably to it on the radio.

OLB: Many of the band’s songs speak to the experience of Mexican migrants in the U.S. You have songs like “Somos Americanos,” which Zach de la Rocha performs, but also songs that speak to the angst brought by displacement, loss, discrimination, and even the process of acculturation as in “La Jaula De Oro.” After all these years in which Los Tigres del Norte have sung to people who’ve had to leave Latin America for economic reasons, do you think the situation for working class Mexicans and migrants on both sides of the border has improved, worsened, remain the same?

LH I think we are in a different moment. We are living thorough a very tough period of violence and also poverty. The government makes an effort, in whatever capacity it has, I am not saying they [the government] are doing a good job or a bad job. But there are millions of us who want to do things in a positive way in our country. The percentage of people causing this latest upsurge in violence is a small one, but we also have to consider that because of the levels of poverty, many people have not had other alternatives in marginal areas. As an example I can tell you that in our home state, the state of Sinaloa, almost 42% of our youth between the ages of 14 and 17 have already been affected by the violence and the drug trafficking. With such statistics in mind I can tell you that for many people the choice is to eat, or not to eat. And, if you don’t have the necessary tools available to you in terms of education and work, people will look for an easy way out.

Many people also look for a place in which to work and improve their lives and that place right now is the United States, which is why so many people have migrated. People migrate not only from Mexico, but most of Central and South America and they’ve all been affected by the situation with the exception of Brazil, which has grown economically in these few last years. While the U.S. has increased its efforts to keep people out, we are convinced that those who come to the United States come to survive, to help their families, to work hard. Just yesterday I read that the Democrats were now willing to take up the topic of the Dream Act again, which is very important for us. Perhaps they’ve realized the mistake they’ve made in treating us unjustly. We are growing but we also have to prepare ourselves, educate our children, march in a peaceful way when necessary so we can be taken into account.

OLB: When you interpreted songs such as “Contrabando Y Traicion” in 1973, or “Jefe De Jefes” in 1997, the topic of the drug trade was just one among many linked to border life, or even life in Mexico in general. But in the last few years drug theme corridos—narcocorridos, or narcoballads, have become a more dominant theme in nortena music. A two-part question: first, why do you think this has happened? Second, considering the levels of violence in Mexico and the fact that because of this violence and economic factors so many people can no longer live in their towns and citites, what’s your opinion about the recent March for Peace and Dignity organized by the poet Javier Sicilia, which calls into questions the government’s strategy in the war against drug cartels?

LH: Let me address the second part of your question first since it’s related to what we were just talking about. I find this very positive. If we as a people are all united in a peaceful way we can let governments know that we want to live in peace, we want to grow, and live in a civilized way. Through public demonstrations such as the one you mention, we can achieve this, and show that we all want a Mexico with a better image. We have to struggle together because we are generous people who have grown tired and saddened by the violence that’s affecting our country — we want to bring about a change. As for the other part of the question; it’s simple, we’re in a moment with our country in which reality is very crude and the artists that chronicle this reality use a language that corresponds to it. And while we, Los Tigres del Norte, have maintained a line of respect in our language, others have not. That’s why norteña music is now stereotyped as narco music.

But we need to remember that norteñas serve to inform people about what is going on in society. Yet, when people do it with the type of language many younger performers are utilizing today, that’s when confusion about “norteñas” and what they represent arises. Now, our music is meant to entertain; it’s music to dance to, to drink to, to enjoy and to forget about your problems. At least for a while. Our music is the music of the popular classes, and the popular classes do not have a high place in society, and do not listen to say, classical music. I’m being sincere and honest. Obviously our music reflects what the popular classes like and live. But we have many things to offer in our music. We have always chronicled the stories that occur in Mexico and we’ve changed according to how society has changed. But we’ve always been respectful in the way we address these topics [violence, drug trade] and people know we work hard. Even though we chronicle these events, we have never been involved in anything that could damage our image in the eyes of our fans.

OLB: Lastly, there are many reasons why a person might choose a musical career; from the determination to master an instrument, make money, gain fame, or to survive economically. Through discipline and work you have a achieved an important level of success; Los Tigres del Norte are now considered one of the most important groups in popular regional music. What motivates you? Why go on? What meaning does playing music bring to your life?

LH: First, I grew up listening to music all the time, and music makes me feel alive, it becomes almost like a need. Music has been important to my entire family; you could say we all have a musical “soul.” Also, once you’re in a group such as ours, you assume a responsibility. Once you are singing about topics such as the ones we’ve been talking about, topics that deal with our society, or denounce [injustice], you assume a big responsibility day-to-day and develop a responsibility to your fans. It’s also a big responsibility to represent your people in other nations. So I do not play for economic necessity, I do so with joy and if there is an element of need, it’s the need to continue to give and do what we like to do. As an anecdote I can tell you this: we rest in July and in January. Two weeks after being at home, we all want to return to work and we all start to talk about the things we want to do [as a group]. We need to be on stage, we need to play music. Music makes us happy and we hope our fans will continue to provide us with their support.

I don’t subscribe to the notion that any form of youthful, or working class expression is countercultural, revolutionary, or innovative, but I will admit that in the context of a norteño cowboy culture based on a very specific notion of masculinity— these grotesque boots, the plucked eyebrows, and dance moves articulated by the young men in this video do offer an alternative. Possibly something as simple as a fun activity to engage in for bi-national youth on the margins of both the nation[s] they inhabit. Or maybe complex as an unintended challenge to the concepts of “cool” built upon their very exclusion.  This scene is not meant to serve as “cool” currency outside of the  communities on both sides of the Mexico-US border where these kids rock their boots.  So, whether this scene is just the logical outcome of the dandyism inherent to the norteño cowboy aesthetic itself, or the metrosexual elements of Furia Musical carried to a bizarre extreme, the young men’s very indifference to both mainstream and/or urban middle-class-based “cool” is strangely refreshing.