(Courtesy photo/Mariaelena Villarreal)
Special to the NEWS
EDINBURG, TEXAS —Ten students from South Texas high school and middle school conjunto programs in Edinburg, Los Fresnos, Mission, Palmview, Pharr, Roma, San Juan, and San Benito, were invited to attend a special performance by Los Tigres del Norte, one of the most influential groups in regional Mexican music, on April 12, 2025, at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas, for a meet and greet.
\This once-in-a-lifetime experience is part of the Hohner/KHS Alianza Académica initiative, a program designed to support music education in Latino music styles such as Mariachi, Conjunto, and Norteño across U.S. schools. The goal is to bridge the gap between classrooms, communities, and the broader music industry, according to a press release.
“Programs like this are vital to keeping these traditions alive and inspiring the next generation of artists,” said Gilbert Reyes, Hohner Brand Manager. “We are thrilled to offer these students the chance to connect directly with some of the most iconic figures in Latino music.”
Accompanied by their directors, the students not only experienced the concert, but had the rare opportunity to meet Los Tigres del Norte backstage, an encounter with a group that has defined and elevated the corridos and Norteño genres for decades. Known for their storytelling through music, addressing social issues and cultural identity, the band’s legacy continues to shape generations of musicians.
They, along with eight other students, were invited to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime experience, part of the Hohner/KHS Alianza Académica initiative, a program designed to support music education in Latino music styles such as Mariachi, Conjunto, and Norteño across U.S. schools. The goal is to bridge the gap between classrooms, communities, and the broader music industry.
For more information about the Hohner/KHS Alianza Académica initiative, visit: https://academicalliance.com/alianza-academica-program-overview/ or follow Hohner on Instagram at Hohner Accordions and Facebook at Hohner Accordions.
According to their online biography, Los Tigres del Norte are a Norteño-genre band from San Jose, California.
Originally founded in the small town Rosa Morada, in the municipality of Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico, with sales of 32 million albums, the band is one of the most recognized acts in regional Mexican music, due to their long history, and their successes within the Mexican community in the diaspora. The band is famous for its political corridos, some of which have been censored, even in Mexico.
The band is the only Mexican group to win seven 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.
The band’s style is based on regional music of Mexico, using mainly instruments such as the electric bass (or double bass), accordion, bass, drums, and sometimes other percussion instruments. The lyrics in their songs fluctuate between the romantic and the corrido, including narcocorridos, in which they narrate the experience of members of drug gangs operating in Mexico.
The narcocorrido song Muerte Anunciada, for example, stands out, as it is dedicated to the legendary Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, El Jefe de Jefes. In that song, the band tells the story of the power and influence of the now-imprisoned Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo. Another of their famous narcocorridos, The Queen of the South, is based on a novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte from which a television series was made based on the Spanish writer’s work.
They have become famous in Mexico and the United States, especially in California and Texas, mainly due to the large number of Mexicans living there. They also have found considerable fame in Colombia.
The band won a Grammy Award in 1988 for their album Gracias, América sin Fronteras, and 12 years later their album Herencia de Familia won the award for Best Norteño Album at the first ever Latin Grammys. A year later, in the second edition of the awards, they were nominated again for Best Norteño Album, this time for De Paisano a Paisano, and Best Regional Mexican Song for the song of the same title from that album.