Los Tigres del Norte: corridos and norteña music in the making of the migratory experience across the US-Mexico border

Corridos, the typical musical forms of the Mexican tradition, in the border areas have been often used to express the desire of defying the legal impositions of the boundary. In the first half of the Twentieth century, they were typically used to exalt the deeds of social bandits and other local outlaws. Starting from the Seventies, a sort of corrido renaissance has seen them turned into a popular cultural expression for Mexican immigrants in the US. The paper focuses on the production of the most celebrated norteña band, Los Tigres del Norte, and on their role in singing and codifying the migratory experience. 

Keywords: corrido, Los Tigres del Norte, US-Mexico border, migration.