In “Los Tigres del Norte: Stories To Tell” documentary
CALEXICO – San Diego State University Imperial Valley highlighted their staff’s talent with the screening of “Los Tigres del Norte: Stories to Tell” (“Los Tigres del Norte: Historias que Contar” translated to Spanish) documentary, where Dr. Juan Carlos Ramírez-Pimienta, a professor from the institution and Literature and Latin American Culture researcher, participated as an interviewee in the production.
Ramírez-Pimienta, a Tijuana native, has studied for various years the history of the Mexican corrido, a song style that tells stories. He was scouted by the documentary’s production to discuss more on this topic more and talk about the Los Tigres del Norte band.
Ramirez-Pimienta recorded his interview for the documentary in 2021 in San Jose, California.
“My thing is to disseminate information, not only in the classroom,” Ramírez-Pimienta said in a recent interview with Imperial Valley Press. “Mexican folklore and similar
topics grab the attention, so as part of my work, as a service to this profession and the community, I try to inform on these topics.”
Ramírez-Pimienta, has been quoted in many media articles and appeared in other productions such as “Who Killed Jenni Rivera?”, which is streamed on Peacock.
The documentary of this famous Mexican band is directed by Carlos Perez Osorio and streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
According to a synopsis on Amazon Prime Video, throughout their career, Los Tigres del Norte has recorded more than 600 songs, sold 60 million albums, and won 7 Grammys and 9 Latin Grammys. “The four band members reflect and share exclusive moments from their past and pay tribute to their origins with fun anecdotes and let the viewer enjoy the band member’s company,” it reads.
In 2011,
Ramírez-Pimienta published a book “Cantar a los narcos: voces y versos del narcocorrido” (Singing to the Traffickers: Voices and Verses of the Narcocorrido, in English), which has a chapter of Los Tigres del Norte. He believes this grabbed the attention of the documentary producers.
“I serve as a connector in terms of their career,” Ramírez-Pimienta said. “I have an accurate outlook
of their musical production, the direction of their corridos and direction of their singers.”
Despite being a fan of the band, he also describes himself as their critic.
He describes Los Tigres del Norte as a Mexican group that reflects a new “Mexicanity;” one that comes from Mexico but has spent almost their entire career singing in the United States.
“This is a group that we can think of as Chicanos or a Latino group that speaks in a good measure for the community,” Ramírez-Pimienta said. “They have important corridos where people see themselves reflected, with migrant themes that are tremendously powerful and have had a big influence on the public.”
He described the band as influencers in the
‘90s, as they created a social conversation that transcended the musical sphere, he said.
“Los Tigres del Norte spoke about the muertas de Juarez (femicides in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico), they talked about the sorrows of immigrants, and they keep that credibility,” he said.
The Calexico-Mexicali border is highlighted in the band’s story as part of their musical history happened in the region’s borderlands.
Ramírez-Pimienta said by performing in this region, “Los Tigres” under
stood what living on the border meant.
“From my point of view, they start forging as musicians from the border and then in the United States,” he said.
After the screening, a
question and answer session and commentaries by Dr. Ramírez-Pimienta and Dr. Jose Salvador Ruiz, professor at Imperial Valley College, were given at SDSU-IV Library on Wednesday, February 22.