Eduardo Hernandez grabs his accordion and a smile instantly
lights up his face.
By Connor Ramey
Eduardo Hernandez grabs his accordion and a smile instantly lights up his face.
It isn’t just any accordion. A distant black and orange tiger screams across the accordion’s facade. Sitting to his right in his Jackson Oaks home in east Morgan Hill where a piano sits with the Grammy’s golden gramophones on top, is his wife of 15 years, Mireyda and across from him his 13-year-old daughter, both with the same smiles on their faces.
As Hernandez’s fingers race across the accordion’s buttons, the smile gets wider and wider.
For them music isn’t just a sound, it’s a life. A life that has been with the Hernandez family since 1968, when five brothers, including 8-year-old Eduardo made their way to San Jose from Rosa Morada, Mexico to create the band Los Tigres Del Norte.
That band won its fourth consecutive Grammy Jan. 31 for the best Norteno album, and has amassed nine Grammys in four decades of making music.
The brothers came to the U.S. to support their mother and father, who became ill, Eduardo said. The younger Eduardo didn’t join the band until 20 years later.
Here the older brothers, Jorge, Hernan, Luis, Raul and a cousin, sung of corridos, or stories and by 1972 they had their first single “Contrabando y Traicion.”
Corridos songs can be love songs, or songs about tragedy and despair, it’s their inspiration, he said.
“We always want to give the fans our best and send a message to those in need,” Eduardo said. “And in song we are doing something good for them.”
And the listeners respond.
‘It evokes an emotion from everyone,” Mireyda said, who grew up in a family that listened to the band.
Through the band’s 42 years and 32 million records sold, the lineup has stayed consistent, four brothers and one cousin.
In 1987, Eduardo was asked by his older brother Jorge to join the band as brother Raul embarked on a solo career.
The band also led to the introduction of Eduardo and his wife Mireyda.
They met in Los Angeles in 1993 after the band finished a press conference. Mireyda, then 22, was waiting for a friend when Eduardo walked up to her.
“I just wanted to go,” Mireyda said. “He just happened to walk up to me.”
They married two years later.
And it’s the family that pushed the band forward, Eduardo said.
Penned the “The Voice of the People” by their faithful followers, the band has released more than 50 albums, winning nine Grammys, among other awards.
“We all win every time they win,” Mireyda said. “We are a family that each do our part. We all win.”
And most recently, the band won their fourth Grammy in a row for best Norteno album. The term Norteno music refers to the rhythm driven by the accordion and banjo instead of usual percussion.
“It feels really good to win because it isn’t just us, there are a lot of bands that put out music,” Eduardo said.
The album “Tu Noche con Los Tigres del Norte” was the band’s first live album which was recorded during their tour through Mexico, Central America and Spain, Eduardo said.
But it’s home in Morgan Hill where he wants to be, he said.
“Home is the best place about touring,” Eduardo said.
Going on 14 years in Morgan Hill, they welcome the small town feel and tranquility.
“We’ve grown to love it, when I go back home to Los Angeles I miss Morgan Hill,” Mireyda said.
The Los Tigres Del Norte began a North American tour Saturday in Odessa, Texas. At this time no concerts are planned in the Bay Area.
Other tour dates can be found on their Spanish language Web site at www.universalmusica.com/LosTigresDelNorte/Home.aspx.
