Los Tigres del Norte – Los Hijos de Hernandez

“Los Hijos de Hernandez,” is part of “Somos Mas Americanos: Music and Civic Participation.”

This song is a conversation between a Latin American immigrant and a US officer at the border. The original lyrics in Spanish can be found here. The encounter is described from the perspective of the immigrant who is asked to show his papers at the border and is offended by the officer’s murmur: “ya con tantos emigrados / muchos norteamericanos / no pueden ni trabajar.” The comments can be translated as “already with so many immigrants, many North Americans cannot even work.” The immigrant responds, not by denying the presence of Latin workers, but by praising their hard work and resilience. He explains: 

• Si muy duro trabajamos
  tampoco no nos rajamos
  si la vida hay que arriesgar
  en los campos de combate
  nos han echado adelante
  porque sabemos pelear.Aquí nacieron mis hijos
  que ignorando los prejuicios
  y la discriminación
  su patria los reclamaba
  y en el campo de batalla
  pusieron el corazón.

• Yes, we work very hard
  we do not break easily either
  if life has to be risked.
  In the combat fields
  we have been pushed forward
  because we know how to fight.Here, my children were born,
  and ignoring prejudices
  and discrimination,
  their country claimed them
  and on the battlefield
  they put their hearts.

As the song continues that narrator explains that Latin Americans are incredibly dedicated and hard workers. Specifically, the song describes the importance of Latinos for the U.S. military and notes that many children of migrants have taken the place of “Saxons” in battle. In the military, the narrator explains that no one noted their Spanish last name since they were all part of the same fight, but those who dislike his Spanish last name on payrolls likely do not realize they will see those same names on another list, the list of those lost in action. In response the story the officer responds: “puedes cruzar la frontera / esta y las veces que quieras / tienes más valor que yo,” “You can cross the border this and all the other times you want, you are more valuable and courageous than I am.”