All-night party promises pop with lyrical depth

One of the hottest rock bands in North America is fronted by a lead accordionist.

Los Tigres del Norte, the most popular and influential Mexican pop group, arrive at South Point on Saturday, and if you’re planning to go, make sure you get enough sleep the night before: Tigres gigs are all-nighters, and the concert posters promise a show that goes from 8 p.m. till 2 a.m., with Los Tigres heading a bill that includes Banda el Recordo de Cruz Lizzaraga, Los Yonics de Jose Manuel Zamacoma and Conjunto Pena Blanca.

A household name in Latin America, the group was formed by lead vocalist and accordionist Jorge Hernandez with his brothers Hernan (bass, vocals), Eduardo (accordion, saxophone, bass, vocals), and Luis (guitar, vocals) and their cousin Oscar Lara (drums). Los Tigres picked up their name when they left their Mexican hometown of Rosa Morada and crossed the border into California in 1968 — an immigration official called the Hernandez boys “little tigers.” The group has been based in San Jose ever since, and last year marked its 40th anniversary.

Alternately loping and rollicking, their mostly up-tempo songs sound like party music, especially with the entire crowd singing heartily along on nearly every beloved and well-memorized song. But even an atavistic memory of high school Spanish reveals that there’s lots more going on in these songs, which plainly detail the struggles of Mexican immigrants and issues of class consciousness. Los Tigres’ combination of pop savvy and political bite puts them solidly in the company of the Clash and U2.

The group’s first big hit, 1972’s “Contrabando y Traicion,” was a corrido, a traditional narrative ballad about a legendary hero or criminal, complete with moral lesson; Los Tigres brought the venerable form into the 20th century: “Contrabando” was about a pair of lovers who move marijuana across the border in the tires of their car. And the first song on their new live album, “Tu Noche Con .. Los Tigres del Norte,” is the somewhat incendiary “Somos Mas Americanos,” a fiercely proud reminder that this land was their land, and that (in rough translation), “we’re more American than the gringos”

Los Tigres are a guaranteed good time, and they love Las Vegas. If you’re lucky, they’ll play one of their more rambunctious late-’90s hits, “Vamos a Las Vegas,” sung in comical Spanglish:

Las Vegas is a nice place where you can go to stay,

There’s a lot of casinos where you can go to play.

Puedes sentirte rico comiendo un gran buffet

con shrimp and calamari or chicken and steak.

Me gusta la ruleta, I love to play blackjack

I need to make some money me pico mas y mas.

Y en las maquinitas de quarters y de dimes

I play all night long, I lose my money bag.

Me gusta El Tropicana, el Cesar o el Mirage

Tambien en el Sahara, I win a lot of cash

Pero no estoy solito, my honey is with me

So after we get tired, nos vamos a dormir.

IF YOU GO

What: Los Tigres del Norte, with Banda el Recordo de Cruz Lizzaraga and others

When: 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday

Where: Events center, South Point

Admission: $40, children under 10 free; 657-0090, www.southpointeventscenter.com

Joe Brown can be reached at 259-8801 or at [e-mail].