Latin Grammys Champion Immigrant Voices With Los Tigres del Norte’s Performance of ‘La Lotería’

The Mexican corridos group Los Tigres del Norte sent a powerful and political message on the Latin Grammys stage on Thursday night. Against a backdrop of videos of teary-eyed Mexican people and American and Mexican flags, the group sang their sociopolitical single, “La Lotería.”

Named after the Mexican board game, “La Lotería” comments on topics including immigration, and criticizes President Donald Trump’s criminal past with lyrics like “El diablo ya lo mandan a la corte” (They’re even sending the devil to court), and “Nuestra gente se rebela en estos tiempos” (Our people are rebelling in these times).

The videos playing behind the group at the Latin Grammys also featured street signs that read “immigration reform ahead” and images of families crossing. In the audience, artists including Bad Bunny watched with intent and nodded along to the song’s groove.

“The most important thing is that we now see that [‘La Lotería’] comes out at a critical moment,” Los Tigres told Los Angeles Times’ De Los in February. “We took on the task of recording and having this number and hopefully the public will analyze it and reflect on each of the themes that are touched upon in this song, because there are several and each lotería card has a different meaning for all of us.”

“La Lotería” won a Latin Grammy earlier that evening for best regional song, while the eponymously titled parent EP took home best norteño album. The evening’s most decorated acts were Bad Bunny — who took home five awards, including album of the year for his politically and culturally empowering “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” — and Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso, who also earned five wins.