Norteño Kings Los Tigres del Norte on Being Honored for Gay Love Song 'Era Diferente': 'This Brings Us Great Pride'

Los Tigres del Norte -- known by fans as Los Jefes de Jefes -- have added yet another distinction to their ever-expanding collection of awards. The norteño band received the special Recognition (Spanish language) Award at the 26th annual GLAAD Media Awards, held March 21 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

The award was a nod to "Era Diferente" ("She Was Different"), the first gay love song in the band's 47-year repertoire. The story of a young girl who falls in love with her female best friend, it's also the first song of its kind within the genre.



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Bandleader Jorge Hernandez, who wrote the lyrics while his brothers worked on the music, was surprised by the honor. "I thought that no one would notice this song," he told The Advocate. "[But now] people request it. The community is coming out to see us and this brings us great pride that these songs connect with them and brings them closer to us."

Hernandez has said the idea for "Era Diferente," from their most recent album Realidades, was born out of conversations with devout fans in the LGBT community over the years who wondered when they would write a corrido (a sung narrative) about them. "This interaction always stayed with me," added Hernandez, "and I had the idea that one day I would write a song that would talk about this type of relationship."

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"Era Diferente" isn't necessarily a one-off. The five-piece band, which recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, hopes to continue to reflect the stories of all Latinos. "Sometimes in the Latino community we see machismo and problems with acceptance, but this is an area where acceptance is the most important because this is such a large community and we must accept people who love each other and live normal, happy lives," Hernandez told The Advocate.