“Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” I’d often hear these famous words through the stereo speakers growing up. My dad’s a big fan of the man in black so Cash’s album, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, was a memorable one.
Just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month, multiple GRAMMY-winning Mexican regional band Los Tigres del Norte dressed in quintessential black to honor Cash’s legacy at Folsom fifty years ago by bringing music to the inmate’s lives and to raise awareness to prison overpopulation.
The Norteño music legends just released their soundtrack album and Netflix Original Documentary Los Tigres del Norte at Folsom Prison. The special spotlights inmates voices and stories giving viewers a deeper look making it much more than just a concert film.
Both artists similarly highlight the inmate’s experience although since Cash’s 1968 concert there’s been a demographic shift.
When Cash performed there were almost no Latinxs, whereas, Latinxs now comprise 43% of Folsom’s prison population for men and 25% for women. Which is why Los Tigres wanted to pay homage to the great Mr. Cash and also to give back with music since music knows no bounds and comforts those to let them know that they’re not alone or forgotten.
That’s something that the Mexican rockeros exhibit, they just don’t just make music for those who understand Spanish…
Their music transcends and speaks on issues that people face especially in these turbulent times.
Emphasizing on the marginalized and the voiceless further fuses the bond between Los Tigres and Cash.
In 1972, Cash testified at a U.S. Senate subcommittee on prison reform. Sadly Mr. Cash never saw the transformation he had hoped to see but his humanitarianism hasn’t gone unnoticed in fact it continues to inspire much-needed change.
Make sure to watch Los Tigres’ documentary on Netflix now, it’s a must-see even if you’re not familiar with the aforementioned.
