The Tigres del Norte perform on Tiny Desk amidst the controversy over a shortened speech in defense of the Latino community.

Los Tigres del Norte on Tiny Desk: Controversy over migrant message October 19, 2026 NPR, the United States public radio organization, cut a few seconds from the message in which Félix Contreras, producer of the program Alt.Latino, denounced attacks on the Latino community in the country before the performance of the Mexican group Los Tigres del Norte at Tiny Desk. The cut was applied only to the video published on YouTube, while NPR keeps the full introduction on its website. Specifically, the following segment was removed from the video uploaded on Thursday (10/15/2026) to YouTube: "Our community is under attack and it is not the first time. We can look back to 1848, when they changed the border. We can look back to the period after World War II, during the so-called 'Operation Wetback'. They snatch our humanity from us. Since I have memory, these gentlemen have returned that humanity to us," said Contreras. NPR responds In a message, the station explained that these live recorded concerts do not normally include an introduction, but that, due to the delicate nature of the topic addressed, the introduction had been temporarily removed for editorial review and then fully restored on their official page. "We have restored the full introduction on NPR.org after having temporarily removed it for editorial review, recognizing that the topic addressed is emotional and complex, and something that many listeners and members of the editorial team are dealing with. We hope to be able to update this YouTube video soon," reads in one of the comments on the video published on YouTube. Some users demanded that the message be restored on YouTube and accused the station of censorship, after Contreras's speech was praised when it was first published. Forceful message The message preceded the first song by the Mexicans, which with more than six decades of history, has become one of the most emblematic groups for the migrant community in the U.S. The band opened the session with 'Somos más americanos' (2001), a song that recalls how much of Mexican territory passed to the hands of the U.S. and reivindicates the sense of belonging of Mexicans. "They bought the waters of the Bravo River without money and took us from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado/California and Nevada also flew away, with Utah they were not filled/The state of Wyoming, they also took it away," sings leader and vocalist Jorge Hernández in the song. "I am the blood of the Indian/I am Latino, I am mestizo/We are of all colors and all professions/And if we count the centuries, even if the neighbor hurts us/We are more American than all those gringos," he continues. Los Tigres del Norte have a political component inherent in the theme of their songs, linked to the defense of Hispanic migrants in the United States, which led them to participate in a rally for Kamala Harris's presidential campaign in 2024 and to have a critical stance against U.S. President Donald Trump. ee (efe, milenio)