#431: Los Lobos, ‘How Will the Wolf Survive?’
SLASH/WARNER BROS., 1984
When Los Lobos came on the scene in the late 1970s, they were dealing with the injustices of being darker-skinned Mexican Americans while trying to score a record deal. They initially came up with the name, Los Lobos Del Este De Los Angeles - the wolves of eastern LA. They cut it down to Los Lobos, the wolves.
This album’s title was inspired by a National Geographic article, “Where Can The Wolf Survive.” Lyricist, Louie Perez said, “It was like our group, our story: What is this beast, this animal that the record companies can’t figure out? Will we be given the opportunity to make it or not?”
But it wasn’t just record companies that couldn’t figure them out. Continuing today, Mexican Americans still face discrimination and prejudice that leave long-term marks on the community. Pew Research found that over half of all Latino Americans (sic) experienced some form of discrimination during 2020.
A 2022 article by the CDC found that some historical policies that are unjust and unfair continue to harm US Latinos at a disproportionate rate. The harm results in physical and mental long-term health problems. These programs include:
The forced sterilization of many Hispanic/Latino women has created a distrust of the medical system.
1920s programs on both the federal and state levels to change the diet of Mexican families because of an ignorant understanding of nutrition. Now Mexican Americans have higher rates of obesity than Mexican families.
Anti-immigration laws, rhetoric, and attitudes have increased stress and trauma for many US families. The fear of unfair deportation has led to many families not applying for healthcare coverage or services even if they legally qualify.
Finally, USC published a piece explaining that Mexicans in the U.S. routinely deal with legal abuse, racial profiling, and other civil rights violations. <Yes, I just wrote out the title of the article but it covered it and I encourage you to read the whole thing. >
ANYWAY……
This album was a commercial success. It was the first full-length album released on a major label and also tied for Artist of the Year with Bruce Springsteen by Rolling Stone Mag.
They stuck to their roots and didn’t feel obligated to play only Chicano music, only 70s folk, or 80s rock. Instead, they blended it and created a new sound. It is a sound that has been so normalized in American music that nothing about this album feels fresh to me. It has been copied over and over; I have been listening to the copies my whole life never knowing their genealogy.
Listen to this album with a wide-open brain. Think about the different bands that are born because Los Lobos exists. Think about the songs that take pieces of this album and make it their own.
I think that is the story of America. All of the music I know is born from other music and those from others. We may never know the initial parents but I am grateful Los Lobos is still playing and creating from their unique perspectives.
Perez explained, “We’re a Mexican American band, and no word describes America like, immigrant. Most of us are children of immigrants, so it’s perhaps natural that the songs we create celebrate America in this way.”
Top songs: A Matter of Time, The Breakdown, I Got Loaded, Evangeline, Lil’ King of Everything, Will the Wolf Survive?