Los Tigres del Norte to open 'most Hispanic Super Bowl yet'

They've won seven Grammy Awards, sold millions of records, and have made more than 50 albums - yet many Americans may not have heard of Los Tigres del Norte.

But this all may be about to change as Los Tigres are due to kick off Spanish-language coverage of the Super Bowl.

The band is known for their norteño sound - a genre of Mexican music influenced by polka and waltz.

They are just one of the Latin acts due to perform at the sporting event, along with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.

The NFL said there are 30.2 million Hispanic fans in the United States, an increase of two million since 2017.

"The league's Hispanic fanbase has continued to grow rapidly," said an NFL spokesperson, "and our outreach to the Hispanic community is an important year-round initiative".

"We also have a robust, season-long content plan to engage our US Hispanic fanbase including broadcast partnerships with Fox Deportes, ESPN Deportes and Entravision, as well as dedicated social media channels providing customized NFL content in Spanish."

This is the first time in the 54-year history of the Super Bowl that two Latinas will headline the show in Miami, Florida, which is known for its huge Hispanic community.

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The decision to select these performers seems to be at contrast with the realities of what is happening on the field, with the Miami Herald reporting that only 16 of the NFL's 1,696 players in the 2018 season were of Hispanic origin.

And only 3.7% of the 73,057 college football players identified as Hispanic according to the National Collegiate Athletic Assocation (NCAA), which regulates student athletes in the US.

An NFL spokesperson said the organisation is working to build its player base from Latin backgrounds by holding events in Hispanic communities which "teach football skills, emphasise exercise and reinforce the importance of character in athletics and life".

The decision to focus on Latin acts at the Super Bowl could therefore be almost focused around recruitment - but not just of players.

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The growing presence of Latin voices

Inés Sainz is a Hispanic journalist working for one of the largest sports networks in Mexico, TV Azteca Deportes.

She said that this Super Bowl has been more inclusive of Hispanic journalists than ever before, which she sees as a way to better engage that audience.

"This is my 19th Super Bowl," she told the BBC, "and it is the first time in the press conference that I could ask questions in Spanish. They are taking care of the Latin media very well, so they know through us they can reach many people.

"They know the audience in Mexico is getting bigger and bigger, and we are spending a lot of money on the rights. Now they have announced we are going to have two more games in Mexico, so they are betting a lot on the Mexican market and the Latins."

The NFL has held a game in Mexico City's Estadio Azteca once per year since 2016, and since 2014 the Super Bowl has been broadcast in Spanish to a United States audience on Fox Deportes.

In 2015 Forbes reported that the NFL spent $243m (£186m) to advertise on Hispanic media, which was a 60% increase on the budget five years earlier.

Ms Sainz said she believes the NFL is making a concerted effort to invest in the Hispanic audience.

"This Super Bowl is going to be very Latin," she said. "The most Latin yet. The NFL is making a huge bet not only by hosting it in Miami, but getting Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in the half-time show.

"It is like the NFL saying they are including everybody and doing whatever they can do to involve Latins."

With this much effort being spent on outreach, Los Tigres del Norte are yet another way for the NFL to reach a wider audience.

And the band's involvement could be said to also be evidence of the growing presence of Latin voices appearing in front of a mainstream American television audience altogether.

On television, popular programmes star Latin actors, with Brooklyn Nine-Nine starring Stephanie Beatriz and Melissa Fumero in key roles, and hugely popular satirical telenovella Jane the Virgin featuring a largely bilingual cast.

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This popularity is exemplified by Modern Family's Sofia Vergara, who was reported to be the best-paid TV actress every year from 2012 to 2019.

The decision by the NFL to focus on Latin performers could be said to be the organisation simply playing catch-up to a cultural shift that has already happened elsewhere on television screens in the US.