BALAS Y CHOCOLATE
AN ALBUM FULL OF LOVE AND HATE
By Miriam Fernández-Soberón
IMPACTO LATINO
Ana Lila Downs Sánchez, better known as Lila Downs was born on September 18, 1968 in Tlaxiaco, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico and is one of the leading exponents of Mexican art, culture and folklore.
We should not be surprised that Lila Downs is a woman of many qualities, but above all she is brave, a fighter, who through her songs expresses the voice of her people, as well as her roots, culture and the traditions of her homeland.
A singer with an imposing voice, a relentless composer, an excellent actress, a Mexican with Mixtec and American blood, her mother is a native Oaxacan and her father an American born in Minnesota. The result has been an adorable artistic phenomenon that leaves a path wherever she goes.
Since childhood Lila showed interest in music, and began singing at the age of eight, playing traditional mexican songs and rancheras.
At age 14 she moved with her parents to the United States, and it was here where she decided to study vocalization while living in Los Angeles. Her father was in charge of helping her improve her English, however with his death when she was 16, she was forced her to return with her mother to her native Tlaxiaco.
One day a Mexican Indian neighbor who barely spoke Spanish, showed her a document to translate. It was the death certificate of her son. That aroused great indignation in Lila which led her to try to help migrants and farmers in Mexico.
And what started as a simple aid to a neighbor, today has become a powerful voice that protests many injustices, but does so as only she knows how, by singing.
LILA DOWNS, THE ARTIST
Lila Downs is a singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and anthropologist; she sings in Spanish, English and several native languages of Mexico such as Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya, Nahuatl and Purépecha.
Lila began her musical career in the late 1980's as the lead singer of a local percussion group called Los Cadetes de Yodoyuxi.
In 1990 she joined the band La Trova Serrana with which she achieved significant success with Latin American audiences in the United States. She separated from the group in 1992, and moved to Los Angeles in order to prepare for her solo career.
In 1994 she returned to Mexico and released her first solo album titled Ofrenda, then in 1996 released Azuláo: En Vivo con Lila Downs, both obtained great success.
In 1997 she signed a contract with EMI Music label with which she recorded three albums.
In 1999, Lila signed a contract with the Narada label with which she released five studio albums and sold around one and a half million albums.
With the release of her album La Sandunga in 1999 she became a commercial success and won critical acclaim. The following year in 2000 she presented Tree of Life, which was also very successful and in 2001 Border.
Finally in 2011 she signed a major contract with her current label Sony Music.
Inspired by legendary singers of ranchera music such as Lucha Reyes, and of folklore music like Amparo Ochoa and Mercedes Sosa, Lila Downs complements her art with attractive dresses that blend traditional and contemporary styles.
Her biggest hits to date have been: La Sandunga, Canción Mixteca, El Venadito, La Llorona, La Cumbia del Mole, Palomo del Comalito, La Molienda, Pecadora, Mezcalito, and Zapata Queda.
Lila Downs is a winner of a Grammy Award in 2013 for her album Pecados y Milagros, and was also nominated twice more for Ojo de Culebra in 2009 and Raíz in 2015.
Lila has won three Latin Grammys for Una Sangre (One Blood) in 2005, Pecados y Milagros in 2012 and Raíz in 2014.
During her career as an actress, she has been in three films and one documentary.
BALAS Y CHOCOLATE
Lila Downs latest album, Balas y Chocolate is very personal and full of tradition. The Grammy winner returns to denounce the violence and corruption in her native country, as well as explores issues related to personal tragedies, feeding on the customs of the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos).
The first single from Balas y Chocolate is Patria Madrina which motivates us to fight with passion to defend our land and our nation and which also reaches our screens through a short film which was shot on location in Mexico.
The New York Times wrote: "Lila Downs has made it her mission to fuse deep Mexican folklore with modern, pan-American possibilities… sleek modern Mexican pop with a thrilling, chameleonic voice at its center… Ms. Downs makes border-hopping sound easy."
For her part Lila Downs said: "This album was inspired by both the offering and celebration of the Day of the Dead, like my personal dance with the possible death of my partner."
Balas y Chocolate has a lively sound that denounces violence and corruption by mixing different genres of music.
Balas y Chocolate highlights the concerns Lila has about the lack of civil rights and justice, the increasing threats to journalists in her native country, the excesses of modern life, and lost love.
The album's title track is dedicated to migrant children. While the first single, La Patria Madrina, a duet with the Colombian star Juanes, motivates us to fight with passion to defend our lands and nations.
IMPACTO LATINO spoke to Lila Downs, a very pleasant experience because of her genuine authenticity and passion for what she does as well as the pride she has in her roots, which is also reflected in her music.
Can you talk about your childhood?
I grew up in a mestizo world that was different from the indigenous world where my mother grew up, but I did not know this at the time. I grew up with discrimination towards myself and my father. Sometimes in the mornings when we went out we found walls painted with signs reading: “Fuera yanquis, imperialistas” (Geto out yankee imperialist), and my mother was discriminated because she was an Indian "pata rajada" (indian with a cut foot) or that she comes down the hill, as the people would say.
But wasn't your mother also a singer?
My mother was a cabaret singer before I was born, she did it out of necessity and there is a little stigma with that. When I started singing, she did not approave. She said that I was going to have a bad life, because of the drunkenness, drugs, etc that goes along with it. But slowly, she realized that what I was doing was more than that. My work had pride, it had roots, and it seeked strength, and now she is a big fan and supports me a lot, but it was a big effort to convince her.
Let's talk about the album, why does "Balas y Chocolate" sounds something like love and hate at the same time?
I think that's a good way to put it, I've never put it that way, but it is rather anger, I don't know exactly what to call it. When you follow law and politics, there is confusion and sometimes that is surreal.
"Balas y Chocolate" is an album of acusations. Were you not afraid to record it?
Of course! There are times when I hesitated a bit, and moved away from the politics. I have never belonged to a political party because that is the biggest danger. What are the ideals? To create a better world.
How was the experience making the video "La Patria Madrina" with Juanes?
Juanes is brave and as a songwriter I love him. In Latin America we have our history and problems that are constantly changing. To be honest, it was hard for me to be positive in the video, on the one hand I was very happy to share with Juanes, with Colombia, and with the fans, but on the other hand, there's a part of me that was not so happy.
Your music is a mix of rhythms from South America to reggaeton, Greek and Hebrew, right?
Well you have a good ear. It is the music that touches me, which I love. I want my music to entertain those who listen, to make them happy. I make music that makes me feel, so in "Balas and Chocolate" there is Colombian music and of course Mexican.
What's your dream?
I have traveled extensively, I have appeared in major venues, now my dream is to performe at the Lincoln Center.