- Lila Downs
Infobox musical artist
Name = Lila Downs
Img_capt = June 2007. Luminato - Masters of World Music
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Born = 1968
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Origin =Tlaxiaco ,Oaxaca
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Notable_instruments =Lila Downs (born 1968 in
Tlaxiaco ,Oaxaca ) is a Mexican singer. She performs her own compositions as well as tapping into nativeMesoamerican music of theMixtec ,Zapotec , Maya andNahuatl cultures.Downs is the daughter of
Mixtec cabaret singer Anita Sánchez and Allen Downs, a Scottish/English-American [http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:iMsU5f8CpCQJ:www.latinstylemag.com/Article.cfm%3FID%3D69+%22Paul+Cohen%22+%22Lila+Downs%22+married&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4 Lila Downs - La Conjugadora] . Retrieved on February 17 from google.com] professor of art and cinematographer fromMinnesota . She grew up partly in theMexican state ofOaxaca , partly in theU.S. state ofCalifornia as a teen, and Minnesota as an adult where she graduated from theUniversity of Minnesota in voice and anthropology [http://aztlan.net/lila.htm Lila Downs: With a song in her soul] Retrieved on February 17, 2006 from aztlan.net] .She later returned to Mexico where she learned to weave. Later, she began singing in the club scenes of Oaxaca and
Philadelphia along with Paul Cohen, an American-born saxophonist. They began collaborating together on songs that would slowly evolve into Downs's subsequent recordings. Cohen went on to become both Downs's husband and her artistic director. [http://www.xispas.com/music/downs.htm XISPAS:An interview with Lila Downs] Retrieved Sept 18, 2006 from xispas.com]In recent years, Downs and her band have toured widely in Mexico,
South America , the US andEurope . She was also heard in the soundtrack to the movie "Frida " in a song, "Burn it Blue ", that was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Song and that she performed at the75th Academy Awards . Other songs that she performed on the soundtrack are "Benediction and Dream," "Estrella Oscura," and "La Llorona." Other movies with a Lila Downs song are "Tortilla Soup " and "Real Women Have Curves ". She was also invited to theTwelve Girls Band 's concert in Shanghai, where she sings in French and English. Downs is currently based inCoyoacán , a borough ofMexico City .Lila Downs released an album of new material as well as a few cover songs, including
I Envy The Wind (song) by Lucinda Williams andI Would Never by Blue. The album was released on September 2, 2008 and is called Shake Away. Downs also collaborates with artists likeLa Mari (singer) fromChambao (band) and Enrique Bunbury from Héroes del Silencio.Discography
*"Shake Away/Ojo De Culebra" (
Manhattan Records 2008)
*"The Very Best Of El Alma de Lila Downs CD+DVD" (EMI 2008)
*"La Cantina" (Narada 2006)
*"Una Sangre (One Blood)" (Narada 2004)
*"Border (La Linea)" (Narada 2001)
*"Tree of Life (Yutu tata)" (Narada 2000)
*"La Sandunga" (Narada 1999)
*"Azuláo: En Vivo con Lida Downs" (1996)
*"Ofrenda" (1994)DVD
*"
The Very Best Of El Alma de Lila Downs (DVD Madrid en vivo) " (EMI, 2008)
*"Lotería Cantada " (November 2006) [http://www.compulsivetraveler.tv/people/liladowns Excerpts from the DVD on CompulsiveTraveler.tv]Lyrics
*"
La_Bamba_(song)#Lila_Downs.27_version Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.liladowns.com/ Lila Downs] , official website
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* [http://www.compulsivetraveler.tv/people/liladowns Lila Downs Music Videos on CompulsiveTraveler.tv]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/library/docFree.asp?DOCID=1G1:82012485 Lila Downs: beyond the border] by Mary Armstrong,Sing Out! vol 45#4 - Winter 2002
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