Lila Downs at Jones Hall

‪Lila Downs‬ is one of the most most influential artists in
Latin America. She has one of the world’s most singular
voices, and is known for her charismatic performances.
Her own compositions often combine genres and rhythms
as diverse as Mexican rancheras and corridos, boleros,
jazz standards, hip-hop, cumbia, and North American folk
music. Her music often focuses on social justice,
immigration, and women’s issues.

She grew up in both Minnesota and Oaxaca Mexico, her
mother is from the Mixtec indigenous group, and her
father was Scottish-American. Lila sings in Spanish,...

read more

‪Lila Downs‬ is one of the most most influential artists in
Latin America. She has one of the world’s most singular
voices, and is known for her charismatic performances.
Her own compositions often combine genres and rhythms
as diverse as Mexican rancheras and corridos, boleros,
jazz standards, hip-hop, cumbia, and North American folk
music. Her music often focuses on social justice,
immigration, and women’s issues.

She grew up in both Minnesota and Oaxaca Mexico, her
mother is from the Mixtec indigenous group, and her
father was Scottish-American. Lila sings in Spanish,
English, and varios Native American languages as
Zapotec, Mixtec, Nahuatl, Maya, and Purepecha.
She has recorded duets with artists as diverse as
‪Mercedes Sosa‬, ‪Caetano Veloso‬, ‪Juanes‬, Nora Jones,
‪Juan Gabriel‬, Carla Morison, ‪Natalia LaFourcade‬,
Santana, ‪The Chieftains‬, ‪Nina Pastori‬, Soledad, Diego La
Cigala, ‪Aida Cuevas‬, ‪Toto La Momposina‬, and ‪Bunbury‬.
‪Chavela Vargas‬ “named” Lila her “sucessor”.

She has sung with symphonies such as the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony and
the UNAM symphony in Mexico, as well as with ‪Wynton‬
‪Marsalis‬ and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. She
has given concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center,
Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Hollywood Bowl, and
Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City. She was invited by
Barack Obama to sing at the White House, and has
performed at the Oscars for her participation in the film
Frida.

Lila has recorded nine studio albums. She has been
nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has won six.

show less