45 Facts About Lila Downs

Ana Lila Downs Sanchez was born on 9 September 1968 and is a Mexican singer-songwriter.

Lila Downs soon began performing in the traditional music scene of Oaxaca City.

In 1999, Downs came to prominence with her debut studio album, La sandunga, which was a critical and commercial success.

Lila Downs achieved international success in 2001 with the album Border which emerged in the music scene of Mexico and Latin America in the early 2000s.

Lila Downs began performing in school, demonstrating her vocal ability with traditional music, Latin and American influences, and with her own original twist on dancing.

Lila Downs's achievements include one Grammy Award and three Latin Grammy Awards.

Lila Downs was born on 9 September 1968, in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Lila Downs is the daughter of Anita Sanchez, a Mixtec cabaret singer and Allen Downs, a Scottish-American professor of art and cinematographer from Minnesota.

Lila Downs studied voice in Los Angeles and learned English, which her father helped her to perfect.

Lila Downs read that he had drowned trying to cross the border into the United States.

Lila Downs talked about this in an NPR interview about her 2001 release entitled Border.

Lila Downs studied Anthropology at the University of Minnesota and voice in New York.

At 25, after completing academic and music studies, Lila Downs decided to return to Tlaxiaco.

Lila Downs received many positive critical reviews, which led to her decision to undertake an extensive tour of Mexico.

In 1994, Lila Downs independently made her first album, entitled Ofrenda.

In 1996, Lila Downs recorded a live session at a renowned cafe-bar of the City of Oaxaca.

On this record Lila Downs was accompanied by a set of well-known musicians who supported its interpretation of traditional themes, as well as country music and jazz.

In 1997, Lila Downs made a second recording, called "Traces", on which she performed material that was to be included in later albums such as La Sandunga, Tree of Life and Border.

In 2005 Lila Downs received the Grammy Latino in the category of "Best Album of World Music" for this album and reached the top of the charts in United States, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Lila Downs took approximately one and a half years to prepare this project, which was released in April 2006.

Two years after the release of La Cantina, in September 2008 Lila Downs launched Ojo de Culebra in Europe, North America, Australia and Latin America.

In October 2009 Lila Downs was honored by a plaque at the outskirts of her hometown and birthplace, Tlaxiaco, Mexico, and was awarded the keys the city for her work preserving the language of Mixtec.

Pecados y Milagros was the seventh studio album by Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs, released on October 18,2011.

Lila Downs ahas been touring through February 2017 in Mexico, the US and around the world, the Sins and Miracles Tour, which started in Mexico.

In 2015, Lila Downs joined the judging panel for The 14th Annual Independent Music Awards and by doing so, helped to assist the careers of upcoming independent artists.

Countries such as the Philippines, Japan, China, Egypt and Afghanistan were included on the tour, where Lila Downs was well received by the public.

In May 2007, Downs published a DVD collection as a document of that tour in a concert in Oaxaca and Mexico City; this DVD contained thirteen live tracks and a documentary as well as special features like interviews, short films by Allen Downs and videos.

In March 2010, Lila Downs announced a world tour Black Magic Woman Tour which began in Buenos Aires, Argentina with three sold-out shows.

Lila Downs explains her meaning behind Pecados y Milagros, known as "Sins and Miracles" talking about the drug-related violence involved in Mexico's cities.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lila Downs was forced to cancel or postpone most of the concerts until 2021.

On July 4,2022, Lila Downs performed in Geneva, Switzerland at the festival Musiques en ete.

Lila Downs has had small parts in such films as Frida, Fados and Hasta el ultimo trago corazon; the latter is a documentary on Mexican music involving various exponents of the genre.

Lila Downs worked on the composition and arrangements for the musical Como agua para chocolate, based on the book by Laura Esquivel, which premiered at the Public Theater of New York and Broadway in late 2011 and early 2012.

Lila Downs participated in the filming of the US film Mariachi Gringo directed by Tom Gustafson, where she worked alongside Mexican actresses Adriana Barraza, Martha Higareda and Canadian actor Shawn Ashmore.

Lila Downs played Nana Petra in the 2020 animated film Xico's Journey.

In 2001, Lila Downs was invited to participate in the soundtrack of the Mexican film Piedras Verdes where she performed "Cancion mixteca", in 2002 she participated in the soundtrack for the film Frida singing the song "Burn It Blue" which was nominated in the 75th Academy Awards in the category of Best Original Song.

Lila Downs has participated in other soundtracks for films such as Real Women Have Curves and Tortilla Soup.

In June 2010, Lila Downs announced on her website that, after several years of trying to be parents, she and Cohen had adopted a child, Benito Dxuladi.

In December 2022, Lila Downs announced on her social media that her lifetime partner and husband Paul Cohen, died at the age of 69 years old, as a result of heart disease.

Lila Downs has been a social activist throughout her entire career and works to maintain her cultural identity and her roots in the eye of social distress.

Lila Downs's albums are socially significant, especially her album, One Blood, or Una Sangre, which includes songs such as "Dignificada", which is a song about Digna Ochoa's assassination.

Digna Ochoa was a lawyer and social activist, and Lila Downs featured her story on her album One Blood.

Lila Downs has recently unveiled her star on the Walk of Fame located in the outskirts of Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City for her career.

Lila Downs's last album 'Balas y Chocolate' was listed on iTunes as one of the year's best in World Music 2015, was one of the UK Sunday Times best albums of the year and was a Best Album of the Year pick in Songlines Magazine, where she was featured on the cover of the June 2016 issue.

Lila Downs was presented with the Leading Ladies of Entertainment accolade by the Latin Recording Academy in 2019.