1. La Cumbia del Mole - Lila Downs, Downs, Lila
2. El Corrido de Tacha "La Teibolera" - Lila Downs, Downs, Lila
3. Agua de Rosas - Lila Downs, Downs, Lila
4. Tu Recuerdo y Yo - Lila Downs, Jimenez, Jose [1] A
5. La Cama de Piedra - Lila Downs, Traditional
6. El Relámpago - Lila Downs, Traditional
7. Penas del Alma - Lila Downs, Leal, Felipe Valdés
8. La Tequilera - Lila Downs, Sotelo, Alfredo D'O
9. Pa' Todo el Año - Lila Downs, Jimenez, Jose [1] A
10. El Centenario - Lila Downs, Lara, Mario Quinter
11. La Noche de Mi Mal - Lila Downs, Jimenez, Jose [1] A
12. Arboles de La Barranca - Lila Downs, Traditional
13. La Cumbia del Mole - Lila Downs, Downs, Lila
14. Yo Ya Me Voy - Lila Downs, Traditional
15. Amarga Navidad - Lila Downs, Jimenez, Jose [1] A
Amazon.com
As a follow-up to her 2005 Latin Grammy win, Mexican-American diva Lila Downs has chosen to release a loving tribute to canciones rancheras, the heartfelt ballads ubiquitous in cantinas throughout Mexico. With their merry accordion riffs and perky snare-led rhythms, the tunes can be reminiscent of Cajun music or Colombian cumbias, but even the cheeriest numbers harbor fate-haunted undertones. The singer's darkly sweet, resonant voice interprets each the fifteen tracks to a fare-thee-well. Her fiery South-of-the-border exhibitionism and touches of dry humor are mirrored by assorted comedic whiz-bang sounds that surface amid the mostly acoustic mix. Third generation accordionist Flaco Jimenez, the doyen of Tex-Mex conjunto (a working class style descended from an older but still extant groove known as norteño,) weaves in and out among bass, harps, mariachi-like fiddles and assorted guitars. Peppered with antique-sounding bytes, dramatic spoken poems and even an in-your-face rap (during "Tu Recuerdo Y Yo", track four), the album plays like a slightly surreal movie that is no less affecting for being nearly untranslatable. --Christina Roden
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La Cantina
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2006-04-04)
- Publisher: Narada
- Label: Narada
- Studio: Narada
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 21 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #14170
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: GRAN ARTISTA DE MEXICO, OAXACA Y DEL MUNDO 2008-07-09
Comment: Solo quiero decir que Lila es una Diosa Oaxaquena, una super persona, gran artista, gran mujer, de ellos queremos mucho mas, hay que abrir los ojos a artistas que ademas cantan nos dan un mensaje en cada una de sus canciones
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Encantada 2008-05-07
Comment: Not being a huge fan of Mexican music, except those old favorites from the forties and fifties, I have become enchanted with her voice and purposes and her showmanship. The production, by her husband, Paul, was first rate - love those electric drums!
She has exceptional voice control. As a University of Minnesota grad in Music and Anthropology, she learnt plenty in addition to her native talent. I first heard of her from a poster outside a used record store on JFK Street near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Planet Records. She had a gig at Passim, the hole in the cellar on Church Street where Joan Baez once sang.
These songs are nearly hypnotic - you won't be able to take your iTunes program off repeat this album. The one I didn't like was one that might fall in the PC category for her: the group vocal sung after harvest. I wanted to hear her voice, not anyone else's.
There are songs she wrote, traditional songs, and others. Even if you are a Yankee, you'll love this. Fix yourself some tequilla, kick off the shoes, and luxuriate in her sound.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Hard to get around her voice 2008-05-04
Comment: Jack of all trades, master of none, I've never been able to get around Lila Downs' voice. Like Sade on Prozac.
This album has some of my all time favorite songs, specifically Cama De Piedra, which still makes me cry when I hear it. But this version is just annoying.
Bravo to her for tackling some new things though and I do wish her success. It's just that it's hard going for me getting around her voice and interpretations of songs.
For comparison, and to see where I'm coming from, compare the Spanish singer, Maria Dolores Pradera's interpretation of Pa' Todo El Ano to Downs'. Or Amalia Mendoza's interpretation of Amarga Navidad.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: too clever, I really mean it 2007-10-11
Comment: While there is no shortage of talent, her style and the overall production is a little too tongue in cheek for me. I wish she had performed these songs with less affectation. More heart and less concept would have made this a more lasting album and a greater achievement. She's a gifted artist, but she needs to trust the music more and not try to trick it out like this. The result sounds like parody even if her intentions towards the music were more honorable than that.
1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lila Down's la cantina 2007-07-03
Comment: I love Lila Down, but not being mexican, this is not my type of music. My mexican friends of certain age (not very young) give it 5 stars.
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La Cantina
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