One Blood: Una Sangre

I first heard Lila Downs' sultry, smokey voice in the film "Frida." The movie's entire soundtrack is extraordinary, and I still listen to the CD frequently. Fortunately Ms. Downs has come out with four albums since then, because I love the passion and soul she puts into her music. "Una Sangre" is her latest offering. And it is an eclectic, outstanding mix, based on her multicultural artistic vision!

Lila Downs is a Mexican-American vocalist, with a Scottish-American father, and a Mixteca mother. She grew up in both the Mexican state of Oaxaca and in Minnesota, USA, bi-lingual and bi-cultural. Lila received formal voice training in Mexico and in the States, and performs her own compositions, as well as tapping into the rich indigenous music from the Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya, and Nahautl cultures. Her variegated sound is a real fusion of Mexican folk songs, rich American blues and jazz, along with some pop, mixed in with Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms. I occasionally hear...Read more

On this Lila Downs fourth or fifth CD if you count the rerelease (with additional tracks)of "Sandunga" finds her even deeper and more comfortable in her binational soul. Revealing her bicultural identity by the light of the moon , much like a leopard in a starless night jungle, her vocals pounce on your soul, invading and capturing your innermost feelings. There is a certain maturity to her latest work that reveals an accomplished artist, one who has travelled the globe and still comes back to her roots. There are no less than five traditional songs that have been given the Lila Downs treatment to retain their folkloric roots but with an edge, the Lila Downs edge. Even the songs that are originals have that feeling of traditional folkloric music because of fine production and musicianship. Although Lila is the star, credit must be given to the tight band that hails from different lands and whose flags make them like a U.N. delegation. Of course, it goes without mentioning that...Read more

I went to see Lila in concert before buying any CDs and it was more than a show, it was an experience. The crowd was quite diverse including many Anglos and many Latinas and Latinos. Everything about the show was excellent and the audience would have brought Lila out again and again. If you ever have the chance to see her live, don't let the change slip by!

The songs on this disc are a mix of so many of the influences of Lila's background, both ethnically and socially. Performing in a wide range of styles and languages, a lot of ground is covered here. Even the old (who would have thought?) La Cucaracha takes on new life and meaning here and leads into the a quirky, erie, bluesly English Language "Mother Jones". On first it can seem disjointed, but then I think the listener puts together the pieces and realized that they are hearing bits of a unified whole, which reflect the artist's very being, like the unrelated pieces of a quilt come together to form a piece of...Read more