Taste of diversity
Bullets and chocolate natural mix for Latin ambassador
With 11 albums and a Grammy (and two Latin Grammys) to her name, Lila Downs has become one of Latin music’s foremost ambassadors. Born in Oaxaca to a Mixtec Indian woman and an American university professor, the singer grew up in both Mexico and the U.S., and studied cultural anthropology and classical voice at the University of Minnesota. This diversity is reflected in her music — on her latest album, Balas y chocolate (Bullets and Chocolate), the singer blends traditional Mexican song forms with North American pop and hip-hop influences and socially conscious lyrics. We reached the 46-year-old singer, who lives in Oaxaca (in central Mexico) as well as in Mexico City, on a train as she made her way to San Diego for a show on her current tour. Q What do you like about Oaxaca? A You can live a very healthy life, close to nature. It’s a very special, spiritual place. It has 16 different languages and ethnic groups, and I grew up learning about those. Then, there are also the traditions, and the dress, which is very important for me in my work. It inspires me a lot. And also, many of the things you can eat there are amazing. The molé, for example. You can get that in the U.S., but it doesn’t have the same quality. And we have these big tortillas, tlayudas, with all kinds of vegetables and cheese on top. It’s kind of a Native American version of pizza.
Q Apparently, the title track of your new album was originally going to just be about chocolate, is that right?
A It was, but then I started working on it. I guess it’s a reflection of the news and thinking about children and the relationship that children have with chocolate, it’s kind of magic. And it’s also very contrasting that there are children immigrating from bullet-infested places like Honduras, Salvador, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, this is also a very important trade, a kind of network. In the past, before Europeans came to this continent, chocolate was the money that Native Americans had. I thought it was a very interesting story. My son started singing “balas (bullets) and chocolate” all over the house. I thought it would be a nice title.
Q La Patria Madrina, one of the songs on the new record was recorded with Juanes, who is quite popular in Latin music circles.
A We’ve met a few times, a few years ago. I’ve followed his songwriting. I think he’s a very perceptive and sensitive person in his songwriting and in his sense of how Latin Americans feel about the sacred and, whatever your religion is, keeping faith alive in spite of all your troubles. He’s also been quite political in the past. I sent him the lyrics, he liked it and he came to Mexico and we recorded it.
Q Do you think North Americans are getting an accurate picture of what’s going on in Mexico? A How can you know? Even Mexicans, we don’t really know what’s happening. A lot of journalists have been killed because they’re reporting on a certain story, or a certain side of a story. You do read a lot of awful stories. It’s a difficult time. It’s a war that has been going on that is getting worse. At the same time, each of us is trying to live our lives and do our thing. And so it’s inevitable to be touched by it, to be angry about it. From my perspective, I need to be hopeful in spite of all the darkness.
Q Earlier, you mentioned the importance of traditional dress in what you do, and how you present yourself.
A I love to use new textiles from Oaxaca and from other parts of Mexico. I studied textiles, and each piece represents something to me. It expresses beauty and the resistance, in a way, of looking only one way at it. I don’t think there’s only one way to think of beauty. I think that’s culturally inherent. Sometimes we can be more open about that and be less judgmental. Then we learn more about other cultures, different people, maybe different beings in the galaxy (laughs).