Lila Downs

A Oaxacan voice

Ana Lila Downs Sánchez was born on September 9, 1968 in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, to a Mixtec cabaret singer and a Scottish-American art professor and cinematographer from Minnesota. She began singing at eight, moved to the US at 14 and studied voice in Los Angeles, then studied anthropology at the University of Minnesota, where she met the saxophonist Paul Cohen, later her co-producer and artistic director. Before that she sang in the groups Los Cadetes de Yodoyuxi and La Trova Serrana. She sings in Spanish, Mixtec and English and has recorded in Zapotec, Mayan, Nahuatl and Purépecha, and names Chavela Vargas, Mercedes Sosa and Amparo Ochoa as influences.

After Ofrenda (1994) and Trazos (1998), La Sandunga (1999, Narada) was her breakthrough, reportedly selling over 500,000 worldwide. Tree of Life (2000) and Border (2001) followed, and in Frida (2002) she sang "Burn It Blue" with Caetano Veloso, nominated for an Oscar. Una Sangre / One Blood (2004) won a Latin Grammy for Best World Music Album, in 2005 per Wikipedia, though another listing places a Best Folk Album award in 2006. La Cantina (2006), Ojo de Culebra (2008), Pecados y Milagros (2011, with a Grammy and a Latin Grammy), Raíz (2014, a Latin Grammy for Best Folk Album), Balas y Chocolate (2015), Al Chile (2019) and La Sánchez (2023) followed. Her One Blood Tour in 2005 and 2006 played 30 shows on three continents, including the Philippines, Japan, China, Egypt and Afghanistan. A free Zócalo concert in Mexico City ended the 2008 to 2009 tour on October 30, 2009.

She performed at the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City on June 11, 2026. Her NPR Tiny Desk concert was published on January 9, 2017, and setlist.fm lists 301 setlists. Collaborators include Santana, Caetano Veloso, Natalia Lafourcade, Rubén Albarrán, The Chieftains, Ry Cooder and Sara Curruchich. She received keys to Tlaxiaco in October 2009 and the Latin Recording Academy's Leading Ladies of Entertainment honor in 2019.