Lila Downs

Mexican-American singer-songwriter · Mexico · On the map · Musicians · Born 1968 · age 58 · also United States

She sings in Mixtec, Zapotec, Mayan, Nahuatl, Purépecha - languages most radio never touches - and somehow that became the bridge to international success. Lila Downs didn't translate Mexico's indigenous music for export; she made the world meet it where it stands.

Lila Downs is read about 441 times a day, in 111 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 9 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2019“I think that I have influenced several generations of performers in Mexico. I’m proud of that because it isn’t easy in these scenes.”In their words29 May 2019Rolling StoneRead the whole statement

Leading Ladies of EntertainmentAward2018“I also come from a matriarchal family. My grandmother was left alone, not by choice. And then my mother as well. We lost my father when I was 16; he died.”In their wordsOn how her village shunned Downs’ solely female householdRead the whole statement

“I feel a spiritual sense, and that sense is a connection between generations.”In their wordsOn striking a balance between traditional and contemporary issuesRead the whole statement

2017Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal AlbumAward2011“I consider myself a border person, even though I grew up in the south of Mexico and very north of the U.S., in Minneapolis.”In their wordsOn her affinity with those who were raised or reside on the U.S.-Mexico borderRead the whole statement

“The sin is about our notion of what is right and what is wrong, and how we bend the truth based on we want and I think.”In their wordsOn the notion of faith and how it might apply to Mexico and its peoplesRead the whole statement

2003“The border still doesn't make much sense in my mind.”In their wordsOn how the border between the U.S. and Mexico influenced her work in “Mex factor” in The Guardian (2003 Feb 10)Read the whole statement

1968Born9 September 1968

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In their own words 4

Lila Downs

4 statements, newest first

When I was in college, I wanted to know more about my Native American past because I come from one of the 64 Native groups that are very much alive [in Mexico].
2018 · On shaping her higher education in order to learn more about her heritage, Own words
I remember as a child holding these long notes, so there’s something that’s already there. But I do think it’s a constant question of knowing and taking care of yourself.
2018 · On her vocal style, Own words
Oh it’s very beautiful to have a very rich heritage from my Indian ancestors. My mother is Mixtec [a native tribe of Oaxaca], and my father was Scottish American.
2011 · On her racial heritage big dicks, Own words

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Awards

Leading Ladies of Entertainment2019

Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album2017

Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres

Honorary Doctor of the Berklee College of Music

About this person

Born 9 September 1968 in Oaxaca, Ana Lila Downs Sánchez studied at the Institute of Arts by Oaxaca and briefly attended the University of Minnesota before leaving to perform in Oaxaca City's traditional music scene. Her independent debut Ofrenda arrived in 1994; prominence came five years later with La sandunga, then international reach in 2001 with Border. By 2011 Pecados y milagros was topping charts across major markets, followed by Balas y Chocolate in 2015 and Salón Lágrimas y Deseo in 2017. Fluent in Spanish, Mixtec, and English, she's spent years working to preserve Indigenous Mexican languages through activism and performance. She's collected one Grammy and three Latin Grammys, wore the traditional dress of Mexico's indigenous peoples as stage armor, and built a career that treats Chavela Vargas and Mercedes Sosa as the blueprint rather than the past.

Country

Mexico