Biography
Who is Lila Downs?
Early life
Lila Downs was born in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico, on September 9, 1968. Her mother was Anita Sánchez, a Mixtec cabaret singer, and her father was Allen Downs, a professor of art and cinematographer from Minnesota. At the age of eight, she began singing traditional Mexican songs and performing with mariachis. When she was fourteen years old, she moved to the United States with her parents and studied voice in Los Angeles. After her father died when she was sixteen, she returned to her native town in Mexico with her mother.
She later studied anthropology at the University of Minnesota and voice in New York before attending the Institute of Science and Arts of Oaxaca. During her studies, she worked in her mother's auto parts store and met Paul Cohen, a tenor saxophonist who became her future husband and musical collaborator. She joined a percussion group called Yodoyuxi's Cadets and later formed a group named La Trova Serrana, which gained popularity among the Latin community in the United States.
Music career
In 1994, Lila Downs independently released her first album, Ofrenda, featuring traditional songs from Oaxaca and original compositions sung in Spanish, Mixtec, and Zapotec. She recorded a live session album in Oaxaca in 1996, which helped her music spread across different parts of Mexico. In 1999, she signed with Narada Productions and achieved commercial success and international recognition with her debut studio album, La Sandunga. This release merged traditional music sounds with modern rhythms like jazz, blues, and bolero.
Her subsequent album, Tree of Life, was released in 2000 and featured pre-Hispanic sounds and native Mexican languages. In 2001, she released Border through EMI Music, which included songs in English and addressed topics like immigration and indigenous marginalization. Her later albums include Pecados y milagros in 2011, Balas y Chocolate in 2015, and Salón Lágrimas y Deseo in 2017.
Activism and awards
Alongside her music career, Lila Downs has engaged in humanitarian causes and political activism focused on Latin America's indigenous population. She has worked to preserve the Mixtec language and other indigenous Mexican languages through her music and public outreach. Her authentic fashion and stage performances draw heavily from the styles and heritages of Mexico's indigenous peoples.
Her contributions to the music industry have earned her multiple accolades, including one Grammy Award and three Latin Grammy Awards. She also received the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music.
Birthday and age
Lila Downs was born on September 9, 1968, which makes Lila 58 years old today. That birthday falls under the Virgo sign. Lila shares the date with 36 other famous people.
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