Lila Downs

Ana Lila Downs Sánchez (born 9 September 1968) is a Mexican singer-songwriter, actress and anthropologist. She performs her own compositions and works by other writers across multiple genres, drawing also on traditional and popular Mexican music. She also incorporates Mexican indigenous influences and has recorded songs in numerous indigenous languages, including Mixtec, Zapotec, Mayan, Nahuatl and Purépecha. Born and raised in Oaxaca, she studied mainly at the Institute of Arts by Oaxaca and briefly attended the University of Minnesota, before leaving to focus on her musical career. She soon began performing on the traditional music scene in the city of Oaxaca.

Her first album (independent), Ofrenda, was released in 1994. In 1999, Downs made her name with her debut studio album, La sandunga, which was a critical and popular success. She achieved international success in 2001 with the album Border, which emerged from the Mexican and Latin American music scene at the beginning of the 2000s. Downs's seventh album, Pecados y milagros (2011), topped the album charts in most of the major markets and generated world music albums that led the charts. Her eighth album, «Balas y Chocolate», was released in 2015. «Salón Lágrimas y Deseo», her ninth album, came out in 2017.

Downs began performing at school, where she showed her vocal ability with traditional music, Latin and American influences, and an original touch of her own in dance. Downs, a native Spanish speaker, also speaks Mixtec and English fluently. Through her activism, Downs has made great efforts to preserve the Mixtec language, as well as many other Mexican indigenous languages.

Influenced by Chavela Vargas, Mercedes Sosa, Lucha Villa and Amparo Ochoa, Lila Downs is recognised for her diverse contributions to the music industry through a traditional and authentic style, based for the most part on the styles, cultures and heritage of Mexico's indigenous peoples, which are reflected in her performances and music videos. Her achievements include a Grammy Award and three Latin Grammy Awards.

Beyond her musical career, she is involved in humanitarian causes and political activism, especially on issues relating to Latin America's indigenous population.