oh my god i got to meet Lila Downs!!!

I have to tell you that this was one of the happiest nights of my life!

Lila Downs is an AMAZING singer that I happened to find out about when I watched the movie Frida in 2002. She sang many of the songs in the movie and even had a small role as a singer in 2 of the scenes- 1. the tango scene and 2. the last scene at Frida's exhibit. After watching that movie I had to find out who the music was by!

Pretty soon, I found out that she had been singing for a while and had a few CDs out. I quickly started checking all of her music out and getting all of it that I could. It was all as amazing as the music from the Frida soundtrack!

Lila grew up living with her mother, a Mixteca woman from Oaxaca, Mexico and her father, an American from Minnesota. She spent part of her time with one and part of her time with the other. She can sing in English, Spanish, Mixtec, Nahuatl, and other indio languages. Her music is varied so greatly that it's actually hard to explain. She sings really slow, romantic, jazzy acapella songs one minute, ranchera music the next and then goes on to jam out in a hip hop frenzy. A lot of the themes in her music have to do with the common man's struggle and how we're intertwined with nature. There are songs that have to do with the struggle of immigrants to survive in another country as well as heart- wrenching ranchera songs that are good for the broken heart. In short- everything that I am interested in is included somehow in her work!!!

I went to Lila's concert at the Sheldon in 2006. At that time, her CD "La Cantina- Entre Copa y Copa" had just been released. I went to her concert in May, only 4 days after my grandmother had passed away. I was heart-broken but still went because I had waited to go to the concert for so long. Lila sang a song fromt her new CD called "Agua de Rosas" and I still relate that song to thoughts I have of my grandmother.

Flor del color de mis venas... (Flower the color of my veins)
De una lluvia de cielo que muere en Cuchitán...(From a heavenly rain that dies in Cuchitan)

Eres (you are)
Vara de Romero (twig of rosemary)
Madre del deseo (mother of desire)
Que el río cantó (that the river sang)

Eres (you are)
Suripanta del pueblo (the powerful woman of the village)
La mujer que más quiero (the woman that I most love)
Que me da de beber... (that gives me to drink)

Agua de rosas (rose water)
Dame de beber ahhh ahhh (give me to drink)
Que esta tristeza (may this sadness)
Acabe de una vez ahhh ahhh (end at once)

I love so many of her songs that it would be hard for me to name them in any particular order. For example, the Agua de Rosas song that I just mentioned was my favorite for a while. I also love La Nina about girls going to work in sweatshops and that hopefully one day their dreams of being just as good as anyone else will come true. I love Lila's version of Malaguena- it has to be one of the most romantic songs I have ever heard. Another favorite is her version of La Cucaracha- I especially like this verse, because it is so relevant to today's problems:
Se sientan los presidentes (The presidents sit)
En la silla del gobierno (In the seat of the government)
Luego mandan a la guerra (Then they send to war)
A la gente de su pueblo (the common people)

Anyway, once I saw she was coming to St. Louis again this year, I got my tickets as soon as they went on sale. I think that this concert was absolutely amazing and of course with the new CD, I have added some new favorite songs. I love Ojo de Culebra and the wonderful rhythm and melodies going on in it. It definitely makes me want to get up and dance. I also love Justicia- a song about looking for justice but not really finding it. The slower songs of Envidio el Viento and I Would Never are also absolutely breathtaking and romantic- they make you want to be with the love of your life right at that second.

A reception followed the concert for a meet and greet. When they announced that I just about flipped out!!! A chance to meet Lila Downs- a woman that I so very much admired???!!! That was definitely a dream come true! We patiently waited in a pretty large crowd until she finally came out and started shaking hands and greeting people. Luckily we were in the right spot at the right time and were only about the 3rd people in line for autographs and pictures. Lila greeted everybody that was up at that table as if she had been friends with them her whole life. It was so exciting and now these pictures of her are one of my highly treasured items!

Here's Lila up close and personal signing autographs:
Here she is with Jeannie:

This is Lila in concert- absolutely gorgeous and giving a great performance!
Up close- the pictures of her are a bit blurry because she doesn't hold still for very long!
A further away shot:
Here is a video of the beginning of La Cucaracha. I didn't want to video the whole song, because I just wanted to enjoy it...you can hear me yell a few times!




I am SO VERY THANKFUL that I was able to go to this concert! I adore this singer and her music and had an amazing time! You should check Lila out- she sings such a variety you may find something you really like!
www.liladowns.com