Lila Downs: Blending Mexican Folk Music with Poignant Social Commentary

Lila Downs is a Mexican-American, Mixtec singer-songwriter from Oaxaca, Mexico. Her music embraces a traditional and indigenous sound, blended with modern hip-hop and pop that serves as the foundation for her highly emotive songs, which explore identity, social justice, and violence as central themes. Her most recent album, “La Sanchez”, released in 2023, focuses on her relationship with her late romantic and musical partner Paul Cohen. Before that, Lila Downs released “Balas y Chocolate” (Bullets and Chocolate) in 2015, an album that addressed the violence in Mexico, as well as topics of injustice and cultural roots. She and her band performed several songs from this album for NPR, as part of their Tiny Desk Concert series.

The first song Lila Downs and her band perform is called “Humito de Copal”, which translates to “Little Smoke of Copal”, Copal being the resin from a South American tree that is lit as incense during traditions like the Day of the Dead. The word “copal” comes from the indigenous Nahuatl word “copalli” which means incense. Based solely on the title of the song, there are clear influences of traditions and indigenous culture. Tradition and native influences are also present in the instruments used, including trumpets, percussion, and guitar, which create a sound reminiscent of Mexican folk music, mariachi, and cumbia. The lyrics of the song describe a search for the truth and express her identity through declarative statements.

“Soy latina, soy mazateca

Soy el testimonio de la naturaleza”

(“I’m Latina, I’m Mazateca

I am nature’s testimony”)

The references to the earth and her indigenous roots are powerful and enduring, applying as far back in history as the early Homo Sapiens. In The Creative Spark, Agustín Fuentes traces human creativity through the early development of our species. Humans have always been part of the Earth’s ecosystem and have forged community and a sense of belonging in order to survive, topics Lila Downs continues to discuss today. She expresses the same compassion for others and management of language that made us a successful species in the first place.

In terms of her creative process, Lila Downs draws upon her identity and the social and political events happening around her, especially those taking place in Mexico and Latin America. She also depends upon other musicians for inspiration and as members of her band. While she sometimes performs solo, in her Tiny Desk Concert, a small army of musicians surrounds her. Among the guitarists, drummers, and brass players is her husband, Paul Cohen, who served as a crucial musical partner for Downs up until his death. Historically, collaboration among members of our species has allowed for our survival. In Creative Spark, Fuentes explains how early humans’ ability to band together for things like hunting allowed for a delegation of tasks and overall increased effectiveness. For Lila Downs, collaborating with other artists allows for a sharing of ideas and the creation of multilayered, meaningful songs. 

Lila Downs creates stories in her songs that serve to revitalize and uplift traditional Latin musical styles and build connections among those who are moved by her music by drawing upon various musical styles, languages, inspirational artists, and her own cultural identity.