Lila Downs: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Felix Contreras, January 13, 2017 Lila Downs has spent her career exploring the furthest reaches of Mexican folk music. With a voice that borrows heavily from opera, Downs performs the kind of fullthroated mariachi singing that would fit right in at Mexico City s Garibaldi Square ground zero for mariachi. She can also coax the most tender moments from romantic boleros. But Downs is at her best when she and her band gather all of those influences to create crosscultural expression that breaks down musical barriers. Entertaining and inspiring, she s as much a storyteller as a singer, and her betweensong banter lays bare the Mexican soul, only to have it punctuated in song. Balas y Chocolate is available now: iTunes: Google Play: Spotify: Amazon: SET LIST Humito De Copal La Promesa Viene La Muerte Echando Rasero La Patria Madrina MUSICIANS Lila Downs (vocals, jarana); Paul Co