![[lila]](images/lila.jpeg)
Lila Downs has done as much as anyone to popularize the poignant music of Oaxaca, thanks in large
part to the Academy Awards and the movie Frida about the life of Mexico's iconic painter Frida
Kahlo.
Born to a North American father and a Mixtec Indian mother, her music draws upon all the cultural threads of both heritages. She has extraordinary vocal range and tonality.
But her real genius is melding disparate musical styles and in innovative arrangements of
traditional materials. Any of her albums: La Sundunga, Tree Of Life, La Linea
and One Blood include themes that are mentioned in this issue and are highly recommended.