Its about saying things al chile! says Lila Downs backstage at the Center for the Arts in Escondido, where shes about to perform cuts from her latest studio album, Al Chile. Just like the Mexican expression conveys roughly meaning straight up the folk singer has been keeping it real to her roots, and championing the lives of countless indigenous populations, since her emergence in the Nineties.
I feel like I would be making a deal with the devil if I did [commercial pop], she says with a wink. Her dedication to authenticity has served her well, though: Downs is perhaps one of the most recognizable traditional singers in Latin alternative music, boasting track streams and YouTube views by the millions.
On this day, she wears a pine-hued tunic adorned with embroidered magenta flowers; her hands are bedecked in gorgeous amber, with one silver ring carved like a pre-Columbian Zapotec figure. With one glance at her colorful indigenous garb, its hard not to admire the sense of pride with which she wears it. Born in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca to a Mixtec cabaret performer and a Scottish-American art professor, Ana Lila Downs Snchez grew up speaking Spanish, English, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Nahuatl. Throughout her career, she has incorporated that multilingual prowess into her repertoire. We [as Latinxs] got to be there representing, explaining, and translating, she says. Its the only way we are going to have people come together.
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Yet the Grammy-winning artist is no stranger to raising hell and consciousness through the power of song. Since releasing her 2001 fusion-folk opus, Border/La Linea, Downs has aimed to shatter xenophobia through wicked wordplay, while building solidarity with migrants everywhere. With Al Chile, she continues to dignify the lives of marginalized communities, and honor their traditions via street-style cumbia and the rural, vibrant sounds of Mexican pueblos. Just like Mexicos strange and complicated connection with the piquante chili pepper, the themes in the album explore those burning sensations that cause happiness, suffering, pain, and tears, she says. They remind us of the thin line between love and pain.
In your new album, you decided to pay homage to el chile, or the chili pepper. Why this Mexican fruit?
Its about saying things al chile! This project isnt too much from up here [points to chest], but more from below [points to torso]. Because Mexicans are very picositos, it could also be a double entendre, but thats very subtle. We all have a feminine and masculine side, and the male counterpart took charge [this time]. My previous record, Peligrosa is more feminine, from the head and heart. There are also these bands on the coast of Guerrero and Oaxaca [we call] Chile Frito. I thought that was pretty cool, so I also began to think about el chile because of them.
Youve previously written about other foods like mezcal, mole, and chocolate. What about certain cuisines intrigues you to explore them musically?
The first song about food that I wrote is mole [La Cumbia del Mole]. It was partly because I was very homesick from Oaxaca when I was living in New York. There, I was surrounded by Poblanos, some Oaxaqueos and Veracruzanos. I was thinking of a way to honor the women back home. Little by little, the verses began to take form. Theres also a verse in the song that goes Por el cielo de Monte Albn. We have a lot of faith in ghosts and things from our past, and Monte Albn is a very sacred place for us. I wanted to honor our history.
Camilo Lara adds cumbia callejera to Al Chile. Talk to me about this collaboration.
Its a combination where urban meets el campo. It was fun working with Camilo Lara because he likes to do things without polishing them. A lot of times producers really get into fine tuning. In hip-hop, its a whole thing tuning, tweaking, changing, transforming. But in folk music, you never do something like that. In fact, its the other way, and sometimes its too out of tune. We did the recording of La Llorona with a kids band in Juchitn [de Zaragoza], and we tuned a few instruments that were off, but not a lot of touch ups. [Lara] focuses a lot on loops and experimenting with different sounds. Hes on top of all these vintage instruments, and he knows them very well. Hes not a traditional musician, but theres something cool about having a different vision of what you what to hear.
You dedicated your cover of Manu Chaos 1998 song, Clandestino, to immigrant families. What made you decided to remake that song?
I met Manu Chao about 10 years ago. Ive been a fan of that song and his whole thing. Hes a genuine artist and a citizen of his country. He also has immigrant parents, so he relates. Today, there are more [immigrant] women and children, and so its really about them. [Last year,] I was invited to tour with Jackson Browne and Joan Baez [through Womens Refugee Commission], and [Baez] said, You know, these gringos dont know you, but its important that you come and hang with them. It was a little tough because we [as Latinxs] got to be there representing, explaining, and translating. Its the only way we are going to have people come together, in my opinion. Otherwise, we keep dividing more and more.
Some of your songs are in Zapotec and Mixtec. What is it like to perform in a language that most of your audiences are likely unfamiliar with?
Its beautiful. Last night [May 10th] I performed at the Walt Disney Hall. I began with a verse in Zapoteco, and everyone stood up [in a standing ovation]. They might not understand, but they know that its not en espaol and they respect that. I think the [Alfonso] Cuarn movie Roma has helped us pay honor to our indigenous roots, but it has also shown the ugly side of racism in Mexico that we know we have. But we are advancing little by little, you know. Were having different attitudes about race and racial features, and all these things that have been taboo for Latinos to talk about.
You were wearing a Oaxaqueo huipil and a Chiapaneco belt at your show. What can you tell me about the clothing you wear?
I studied textiles, and my focus was in the Triqui community, one of the more discriminated [indigenous] groups of my country. We call this garment a vata, which is from the Oaxaca Valley. The story of the woman is told [through these embroideries]. They do modern weavings of chiffons, flowers, and mini dresses. This one [on my blouse] is called hazme si puedes [meaning: make me if you can], because its so tiny you could hardly see it. They are little boys and girls. The women are always inventing more traditional patterns, but theyre also making new ones with different colors. Oaxaca is so modern we are very developed in the visual sense and have this natural vibrancy, well, Mexico in general. This [embroidered vest] is an example of something thats European[-influenced].
There are other textiles that are more geometrical and natural in pattern, like the greca you are wearing on your vest. Grecas are very profound and mathematical. Theres a book that analyses them. The women that weave these textiles count the exact number that it takes to make a structure that coincides with the pyramids, and they still continue to do this. These mathematical numbers are supposed to protect them against death. If you sit there and stare at the pattern long enough, you go into a deep trance. Our ancestor knew priests who combined mathematics with spirituality, and it was one, but the West segregated that.
The road to being a folk artist is quite disparate from that of a pop act. What are some of the challenges that you overcame by singing folk music?
I think that I have influenced several generations of performers in Mexico. Im proud of that because it isnt easy in these scenes. But then it is easy because its what you love to do, and its your passion. Even in your down times, you are always accompanied by your music.
I always look to my Latin American hermanos. The guitarist that plays with me is from Venezuela, and hes a real rocker. At one point, he was involved in an important rock movement in Venezuela. I was never a part of something like that. I think its because my mother taught me to always be proud of your roots. Shes such a traditional lady; fierce yet humble, accepting yet righteous. Whenever I would do a rock tune, she was like, eso no es mexicano [thats not Mexican]. We didnt have a TV in my pueblo, so I fell in love with rancheras, which is the origin of my influences. I do remember feeling like I wanted to ascribe to rock. I really related to it and jazz. There is a part of me that is very proud and will not give in; I feel like I would be making a deal with the devil if I did that.
Your song Son del Chile Frito talks about the variety of chiles. Which one is your favorite?
Did you know that there are 68 kinds of chiles and 68 languages in Mexico? Its very strange that its the same amount. Within those 68 chiles, there are many varieties too. There are different types of cuaresmeos and jalapeos, and different ways to prepare chipotle. There are chiles that are flavored by drying or smoking, and that is also a whole other tradition, which is so beautiful.
I know the audience is like, what the!? when I perform [Son del Chile Frito]. Its fun to do stuff that makes the people react that way. Cumbia del Mole is like that too, and people reacted similarly. Its a tribute to those amazing ladies who sell tortillas and sit by the sidewalk. You know what I love about going back to Oaxaca? That those ladies know who I am. We sit y nos comadriamos [and we gossip], and that is so beautiful. Theyll say, this lady made people respect us. I can now die with just that.
Lila Downs will make appearances throughout the United States, starting July 7th at the California World Fest in Grass Valley. Al Chile is out now.
Lila Downs U.S. Tour Dates
July 14th Grass Valley, CA @ California World Fest
August 11th New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage
August 13th Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere
October 9th Davis, CA @ Jackson Hall
October 12th Oakland, CA @ Paramount Theatre
October 13th San Diego, CA @ Balboa Theatre
October 16th Tucson, AZ @ Centennial Hall
October 19th Hollywood, CA @ Ford Amphitheatre
October 22nd Mesa, AZ @ Ikeda Theatre
October 24th Costa Mesa, CA @ Segerstrom Concert Hall
October 26th Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
March 4th, 2020 Austin, TX @ Paramount Theatre
March 6th, 2020 Houston, TX @ Jones Hall
March 7th, 2020 Durham, NC @ Carolina Theatre