La Sandunga

"Every so often a voice emerges whose distinctive color, texture, and passionate conception defy easy characterization. Lila Downs combines formal vocal training in the Minnesota university setting of her father with study in Oaxaca, Mexico, tapping the indigenous Mixtec traditions of her mother. She covers the vocal waterfront, from the tense-throated nasal vibrato of Lydia Mendoza and Lucha Reyes to the nueva cancion sensibility of Mercedes Sosa, with the chops of Linda Rondstadt, the sassiness and inventive range of Sarah Vaughan, and the sweetness of Tish Hinojosa."
- Michael Stone, Roots World

"A voice raw and ronca as a conch shell, as ancient and smokey as a flute, startling like a knife slicing a mango."
- Sandra Cisneros

"With a voice so vari-colored and many octaved that it's difficult to imagine it as the product of a single larynx."
- Ariel Swartley (The New York Times)

"Exotic beauty and startling voice - she is a reflection of a 21st century world culture where ethnicity and national boundaries blur."
- Los Angeles Times

Born in southern Mexico to a Mixtec Indian mother and an American father, Lila Downs studied music and anthropology at the University of Minnesota and the University of the Arts in Oaxaca - and through music came to reconcile her heritage.

That motivation became the songs and stories of her Oaxacan ancestors, which she has woven into a unique and potent repertoire. Featured in the Oscar-winning 'Frida' and on its best-selling soundtrack album, her powerful voice and striking presence transcend cultural borders.

'La Sandunga' is Lila's extraordinary debut album, which she first released independently in 1997 - now re-issued it includes three bonus tracks. Featuring interpretations of Oaxacan traditional songs, boleros, and rancheras, as well as her own compositions, this first expression of her very original vision evokes a rich past while at the same time ushering a vibrant new contemporary voice onto the world stage.