Few sins, miracles galore!

The Mexican-American artist breathes new life into old classics and enraptures the audience with her latest musical creations.

Lila Downs’s current tour, named after her most recent album “Pecados y Milagros” (Sins and Miracles), doesn’t delve into much sinning though it certainly delivers on the miraculous. In fact, it is a sin that this chanteuse extraordinaire is not a bigger star, at least here in her native Mexico.

As a child of an American father and a Mexican mother, Lila’s music speaks to the migrant class and to those of us who can no longer be pigeonholed into one single culture. The artist gained international notoriety in 2002 for her acting and musical contributions to the film Frida, starring Salma Hayek. A few years ago, I bought her deeply relatable album “One Blood/Una Sangre” on a whim, an album that is as nostalgic as it is political and that as a whole triumphs in protesting cultural complacency.

Fast forward to Lila’s recent concert in Guadalajara where the artist enchanted the audience with her unique mix of earthiness and disarming simplicity. Most Mexicans who have never left Mexico have no clue of the impact of their culture on the rest of the Latin cultures. Sadly, popular culture in Mexico has been watered down by the effects of globalization and, contemporary artists like Lila lose out to the glitz and glamour of today’s pop acts.

In comes Lila, a kind of superhero whose power is to reclaim everything that is evocative and iconic in traditional Mexican music. Ok, she sings old boleros but, no one in her generation can breathe new life into these old classics the way Lila can. The genius in her interpretations is that she can keep what is traditional but infuse it with her strong-woman personality and ‘world music’ sensitivity. Her voice is as dramatic as it is acrobatic, taking the listener on a wild ride of joy, for witnessing such a gift, and longing for the simple life of yesteryears. Her musicians are exquisitely trained and demonstrated that the show is a carefully curated cultural installation.

The concert’s song set featured upbeat and downbeat numbers, all uniquely appealing. Like the album, the show started with “Mezcalito” (Little Mezcal) which praises this cousin of tequila not for being a spirit to drown one’s sorrows but for its role in the celebration of life and nature’s bounty, Oxaca’s bounty, that is. In “Tu Cárcel’ (Your Prison), a composition of another Mexican musical genius, Marco Antonio Solis, Downs laments the loss of a lover who is dumb enough to leave…tired old topic but somehow still relevant.

Lila’s playful manner and easy banter with the audience makes her all too human and it would be easy to dismiss her based on her humbleness, but when she sings, she commands the stage, and no one can come close. The classic “Cucurrucucu Paloma” had never met a better performance. Despite the bitter lyrics, the musical arrangement coupled with Lila’s range of vocals, sometimes heart wrenching and sometimes playfully seductive, is almost celestial. “Zapata Se Queda” (Zapata Stays) is a flirty and contagious song that mixes the political with the superstitious and best of all, doesn’t take itself too seriously. The grand jewel of the concert (and of the Album as well) was Lila’s and husband Paul Cohen’s original composition “Palomo del Comalito” (Dove of the Tortilla Pan), a mélange of musical styles that is nothing short of astonishing, thanks greatly to a fascinating mix of musical instruments. The lyrics here are infused with hope. Yes, sometimes it takes that much musical hard work to get us to pay attention.

Lila’s earthiness can be better described as a fertilizing force as supposed to the harvesting quality associated with the term ‘earthy’. I’m no farmer but I bet that what you put into the earth is as important as what you reap from it. Lila gives back to the earth and a miraculous crop results. Days later, I’m still vibrating with the echoes of her invigorating gift. For that, I am forever grateful.

Lila will perform in New York on February 18. This is an artist to be experienced live! For details visit:

http://www.liladowns.com/mx/events

Also, the “Pecados and Milagros” album is available for streaming on npr.org at:

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/23/141546950/first-listen-lila-downs-pecados-y-milagros-sins-and-miracles

Lila's official website is:

http://www.liladowns.com/

Touched by Angélique

Angélique Kidjo. That’s her name. I can’t quite remember how I came across her but it was a few years back when she released her breakthrough album for the American public, the Brazilian-inspired Black Ivory Soul. For many years, the singer has been at the forefront of the world music movement with her work staying true to the “world” part of the genre.

Much to my surprise, Ms. Kidjo scheduled concerts in Mexico as part of the promotional tour for her latest production, Djin Djin. One of the stops included GDL and I just had to be there. It would be my first time seeing her live. I had never even seen her on video before…just her music and a few photos.

The concert was this past Tuesday.

Angélique’s gift to the world is her ability to create various, often collaborative, fusions which always remain true to her African roots. Born in the nation of Benin in western Africa, but living in Paris since 1980, most of her songs are in her native Yoruba language with the occasional song in French or English.

Her repertoire, heavy in drums and percussion, blends traditional African rhythms with new world creations such as jazz, R&B, funk, salsa, merengue, calypso, reggae and others. Her genius is that she’s traveled the world making these new sounds her own only to intricately weave them back into the sounds of the old motherland. It’s a match made in heaven! Or perhaps a match that was always meant to be. The end result is a sound so universal that it transcends linguistic, racial, and geographical boundaries.

Wearing her hair short and platinum blonde, dressed in a cropped, shiny red jacket and a pair of humorous mariachi pants, the pint-sized beauty took to the stage like a fireball bouncing ablaze every which way. You can’t help but marvel at an energy so mesmerizing and disarming. Early into the show, she introduced us to what I imagine is her favorite dance move: a shoulder shimmy (performed with her back to the audience) so fluid that her entire back rippled like a waves in motion. You could hear the collective gasp in the audience.

Angélique’s voice, an instrument in itself, reaches high notes while never losing the velvety quality of her lower registers. She possesses the lyrical, vocal, and musical talents of any world-class diva out there but her sheer brilliance lies in her authenticity – a humanity so unstoppable that in my eyes, right then and there, she became simply ethereal.

After a few songs, it was time for a change of costume, giving the band a chance to showcase their individual talents. The percussionist, originally from Senegal, had all sorts of interesting instruments and toys. It was fascinating to watch him maneuver each of them with great ease. There was also a Brazilian acoustic guitar player, a guy from Guadeloupe on bass, another guy from South Africa on the electric guitar, and finally, a drummer from Suriname. There you have it, world music in the making.

Though all the songs were up-tempo, the audience stayed put in their seats bobbing their heads here and there. I too, stayed put, shimmying my shoulders and tapping my feet wishing someone would do something about the situation. Thankfully, after a particularly contagious salsa-inspired number, dumbfounded, the artist asked why everyone was still in their seats. She said: “Don’t tell me that’s how you dance the salsa here in Mexico? I don’t believe it!”

She swiftly transitioned to “Afirika”, an emblematic tribute to her land – any land really – and with the wave of one hand she motioned the audience to get up and dance. Just as quickly, the crowd stood up and willingly made their way to the front of the stage. Ladies and gentlemen, the party has finally started! She then did something I had secretly wished she would do, yes, she got off the stage and danced her way up and down the aisles and around to the other side of the stage all along drawing a trail of dancey audience members following her everywhere she went. That’s when she invited everyone to jump on stage and party on with her. You had to be there to witness this impromptu moment of bliss.

The crowd was beautiful, diverse in so many ways – age, skin color, ability to dance gracefully. These people didn't look at all like the ones at the start of the show. Did they just get bussed in from Party Central? I stayed in my assigned seat area but looking on to the stage, it became clear that we were treated to a visual rendition of the message behind Angélique’s music. I just loved the spontaneity of it all. With the music -- and the people adding color to it -- Angélique’s message of joy, love of nature, and unwavering courage became a multi-dimensional collage of undeniable significance.

As the show wound down, I imagined Angélique as the best friend who left the small village a long time ago to explore the world at large only to come back later and recount her experiences in such a vivid and magical way that I felt like I had been part of the journey all along -- her stories, a gift; her courage, a source of inspiration to those who stayed safely behind.

In my trance, I found great comfort reconnecting to my roots. My Afro-Dominican-American-Hip-Shaking-Foot-Dragging-Multi-Inmigrant-Bilingual self felt in complete and utter balance. My thanks to Angélique or to the party she started, for that!

Did I find any flaws in the show? Well, actually, yes…the show was too darn short. By the time she finished with her second encore, the crowd was still begging for more. It had been a grand spectacle delivered in the most deceivingly simple of ways.

While fiercely original, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between Angélique’s work and that of other influential and highly original performers before her. Specifically, Angélique’s body of work and stage persona evoke the arresting spunk of James Brown, the nostalgic earthliness of Ms. Miriam Makeba, and the unapologetic exuberance of the ever-so-iconic Celia Cruz.

Days later, as I write this piece, I’m still abuzz with joy and wonderment. The party continues inside.

For more information on the singer, check out her website.