#LilaDowns is a #mixedrace #Mexican singer/songwriter & actress. She performs her own compositions & the works of others in multiple genres, as well as tapping into Mexican traditional & pop music. She also incorporates #indigenousMexican influences & has recorded songs in many #indigenous languages such as #Mixtec, #Zapotec, #Mayan, #Nahuatl & #Purépecha. She was born in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico. She is the daughter of Anita Sánchez, also a Mixtec cabaret singer & Allen Downs, a #Scottish #American professor of art & cinematographer. At the age of 8, she began singing rancheras & other traditional Mexican songs. She began her professional career singing with mariachis. At 14, she moved to the US with her parents. She studied voice in Los Angeles & learned English, which her father helped her to perfect. When she was 16, her father died unfortunately & she decided to return to her native town #Tlaxiaco with her mother. Although today she is proud of her origins there was a time when she felt shame regarding her #NativeAmerican roots. "I was embarrassed to have Indian blood. I was embarrassed that my mother spoke her language in public." This led her on a path to find herself, which included dropping out of college, dying her hair blonde & following the band #TheGratefulDead. After some time she found herself back in Oaxaca, a city in southern Mexico, working at her mother's auto parts store, where she met her future husband, Paul Cohen. Through her activism shes gone through great lengths to preserve the Mixtec language & other Indigenous Mexican languages. Influenced by #ChavelaVargas & #MercedesSosa, shes recognized for her flamboyant, diverse & outré contributions to the music industry through her traditional & authentic fashion, the majority of which are based around Mexico's indigenous peoples' styles, cultures & heritages, which show through her performances & music videos. Her achievements include 1 Grammy & 3 Latin Grammy's. She also involves herself with humanitarian causes & political activism, especially dealing with issues of Latin America's indigenous population. 🇲🇽 🏴 #latinxheritagemonth #mixedgirl https://www.instagram.com/p/CVBjbgSlstg/?utm_medium=tumblr
