Lila Downs, born in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico, to a Mixtec singer mother and a Scottish-American professor father, grew up between Oaxaca, Minnesota, and California. She studied voice and anthropology at the University of Minnesota and the Institute of Arts in Oaxaca. Her music fuses Mexican folk traditions like rancheras, corridos, and boleros with jazz, blues, rock, and indigenous languages including Mixtec and Zapotec. Downs released her debut independent album Ofrenda in 1994, followed by the commercially successful La Sandunga in 1999 and Border in 2001, which addressed immigration and indigenous issues. Notable releases include Una Sangre (2004), Pecados y Milagros (2011), Balas y Chocolate (2015), and La Sánchez (2023). She has won multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy awards, including for Pecados y Milagros and Balas y Chocolate. Known live for her powerful contralto voice and genre-blending performances, often featuring mariachi, folkloric dance, and visuals tied to themes like Día de los Muertos, Downs connects with diverse audiences through social justice themes.