Singer, Actress, and Activist Lila Downs Works To Break Down Walls (Archives)

Feminist icon and Mexican folklorist Lila Downs’ 2018 album Salón, Lágrimas y Deseo (Dancehall, Tears, and Desire), is dedicated to strong women everywhere. Her lyrics, inviting all “dangerous” women to join her, often highlight issues relating to social justice, while spanning blues to cumbia, folk and ranchera music. Inspired by Frida Kahlo, Downs says in an interview with Remezcla that she finds being Mexican has “a lot of value, even if the world that surrounds one doesn’t believe it.” She’s joined by her band, and special guest Chilean emcee Ana Tijoux, in-studio. (From the Archives, 2018.)