Lila Downs blends social activism and traditional Mexican music for a Día de Muertos concert in LA

Lila Downs, the Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning Mexican artist, will arrive in Los Angeles for a special Día de Muertos concert on Friday, October 30. 

Downs, who has not shied away from using music as a form of activism, has leaned into a wide range of musical genres, including boleros, rancheras, banda, soul and mariachi, to sing about political and social justice issues such as immigration, environmentalism, women's rights, anti-capitalism and war.

This year, as part of her North America tour, Downs will perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in the LA Phil’s Día de Muertos “Lila Downs: Cambias mi Mundo” concert on Friday, October 30, at 8 p.m. 

The concert will also feature the world-renowned Ballet Folklórico de Los Angeles and include songs from Downs’ new album, “Cambias mi Mundo,” which has original songs about romance and love but also touches on the political state of the world, with many songs addressing broader issues such as women's perspectives, privatization of sacred indigenous lands like Monte Albán in Oaxaca and Mixtec and Afro-Mexican immigration history. 

Ballet Folklórico de Los Angeles, founded in 2011, is renowned for its large-scale theatrical productions of dynamic choreography, costuming and powerful storytelling. Ballet Folklórico de Los Angeles achieved international acclaim through its collaboration on Disney and Pixar’s “Coco.” The company appeared at the 90th Academy Awards, performing the Academy Award-winning song “Remember Me” alongside Natalia Lafourcade, Gael García Bernal and Miguel. 

For this special Día de Muertos celebration, Downs and the Ballet Folklórico de Los Angeles will bring music and dance together with songs from her latest, Grammy-nominated album. Like many of Downs' previous concerts, the October 30th performance aims to blend celebration and social consciousness on one stage. 

According to the LA Phil, the concert aims to honor Mexican American and Indigenous cultures and give audiences a space to feel and dance.

In an interview earlier in the summer with Mit​​ú, Downs talked about her journey in reclaiming her Indigenous roots while building a professional and artistic career that is explicitly political. 

She told the publication that love and politics are always connected.

“In this record, I have realized that they cannot be separated. It is passion. It is the passion of life, it is the passion of art, the passion that moves mountains, the passion that creates the greatest works, I believe: love,” she said in the interview. 

For more than 30 years, Downs has made music that has transcended borders and spoken to Latinos on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border. 

Next month, on November 9, she will be one of the artists who will receive the Latin Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to Latin music and culture.

Downs and other artists, including Alaska, Francisco Céspedes, Daniela Mercury and Chichí Peralta, will be honored during the 27th Latin Grammys airing on Univision. 

“It is a great privilege to honor these living legends—an exceptional group whose influence transcends generations and genres—who continue to enrich and redefine our musical heritage,” said Manuel Abud, chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy. “We are delighted to celebrate their extraordinary careers.” 

Downs' music and performances have been featured in several feature films and documentaries, including “Frida,” “Real Women Have Curves,” “The Counselor,” “Hecho en México,” and “Sound of Freedom,” among others. 

The concert in Los Angeles will showcase Downs’ career and musical creativity for the past thirty years and embrace concertgoers in one of Latino's most sacred and festive days: Día de Muertos. 

Tickets to “Lila Downs: Cambias mi Mundo” are available online at laphil.com or via phone at 323-850-2000.