La Sandunga [Extra tracks]

Amazon.com
World musician Lila Downs experienced a career renaissance thanks to her contributions to the 2002 Frida movie and soundtrack . After two well-received solo albums, the Narada label has reissued Downs' dramatic debut album, La Sandunga. The singer released the album independently in 1997, and it still sparkles with the immediacy and passion of a woman completely connected to and excited by her craft. Every song on La Sandunga, including the album's three bonus tracks, flows effortlessly into the next. It's as if the album was recored without pause during one very creative recording session. Downs' Mixtec-Indian and American background is an obvious influence on her work. The album is peppered with lush strings and blaring horns. It's all anchored by Downs' wildly diverse vocal stylings, which even manage to spice up the oft-recorded album closer, "Besame Mucho." --Joey Guerra

Tracks:

La Sandunga
Pobre Changuita
Naila
Tengo Miedo De Quererte
Un Poco Mas
Sabor A Mi
Ofrenda
La Llorona
Yunu Yucu Ninu
Cancion Mixteca
Pinotepa
El Venadito
Perfume De Gardenias
La Malague
Besame Mucho

Amazon.com

World musician Lila Downs experienced a career renaissance thanks to her contributions to the 2002 Frida movie and soundtrack . After two well-received solo albums, the Narada label has reissued Downs' dramatic debut album, La Sandunga. The singer released the album independently in 1997, and it still sparkles with the immediacy and passion of a woman completely connected to and excited by her craft. Every song on La Sandunga, including the album's three bonus tracks, flows effortlessly into the next. It's as if the album was recorded without pause during one very creative recording session. Downs' Mixtec-Indian and American background is an obvious influence on her work. The album is peppered with lush strings and blaring horns. It's all anchored by Downs' wildly diverse vocal stylings, which even manage to spice up the oft-recorded album closer, "Besame Mucho." --Joey Guerra

Customer Reviews:

Sublime.......2006-02-20

Amongst all four Lila Downs releases so far, there is little doubt in my mind that this one remains an all time favorite.

Needless to say, I have become a huge fan, and all CDs by Lila and her fabulous band fully deserve five stars, period. But this one is the most indengenious one, the one of her roots, where her true character and amibition shine through in its most pure form.

I especially adore songs like La Sandunga with its magic touch, or Naila, maybe because I am a bit a sentimental guy. Anyway - buy all of her CD's, but give this one a special listen.

Hopefully, she will never burn out and continue with her wonderful voice and the intelligence and subtelty of her almost dylanesque or even taupinian lyrics.

Sublime.

Sung poetry at its best...........2006-01-09

Lila Downs put together a collection of songs that not only speak to the magic of Southern Mexico; they transport us to the deep old roots of indigenous beliefs and clashing-culture interactions. A general glance at the tracks is enough to grasp the great lyrical tradition of Mexico.

Mexico sings to the women, and Lila Downs, a woman herself, puts her heart into the singing with her powerful, hunting voice. Tracks such as "La Llorona", traditional within the Mexican psyche, speak of the life and deeds of two beautiful women who are being flattered by the strophes dedicated to them through singing. They are key figures in Mexican tradition and their presence has endured the pass of years (since Colonial times) to the point of being perpetuated in such wonderful songs as interpreted by Downs.
Most of the tracks are favored nationally in Mexico. Lila Downs has taken them and made some outstanding arrangements, rendering them unique and magical. "La Llorona". "Sabor a Mi", "El Venadito", "La Malagueña" and "Perfume de Gardenias" make you relive the past and think of the present as a new time in which tradition and love mesh indistinctly.
As a young Mexican myself, I find Lila Down's albums a means of discovery to my own culture, as opposed to those over-played singers of the present whose new rhythms lack the charateristical sounds of Mexico.

Iván A. Ch.

a glimpse into Lila Downs' rich, cultural heritage..............2005-10-28

I cannot emphasize enough how stunningly gorgeous and heartfelt this album is. "La Sandunga" presents the dual cultural identity of Lila Downs to the masses. Following the release of the soundtrack from the movie, "Frida," Downs' talent was brought to the forefront, once people became aware of her featured musical contributions to the album. "La Sandunga" is a prequel, if you will, to this surge in popularity. This album was originally released in 1997. We hear Lila Downs' rich cultural influences of her maternal Mixtec Indian lineage in "La Llorona" and "Sandunga" (more traditional flavored songs), and a more jazzy take on the classic "Besame Mucho" (deriving the more Americanized influences, channeling her father's side--he is of Scottish ancestry, but born in the United States).

Lila Downs' album is a great opportunity for those of us, previously not exposed to Mixtec music, to listen to the best of the best. Whether we hear jazz rhythms, traditional percussive instruments derived from Mexico's indigenous roots, or more traditional Spanish-derived ballads, this is a true example of how all music is interconnected through rhythm, interpretation and emotional sentiment. You will love this...I guarantee it.

La Sandunga by Lila Downs.......2005-10-21

I really didn't want to give a star at all. It was definitely too militant. I was introduced to her from the Frida CD and have Border and was somewhat happy with that as there were just a few what I would call militant songs. By this La Sandunga is by far toooooo much.

The sultry, sassy sound of Downs at her best in this debut CD!.......2005-08-26

I first heard Lila Downs' distinctive sultry, sassy voice in the film "Frida." The movie's entire soundtrack is extraordinary, and I still listen to the CD frequently. Fortunately Ms. Downs has come out with four albums since then. I bought them all because I love the passion and soul she puts into her music. "La Sandunga," her debut album released in 1997, is one of my favorites, with its highly original arrangements. She weaves the indigenous music of her native lands - Mexico and the United States - into a multicultural fabric. Her variegated sound is a real fusion of Mexican folk songs, rich American blues and jazz, along with some pop, mixed in with Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms. Lyrics are in Spanish, English and Mexico's Mayan, Zapotec, Nahuatl, and Mixtec Indian dialects. I have never heard the classics "La Llorona" and "La Malaguena" sung quite like this before. Absolutely fantastic!!

"La Sandunga" is an unusually eclectic mix, based on Ms. Downs' international artistic vision! Her formal vocal training (opera) gives her a tremendously varied range. Her songs come from the villages whose culture she studied after leaving opera studies and her repertoire includes boleros, ballads and rancheros, as well as original compositions backed by a multi-ethnic, very talented band. A Brazilian guitarist, a Cuban bassist, a Chilean drummer, a Mexican harpist, and a pianist/saxophonist/musical director from New Jersey create a creative, crisp, jazzy, at times bluesy Latin sound.

The title song, "La Sandunga," is a traditional Zapotec folk song. It is usually played at local festivities and at weddings. "La Zandunga" is a type of cancion performed as a Mexican waltz. It is a result of the music of the conquistadores,' who arrived from the Spanish provinces of Navarra and Leon, combined with that of indigenous cultures.

Other highlights include: "Pobre Changuita," which epitomizes Mexican country music and is one of my favorite cuts; "Ofrenda" is a corrido inspired by Mixtec immigrants who come to the US to find work and die here; "Yunu Yucu Ninu" is an extraordinary Mixtec poem written by Juan de Dios Ortiz, a Mixtec poet from San Miguel el Grande. It is truly beautiful. There is a Spanish and English translation in the linear notes; "Pinotepa," another favorite, is known as a chilena, a musical style brought from Chile by African slaves; The last three songs, bonus tracks, "Perfume de Gardenias," "La Maleguena," "Besame Mucho," are "part of a musical collaboration with choreographer Cecilia Lugo and the contemporary dance company Contempodanza. They were originally part of a collection called 'Trazos,' released in limited edition in 1999." I already mentioned "La Llorona" above.

Lila Downs is a Mexican-American vocalist, with a Scottish-American father, and a Mixteca mother. She grew up in both the Mexican state of Oaxaca and in Minnesota, USA, bi-lingual and bi-cultural. Lila received formal voice training in Mexico and in the States, and performs her own compositions, as well as tapping into the rich music from Mexico's indigenous peoples. Ms. Downs stated during an interview: "I have this special relationship with my voice. Though I've never considered myself to be a spiritual person....it's a spiritual feeling I have, which began when I studied anthropology. I began to have something approaching awe for this thing that came out of my body, which had to do with something bigger than me. Awe for this gift."

La Sandunga" is a wonderful CD! Lila Downs is a unique artist - simply superb! Highly recommended.
JANA

Average customer rating:

Lila is down
Brilliant singer, jarring variety of music
Como Lila no hay otra
Enchanting Music
Not Your Stereotype of Mexican Music!

La Sandunga
Lila Downs
Manufacturer: Aries Music Ent.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Latin Music | Styles | Music

Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music

Cumbia | Latin Music | Styles | Music

Folk | Latin Music | Styles | Music

Mexico | International | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000JHG6
Release Date: 1999-06-29

Tracks:

La Llorona
Tengo Miedo De Quererte
La Sandunga
Ofrenda
Naila
Sabor A Mi
Pobre Changuita
El Venadito
Un Paco Mas
Cancion Mixteca
Pinotepa
Yunu Yucu Ninu

Customer Reviews:

Lila is down.......2006-04-15

Wow! This is the first album that I heard of Lila Downs. I was blown away. Her interpretations of the classics had me wanting more. If I have a slight criticism....the mixtec song sounded a bit out of place.

Brilliant singer, jarring variety of music.......2004-06-03

Lila Downs was born in 1968 to a North American father and a Mixtec Indian mother who earned a living singing in the bars of Mexico City. Lila started singing mariachi songs at age eight, and even thought of becoming an opera singer. After dropping out of college, she returned to university to study voice and anthropology. In the 90's she began writing her own songs, having been inspired by those attempting the hazardous journey across the US/Mexican border. Now she is a high profile singer who you may have seen singing her songs in the recent movie "Frida", a biography of the famous artist.

Her third album, "La Sandunga", reflects her various influences, containing songs by Mexican and Spanish composers as well as traditional and original ones. Her vocal range is very wide and she is able to control various inflections with great skill. Most of the songs here have a jazzy cabaret or nightclub feel, thoughtful, emotional and powerful, reminiscent of the Portuguese fado. Others have a light bouncy mariachi style. She is professionally accompanied on guitar, sax, piano, bass and percussion, and the recorded sound is excellent.

A pity the mood changes so abruptly from track to track as the style of song changes - I prefer the soul-drenched cabaret stuff to the full-on mariachi and I found it difficult to be bounced from one mood to a completely different one. However, Lila puts her heart and soul into every one of them. A very lyrical and unusual performer.

Como Lila no hay otra.......2002-04-17

Lila Downs es una mujer que canta en un voz iniolvidable y su musica es excepcional. Su estilo es unico, como Lila no hay otra. Su voz puede ser muy hondo y grueso o muy alto, pero de todos modos es un voz y un estilo unico. Hace unos meces yo la vi en Tijuana quando comenso su tour de "La Linea" y es una maravilla y talentosa mujer que merece tu apodo. Tienes que escuchar como canta "La Lorrona" o cualquier ejemplo para entendir. "La Llorona" comemenza muy despacio con un solo de piano pero cuando Lila canta todo cambia. Cuando su voz cambia te va dejar con la boca abierto. Comienza a cantar en su estilo opera y es increible. Este disco es uno de esos que puedes escuchar mil veces y nunca se cansa, siempre te deja con ganas de escuchar lo otra vez. Todas las canciones son diferentes a lo que estas acostumbrado, una mezcla de jazz y folklorico, pero la estrella es la voz y personaje de Lila. Cuando canta el clasico cancion romantico "Sabor a mi" quiero abrazar Lila y dar le las gracias por su interpretacion. "El Venadito" es una cancion que puede ser de otra epoca porque tiene un sonido de los ranchos de aquellos tiempos, antes de CD's cuando la gente tocaban discos. Entre los tres discos que a grabado Lila todos son differentes y buenos pero en este te da una ventanita de su corazon y alma tan bonito y hermoso. Es su primer disco y con cada sigiente es mejor que el otro si lo pudes creer. Te va gustar este disco si te gusta la musica de Mexico nuevo pero eterno. Te recomendo todos los discos de Lila y esto es un bien lugar para comenzar.

Enchanting Music.......2000-07-10

Lila Downs is an incredibly talented young singer. About half of the CD consists of fairly smoky jazz arrangements of Mexican standards.

Her voice is lovely, clear and filled with emotion. Ms Downs studied opera in college and, although she does not sound operatic on this album, it is obvious we are listening to a trained voice.

The title song, "La Sandunga," is a haunting lament that will stay with you long after you first hear it. This CD is a gem. Don't pass it up!

Not Your Stereotype of Mexican Music!.......2000-07-01

Supreme clarity of voice, a magnificent variety of muscial treatments that still maintains the album's coherence, back-up players who deserve top-billing in their own right. There you have La Sandunga.

Tracks are sung in Spanish with one a capella piece rendered in Mixteco, a native language of southern Mexico. Lila Downs, a product of an American father and a Mixteca mother, displays a prodigious vocal range and a gifted ability of choosing pieces that vary from romantic to witty, from tragic to flippant.

Best of all: you don't need to know a word of Spanish (or Mixteco!) to appreciate this album to the fullest.

La Sandunga draws inspriation from the musical legancy of Mexico: the polka and waltz from Europe, percussion and sounds borrowed from the Cuba habanera, ranchera music of Mexico of the 30s, the bolero fused from Colombian and African music.

Three cheers for a virtuoso singer who gives equal time to her backup musicians. Pay special attention to Hopalong Chagoyan (bass), Memo Porras (piano), Eduardo Corzo (clarinet) and Dennis Hart (sax).