La Sandunga Review

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La Sandunga ReviewThe second of two Lila Downs CDs I bought just before I went into the auditorium to see her live is a quieter affair, but with as much subgenres from the Mexican and Mixtec music culture that really opened my eyes. Here are the highlights.
The title track is a mournful ode to one's dead mother, with piano and acoustic guitar. According the notes, "La Sandunga" is played in ritual ceremonies, but as a genre, it became a sort of Mexican waltz, a merger of indigenous and European influences.
The quick-paced mariachi-like "Pobre Changuita," with quickly sung vocals, is the forerunner of Mexican country music. Lila does her comical helium-like voice in this one.
The slow and swaying "Naila" is similar to Cuban habanera music. The bongos and guitar add to the Latin rhythm.
In the same tempo, with a touch of slow jazz and bossa nova, are "Tengo Miedo De Quererte" and "Un Poco Mas," both triumphant showcases for her upper register. Both sport the Cuban bolero style, using African rhythms. Paul Cohen, her husband, who was was one of the musicians at the concert, has a notable sax solo here.
The corrido "Ofrenda" is dedicated to Mixtec immigrants who try to get work in the US and die there, something tackled more on La Linea.
Wow, here's the haunting "La Llorona" once again. It's also on her La Linea album, but also on the Frida soundtrack, where it's done by other artists. This was done in the concert, and it was one of the better numbers done. Like the title track, there's a slow waltz influence, with the Spanish guitar giving it the indigenous influence. The legends differ, but they have in common a screaming woman at night. Lila's voice reaches an operatic height at one point.
"Yunu Yucu Ninu" is an a capella song in Mixtec, and praises the trees and mountain of Yucuninu for providing sustenance for humans and animals, and how
The CECAM marching band is used in "Cancion Mixteca", which thematically covers the Mixtec mythical character of the Sun Archer and the constant migration of the Mixtec people.
Things really get hot in the festive "Pinotepa", which also uses the same marching band in the chilena style, brought to Mexico by African slaves who came with Pizzaro, one of the most villainous conquistadors.
What differentiates this from the original 1995 release is the three bonus tracks, originally part of the Trazos song collection. These songs incorporate some jazz piano elements, with a bossa nova backbeat. "Besame Mucho" is a nice relaxing number for one.
The explanation of the songs are a big help, written by Lila herself in both Spanish and English, and some of them tell when certain Latin genres of music were created. The important thing is that all the songs were composed by people living in Oaxaca, where the Mixtecs live.
A mostly mellower collection of songs, most of it sung in Lila's melodic higher register, and incorporating Mexican, Zapotec, and Mixteca cultural elements, many that I'd never even heard of...until now, and light jazz. Is she great, or what?La Sandunga Overview

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