Wabash College’s Visiting Artists Series will present a concert by Lila Downs on Thursday, March 25 in Salter Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Center. The performance starts at 8 p.m.
In celebration of the arts at Wabash, admission to all Visiting Artists Series events are free. However, you must obtain your free tickets at the Fine Arts Box Office before attending Visiting Artists Series productions. Currently this show is fully reserved. To be placed on the waiting list, call 765-361-6411.
Singer Lila Downs is an inspiring performer whose life and music has been shaped by her ongoing search for identity. The child of a Mixtec Indian mother and an Anglo father from Minnesota, Downs spent her childhood moving back and forth from Mexico’s culturally rich Oaxaca Valley to Minneapolis and to Southern California. Drawing from her rich life experiences, Downs often uses her music to explore the plight of people on the margins of our society. Said the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Whether she’s belting a ranchera, cooing a Mixtec lullaby, or crooning a Woody Guthry ballad, she uses her extraordinary voice to celebrate the lives of common people."
Lila and the band’s most recent performances have included touring in Mexico, South America, the U.S., and Europe. Lila presently lives in Coyoacan and collaborates with musicians from Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Peru, Argentina, and Paraguay. She performs her own compositions and also taps into the vast reservoir of native Mesoamerican music, by singing songs in the Indian languages of Mexico such as Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya and Nahuatl.
In addition to her concert on Thursday evening, Downs will give a special workshop on Wednesday, March 24, at 4:15 p.m. in Salter Hall. She will talk about her roots as a Native American from Mexico, as well as other cultural, musical, and vocal interest.
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