Balas y chocolate

"Rousing choruses, martial beats, and agit-prop raps give the album a festive brio; but the playing is always assured, thanks to an array of fabulous musicians (sax, accordion, brass and percussion are superlative) and Downs' devilishly delicious voice - she travels up and down from a smoky alto to an emotive contralto to a Mercedes Sosa-styled baritone ... Another sizzling, gutsy, joy-giving instalment from Mexico's finest crossover artist".

"Lila Downs' 11th album is easily her most personal. She and her longstanding musical and life partner Paul Cohen focus squarely on the current condition of Mexico, and the turmoil that rages within it: the violence of the drug war, the disappearance of students, the migration of children, rampant international greed, and unrestricted capitalism played out on its soil are destroying a large, varied ecosystem and indigenous cultures. In originals and a canny choice of covers, Downs juxtaposes folk and popular styles from mariachi and cumbia to hip-hop, pop, son, ranchera, and even klezmer ... Single "La Patria Madrina" is a killer duet with Colombian singer Juanes. The pair bridge the distance between Latin American struggles in the lyrics: "Saw hell, saw the news/Graves, the dead, destruction of Mother Nature..." Rock & roll, cumbia, mariachi, and bachata come together seamlessly in a militant statement of a truth that refuses to surrender".

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