Salón, lágrimas y deseo

"After bravely but cheerfully examining the problems of contemporary Mexico on Balas y Chocolate, two years ago, and then attacking Trump with her English-language song The Demagogue, the Mexican-American diva has switched direction, with an album dominated by songs of female power and survival ... She matches lyrics about suffering and loneliness against a jaunty brass backing on the opening Urge, then moves on to songs that are intimate, angry, or simply good fun. Many of the best are her own compositions, from the defiant Peligrosa, on which she is backed by rock musicians and a mariachi orchestra, to a rousing tribute to Benito Juárez, a 19th-century Mexican president".

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"Salon, Lagrimas y Deseo is in many ways an extension of Balas y Chocolat, though its emphasis is different. Here Downs employs classic and original songs to deliver a feminist manifesto with forms ranging from cumbia to danzon, rancheras to blues, son to banda and conjunto ... With Salon, Lagrimas y Deseo, Downs honors traditions from Mexico and throughout Latin America without succumbing to their weight, and stands tall as she does so".

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