Music : La Sandunga
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0724359364223
Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued
Label: Narada
Manufacturer: Narada
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Narada
Release Date: September 30, 2003
Sales Rank: 15305
Studio: Narada
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Editorial Review:
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
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
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.
Rating: -
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.
Rating: -
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.
Rating:  -
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.
Rating: -
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 ... Read More
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