From Mexico/the U.S., songwriter Lila Downs

With “a stunning voice, a confident multicultural vision grounded in her Mixtec Indian roots” (Los Angeles Times), Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lila Downs is one of the most celebrated artists of her generation. A favorite and frequent artist at Symphony Center, she returns on April 4 with a program featuring her latest studio disc, “Cambias Mi Mundo” (2026, Sony).

That album, “You Change My World,” marks the first disc for which Downs has written almost every song. It’s also her first project without the participation of her longtime personal and artistic partner, Paul Cohen, who died in 2022. “We knew he was going to pass away,” Downs said of her late husband in an interview with the site Songlines. “The last 10 years of our lives together were very tough. I think after being part of a couple for so many years, something happens: You lose yourself a bit.”

The disc also served as a means of rediscovery. “I felt a new path opening up — a new life,“ she said. ”Above all, my love for life was rescued. It redirected my thoughts, my conviction and that grand passion, because through music, you can say things that can change the world. Grief and emotional rebirth coexist in an atmosphere of inspiration, of reconnecting with my femininity as a symbol of strength and heart.”

Born in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, Downs has forged a career bridging cultures and languages, both as a musician and social activist for humanitarian causes. The daughter of a Mixtec singer and an American photographer and professor, Downs blends a deep passion for the traditions of her homeland with an ingrained sense of wanderlust.

With guidance from her mother and inspired by Mexican vocal greats Chavela Vargas and Lucha Villa, balanced by the American music she heard in the States, Downs began to sing rancheras at 8 years old and explored the indigenous music of the Mixtec and Zapotec cultures of Oaxaca. Her contributions to the Frida Kahlo biopic “Frida” (2002), directed by Tony Award winner Julie Taymor, elevated her to the status of an international star.

Recording in indigenous Mayan, Nahuatl, Zapotec, Trique and Purépecha languages, Downs has become recognized worldwide as a global ambassador for Mexico’s folkloric traditions and champion for the preservation of native Mexican culture.