From a tree is born a fruit made of woman
death surrounds her power
the branches of her blood will die
her house and town
will be abandoned
fire and blood will stain
the fruits of her fertility...
will become the mother earth
will become the mother earth.

-from "Arbol de la vida/Tree of Life,"
sung by Lila Downs?

Born in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca of a Mixteco Indian mother and a Scottish-American father, there is a transcendent quality to Downs' work that crosses all borders and yet captures the desperate and often harrowing "bordered life."

"I question sometimes how I go musically in one direction without losing what is precious to me, which is the expression of our times, the things that are in our collective consciousness, the power to unite," Down says.

Downs was raised in La Mixteca, the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, as well as St. Paul/Minneapolis. In her youth, she studied music and anthropology at the University of Minnesota and at the Bellas Artes University in Oaxaca.

"I learned classical music," Downs relates. "But I felt so distant from this because the training pushed me away from the direction I felt I had to go-I wasn't being true to what I was. The reason I dropped out of school was the rigid nature of the classical tradition, not being able to express myself with freedom. Slowly I realized [performing] the music from Oaxaca was what I wanted to do.”

Ten years ago, this is precisely what she did singing in restaurants and bars in the colonias, pueblos and barrios throughout Oaxaca; her repertoire included Mexican traditional rancheras, blues and Mixteco indigenous songs.

"Singing in the restaurants and bars was an experience for me," Downs says. "My mother didn't want me to sing in those places because she used to sing on tables and drink a lot. She knew what this kind of life did to women. It took me a long time before I understood it was okay for me to hang out in bars and sing."

With her American husband Paul Cohen, Lila Downs traveled to Mexico City and then Philadelphia to continue their vital blend of indigenous, Mexican and world sounds. Paul, who plays saxophone, piano and clarinet, has been with her ever since. They now divide their time between Oaxaca City (where her mother lives) and New York City. Along the way, she also acted and sang in Salma Hayak's 2002 biopic Frida.

"One of my preoccupations technically in the music is the purity of tone," Downs explains. "I look to people like John Coltrane, who's a strong influence on me. Paul and I share so much love for jazz, the roots of it, because of the power of spiritual healing it has. I aspire to move in this direction. I also try to be honest with myself. Writing every day and having discipline is very helpful. Singing every night in the bars took me to the next place I needed to go."

"The world is divided," Downs says. "For me that's where I'm coming from--this is one of my main concerns, because my mother always taught me to respect the roots. At the same time, we have so much wealth in this world, but we need more consciousness. I think art is one of those amazing things that can bring people together." She also has addressed some big subjects in her music, such as the plight of Mexican migrants in the United States, while still allowing the music to speak for itself.

Lila Downs does this with amazing grace, power, beauty and deep caring. Don't miss her live in concert whenever she comes your way. Also, buy her CDs-her generosity and vision is grand and embracing, which is what we need in these violent and uncertain times.

Luis Rodriguez is a writer of poetry, children's literature, fiction, nonfiction and memoir, including Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. He is a cofounder of Tia Chucha's Cafe Cultural - the cafe, bookstore, art gallery and performance space in the San Fernando Valley-and editor of Xispas Magazine. The official Lila Downs website is located at: www.liladowns.com