More than 50 years ago, four teenaged boys from the small, remote town of Rosa Morada, Mocorito, in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, arrived at the U.S. border, instruments in tow. They explained that they were budding musicians — they’d just spent months working in tiny bars across Mexicali, trying …
Read More »Lila Downs Explores Mexican Heritage Through the Pepper in New LP, 'Al Chile'
“It’s about saying things al chile!” says Lila Downs backstage at the Center for the Arts in Escondido, where she’s about to perform cuts from her latest studio album, Al Chile. Just like the Mexican expression conveys — roughly meaning “straight up” — the folk singer has been keeping it …
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