Fans react to new music: Lila Downs' "Balas y Chocolate"

Via Latina

"The Dia de los Muertos is such an important festivity both in Indian life and in Native American life in Mexico and also in Mestizo life. And I thought with what's happening to us here and not only in Mexico, I think Honduras, El Salvador, you see the news about the difficult times that we're going through. And in another sense the music is more personal than it has been in my previous albums, I believe, because I also had a little thing with death. My husband has a very serious disease and the doctor said, "Well, you can start saying goodbye." So that was quite a shock and I think the music is mainly a response to telling myself, "Come on, lets get it together here and be happy and yet look at death in the face." - Lila Downs.