Balas Y Chocolate (2015)

""Balas y Chocolate", Lila Downs' 11th album, is easily her most personal. She and her longstanding musical and life partner Paul Cohen focus squarely on the current condition of Mexico, and the turmoil that rages within it: the violence of the drug war, the disappearance of students, the migration of children, rampant international greed, and unrestricted capitalism played out on its soil are destroying a large, varied ecosystem and indigenous cultures. In originals and a canny choice of covers, Downs juxtaposes folk and popular styles from mariachi and cumbia to hip-hop, pop, son, ranchera, and even klezmer. Everything is on the line on this album. Though it reflects the dire present, it is also a statement of profound faith in humanity's future and an act of resistance against the powers of darkness." (Thom Jurek, 4,5 uit 5 sterren)