Salon, Lagrimas y Deseo

Personnel: Angel Chacón (acoustic guitar, electric guitar).Recording information: AT Studios, Ciudad de México (02/2017-03/2017).Directors: Lila Downs; Angel Jara Taboada; Aneiro Taño; Paul Cohen .Photographer: Marcela Taboada.Arranger: Jerzain Vargas.On 2015's Latin Grammy-winning Balas y Chocolat, Lila Downs delivered an album of folk songs and originals that juxtaposed modern Mexico with its rich history. It songs highlighted the impact of the drug war, environmental devastation, and the widening rift between economic classes in Mexico. Downs believes an artist's role is not only to create but to be an activist. Salon, Lagrimas y Deseo is in many ways an extension of Balas y Chocolat, though its emphasis is different. Here Downs employs classic and original songs to deliver a feminist manifesto with forms ranging from cumbia to danzon, rancheras to blues, son to banda and conjunto. Set-opener "Urge," by Uriel Martin, is a passionate confession of loneliness and raw pain that only lo