page_title: Lila Downs
section_title: 2008–2009: Shake Away/Ojo de Culebra
hierarchical_section_title: Lila Downs / Career / 2008–2009: Shake Away/Ojo de Culebra
caption_attribution_description: English: Lila Downs performing at Ferrocarril Museum of Oaxaca in 2012.
context_page_description: Ana Lila Downs Sánchez is a Mexican singer-songwriter and actress. She performs her own compositions and the works of others in multiple genres, as well as tapping into Mexican traditional and popular music. She also incorporates indigenous Mexican influences and has recorded songs in many indigenous languages such as Mixtec, Zapotec, Mayan, Nahuatl and Purépecha. Born and raised in Oaxaca, she primarily studied at the Institute of Arts by Oaxaca and briefly attended University of Minnesota, before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She soon began performing in the traditional music scene of Oaxaca City.
  Her first album, Ofrenda, was released in 1994. In 1999, Downs came to prominence with her debut studio album, La Sandunga, which was a critical and commercial success. She achieved international success in 2001 with the album Border which emerged in the music scene of Mexico and Latin America in the early 2000s. Downs's seventh album, Pecados y milagros, topped album charts in most major markets and generated chart-topping world music albums. Her eighth album, "Balas y Chocolate", was released in 2015. "Salón Lágrimas y Deseo", her ninth album, came out in 2017.
context_section_description: Two years after the release of La Cantina, in September 2008 Downs launched Ojo de Culebra in Europe, North America, Australia and Latin America. The album reached sixth place in sales in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain and several Latin American countries. The first single is titled "Ojo de Culebra" was contributed to by the Spanish singer La Mari by group of flamenco Chambao. The song is a merger of rock cumbia and flamenco with some influences of reggae. This song was at the top of the charts of world music in several countries The second single was "Perro Negro" a merger of rock with ska, (which did not have as much of an international impact as its predecessor), featured Rubén Albarrán singer of the Mexican rock band Café Tacuba. "Little man" (released in the U.S. alone) and "Justice" were next two singles, the latter with the participation of the Spanish singer Enrique Bunbury. Raul Midon, Gilberto Gutierrez and Mercedes Sosa also contributed to this album.
  The single "Black magic woman" achieved moderate success in Europe, United States and Canada, and the single "Silent Thunder" was later well received by the British market.
  In October 2009 Lila Downs was honored by a plaque at the outskirts of her hometown and birthplace, Tlaxiaco, Mexico, and also was awarded the keys the city for her work preserving the language of Mixtec.
caption: Lila Downs
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