Bring Out the Dead
As Grammy-winning artist Lila Downs began working on Balas y Chocolate, her husband and musical collaborator was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. The album, an unflinching look at death and the injustices tearing up their beloved Mexico, suddenly became very personal; far from yielding to melancholy lament, it is a bombastic celebration of life and a call to arms. In a video for “La Patria Madrina,” a Day of the Dead parade turns into a protest that Downs — dressed like Emiliano Zapata — leads against the disappearance of 43 college students in Guerrero. “Humito de Copal” recalls Downs’ childhood in Oaxaca, where her grandmother casually conversed with the dead, but the voices rising from the smoke are those of murdered women and silenced journalists. Downs, a three-octave powerhouse who can shake the rafters loose, is more than up to the task. For the Día De Los Muertos Community Concert, the San Francisco Symphony will perform these songs — bluesy boleros and brassy mariachis included — while beforehand, the lobby will be filled with dancing, clowning, altars, art, spiced chocolate, and golden pan de muertos.
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