Frida would be proud.  Just one day before the wildly popular SFMOMA exhibit closes, the 17^th Annual San Jose Mariachi Festival will put Mexican women in the spotlight again with the Noche de Serenata Gala concert on September 27.  

The Gala concert—this year dedicated to the women of the Mexican folk music tradition—features Lila Downs, a fearless musical cross-pollinator of canción ranchera, roots, and jazz along with legends Linda Ronstadt, Ersi Arvizu, and Aida Cuevas.

Downs, best known for her work on the Frida soundtrack, sings like her heart has been ripped out, drawing on traditional sentimiento style with big powerful notes and wrenching emotion.  Together with Ronstadt, Arvizu, Cuevas, and others, she will pay tribute to three female pioneers of mariachi: Lucha Reyes, Amalia Mendosa and Lola Beltrán.