‘Everybody’s Hoping to See You at Their Door’: Lila Downs Honors Essential Workers Through Song
Héctor Alejandro Arzate
“Everybody’s hoping to see you at their door taking care of people you don’t know.”
-Lyrocs from Lila Downs’ “Dark Eyes”
Musician Lila Downs released “Dark Eyes” as both a tribute to essential workers and a way to raise money for Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO), a nonprofit based in Fresno that advocates for Indigenous migrant communities living throughout the Central Valley and Central Coast. Sarait Martinez, CBDIO’s executive director, hopes the pandemic not only sheds light on the plight of these workers but also shows farm workers as heroes, deserving of respect and dignity.