By Michelle Stolzenburg

Mexican singer Lila Downs, who headlines the Latin Funk Festival in Miami Beach

The mission statement for the Latin Funk Festival is this: The Latin Funk Festival supports up and coming Latin music artists who represent the unique crossover of yesterday’s traditional rhythms fused with today’s urban beats.

After the success of last year’s event, which brought Yuerba Buena, Nil Lara and Suenalo Sound System among the top acts, one cannot deny that the third annual Latin Funk Festival is more determined to stay true to their word.  This year’s headliner is Lila Downs, the sultry Mexican American singer who uses her creative impulse to explore what brings people together rather than that which divides. Although she is an established artist with several albums already under her belt, she is more known to most for her musical contributions to the movie Frida, which starred Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo.