The group was formed by students at Universidad Técnica del Estado at Santiago, Chile in 1967. In 1973 as they were on tour abroad, General Augusto Pinochet launched a coup d'etat and took power. Having heard of the numerous extra-judicial killings of many fellow artists by Chile's army, they took up residence in Italy, resulting in "the longest tour in history" for Inti-Illimani as they lived in de facto exile. They continued their efforts supporting Chilean democracy internationally; magnitizdat copies of their work continued to be widely distributed in Chile. In September 1988, days after they were no longer banned from Chile, they began touring Chile again. They helped organize the voting down of the referendum that would have re-elected Pinochet. Recently, they were actually supported by Chile as representatives of Chilean culture.
In the past the group was musically led by Horacio Salinas and politically led by Jorge Coulon. However, in 2001 there was a controversial split of the group, which started when three key members left the group (José Seves, Horacio Durán and Horacio Salinas). They were replaced by Manuel Meriño (from Entrama), Cristián González and Juan Flores. Due to the importance of departed members, many called into question the ability of the remainder to carry on the Inti-Illimani name. Meanwhile, the three departed members started their own group they call Inti-Histórico. From 2005 there are two groups:
Inti-Illimani New (Coulon brothers)
Inti-Illimani Histórico (José Seves, Horacio Durán and Horacio Salinas)
Membership
In August 1967 Inti-Illimani's earliest membership consisted of:
Horacio Durán
Max Berrú
Jorge Coulon
Luis Espinoza
Oscar Guzmán
Ciro Retamal
Pedro Yáñez
In 1968 Inti-Illimani's membership consisted of:
Horacio Salinas (Musical director and main composer)
Horacio Durán
Max Berrú
Jorge Coulon
Ernesto Perez de Arce
Current line-up of the "Inti-Illimani Nuevo":
Jorge Coulon
Christian González
Daniel Cantillana
Juan Flores
Efren Viera
Marcelo Coulon
Manuel Meriño
César Jara
Current line-up of the "Inti-Histórico":
Horacio Salinas
Horacio Durán
José Seves
Jorge Ball
Fernando Julio
Camilo Salinas
Danilo Donoso
Other members in the history of the group:
Ernesto Pérez de Arce
Homero Altamirano
José Miguel Camus
Renato Freyggang
Pedro Villagra
Candidos
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ya no hay médico en lo póstumo
Impondrán, célebres los cándidos,
Su vorágine más poética,
Su vorágine.
Vive esta plebe autóctona
Como un desolado páramo
Sin un santo fiel en la cúspide,
Sin un santo fiel.
Sufriendo leyes maléficas
No hay más que subir los ánimos
Al compás de un danzar telúrico
Al cielo gritar nuestros cánticos,
Al cielo gritar.
Presiento que por lo empÃrico
Se ha enloquecido la brújula
El clamor que tuerce los estómagos
Va azuzando al fin los espÃritus,
Va azuzando al fin.
Cándido, libera tu rabia, cándido,
Tu vieja ternura, úsala
Para revivir tu lóbrega vida de lázaro.
Cándidos con tanta esperanza cósmica
Venid, porque al fin
El ávido rompe su cántaro.
Antes que morir famélico
Mártir de un destino trágico
Más valdrá reconquistar por último
El honor de ser pueblo intrépido,
El honor de ser.
Rompió el ávido su cántaro.
The song "Candidos" by Inti-Illimani is a poetic expression of the struggles and aspirations of the working class in Latin America. The lyrics speak of the harsh reality that the indigenous people face in their daily lives, including poverty, lack of healthcare, and corrupt laws. The line "Rompió el ávido su cántaro" (the greedy one broke his jug) suggests that those in power have caused this drought, but the people will not be defeated by it. The line "Impondrán, célebres los cándidos, su vorágine más poética" (famous innocents will impose their most poetic whirlwind) expresses the idea that despite their innocence, the people have the power to create change and contribute to a better world.
Throughout the song, the lyrics call for action and resilience. They urge the people to use their voices and to stand up against injustice. The line "Al compás de un danzar telúrico, al cielo gritar nuestros cánticos" (to the rhythm of a teluric dance, we shout our songs to the sky) suggests that despite adversity and struggles, the people will rise to the occasion and create a better world. The song ends on a hopeful note with the line "Más valdrá reconquistar por último el honor de ser pueblo intrépido" (it is better to regain the honor of being a fearless people) which suggests that despite the struggles, the people have not lost their courage and determination.
Line by Line Meaning
Rompió el ávido su cántaro
The thirsty one broke his pitcher
Ya no hay médico en lo póstumo
There is no doctor in the posthumous
Impondrán, célebres los cándidos, Su vorágine más poética, Su vorágine.
The famous innocent ones will impose, their more poetic vortex, their vortex.
Vive esta plebe autóctona
This indigenous plebeian lives
Como un desolado páramo
Like a desolate wasteland
Viéndose tan mÃsera y decrépita
Seeing itself so miserable and decrepit
Sin un santo fiel en la cúspide,
Without a faithful saint at the top
Sin un santo fiel.
Without a faithful saint.
Sufriendo leyes maléficas
Suffering maleficent laws
No hay más que subir los ánimos
There is nothing more than to raise spirits
Al compás de un danzar telúrico
To the rhythm of a telluric dance
Al cielo gritar nuestros cánticos,
To shout our songs to the sky
Al cielo gritar.
To shout to the sky.
Presiento que por lo empÃrico
I feel that because of the empirical
Se ha enloquecido la brújula
The compass has gone mad
El clamor que tuerce los estómagos
The clamor that twists stomachs
Va azuzando al fin los espÃritus,
It is finally inciting the spirits,
Va azuzando al fin.
It is finally inciting.
Cándido, libera tu rabia, cándido,
Candid, release your anger, candid,
Tu vieja ternura, úsala
Use your old tenderness
Para revivir tu lóbrega vida de lázaro.
To revive your gloomy life of Lazarus.
Cándidos con tanta esperanza cósmica
Innocents with so much cosmic hope
Venid, porque al fin
Come, because finally
El ávido rompe su cántaro.
The thirsty one breaks his pitcher.
Antes que morir famélico
Before dying of hunger
Mártir de un destino trágico
Martyr of a tragic destiny
Más valdrá reconquistar por último
It will be worth it to re-conquer at last
El honor de ser pueblo intrépido,
The honor of being a brave people,
El honor de ser.
The honor of being.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@felipeespindola8555
Rompió al avido su cántaro !!!!! Extraordinaria ...!!!! Grande Inti Illimani ❤️👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👊👍👍
@jprojinegro93
yo crecí con la música de inti-illimani, gracias viejos por darme cultura musical
@anahiortega2831
Excelente tema para celebrar esta primavera de nuestro chile, grande Inti 💞
@manuelgonzalez7583
Jose Seves é foda, vivo en Brasil y aqui cuando un cantor musico e interprete es muy bueno decimos, O cara é foda.
@fernandofernando3000
É foda mesmo..!!
@germanalejandroparedesmore1682
Perdi la cuenta ,,cuantas veces los e visto en vivo...geniales..
@rosismordet
Apruebo!
@kyunggsi2842
Esta canción me recuerda demasiado a mi infancia, me pone muy nostálgico.
@ADRIANAGOMEZ-kq2se
Que himno.. América latina... palpita...
@isabelcordova7702
Grande Max Berru.tu voz sigue nítida en la historia de tu CHILE 🇨🇱