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
Corazón Maldito
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
por qué palpitas, sí,
por qué palpitas,
como una campana
que se encabrita, sí,
que se encabrita.
Por qué palpitas.
La paso en vela, sí,
la paso en vela,
como en mar violento
la carabela, sí,
la carabela.
Tú me desvelas.
Cuál es mi pecado
pa maltratarme, sí,
pa maltratarme,
como el prisionero
por los gendarmes,
sí, por los gendarmes.
Quieres matarme.
Pero a ti te ocultan
duras paredes, sí,
duras paredes
y mi sangre oprimes
entre tus redes, sí,
entre tus redes.
Por qué no cedes.
Corazón maldito
sin miramiento, sí,
sin miramiento,
ciego, sordo y mudo
de nacimiento, sí,
de nacimiento.
Me das tormento.
In Inti-Illimani's song Corazón Maldito, the singer addresses their own heart and asks why it beats so fiercely and tirelessly, like a bell that rings and thrashes uncontrollably. The singer admits to spending their nights awake and restless like a ship caught in a violent sea, all because of the tumultuous beating of their heart. The singer then questions what sin they have committed to deserve such mistreatment from their own heart, likening themselves to a prisoner brutalized by the authorities. Despite this pain, the heart stubbornly refuses to relinquish its grip on the singer, causing them torment and suffering.
The song speaks to the universal experience of being held captive by one's own emotions and desires. The heart, which is typically associated with love, passion, and vitality, is portrayed as a malevolent force in this song that inflicts unrelenting pain and misery. The singer's plea to their heart to relent and ease their suffering shows a deep sense of vulnerability and desperation. The imagery of the ship and the prisoner further convey the sense of being trapped and unable to escape the torment inflicted by their own heart.
Overall, Corazón Maldito is a powerful and evocative song about the inner turmoil and conflict that can arise from our own hearts and emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Corazón, contesta,
The singer is asking their heart to speak up.
por qué palpitas, sí,
The singer is asking why their heart beats so strongly.
por qué palpitas,
The singer is repeating the question, wondering why their heart beats so intensely.
como una campana
The singer compares their heart's beating to that of a bell.
que se encabrita, sí,
The singer notes that the heart's beating becomes more intense and erratic.
que se encabrita.
The singer is emphasizing the sudden, uncontrollable nature of their heart's beating.
No ves que la noche
The singer is addressing their heart, asking if it can see how they spend sleepless nights.
La paso en vela, sí,
The singer confirms that they do indeed spend sleepless nights.
la paso en vela,
The singer is emphasizing their exhaustion due to the constant beating of their heart.
como en mar violento
The singer compares their insomnia to being tossed around violently at sea.
la carabela, sí,
The singer uses a specific type of ship, a caravel, to further emphasize the violent tossing and turning they experience at night.
la carabela.
The singer is reinforcing the idea of their insomnia being a tormenting experience.
Tú me desvelas.
The singer concludes that it is their own heart that is causing them to suffer from insomnia.
Cuál es mi pecado
The singer begins to question what they have done to deserve such torment from their own heart.
pa maltratarme, sí,
The singer wonders why their heart is mistreating them so terribly.
pa maltratarme,
The singer is expressing their confusion and distress over their own heart's behavior.
como el prisionero
The singer compares themselves to a prisoner.
por los gendarmes,
The singer uses a specific type of police, gendarmes, to further emphasize the idea of being unjustly imprisoned.
sí, por los gendarmes.
The singer is emphasizing the unjust nature of their own heart's behavior.
Quieres matarme.
The singer feels like their own heart is trying to kill them.
Pero a ti te ocultan
The singer addresses their own heart, noting how it is protected by thick walls.
duras paredes, sí,
The singer is emphasizing how impenetrable these walls are.
duras paredes
The singer feels like they cannot reach their own heart because it is so well protected.
y mi sangre oprimes
The singer accuses their own heart of squeezing their blood too tightly.
entre tus redes, sí,
The singer feels trapped and ensnared by their own heart's actions.
entre tus redes.
The singer is expressing their powerlessness in the face of their own heart's aggression.
Por qué no cedes.
The singer implores their own heart to stop tormenting them and give them some relief.
Corazón maldito
The singer addresses their own heart as an accursed thing.
sin miramiento, sí,
The singer is accusing their own heart of being cruel and lacking compassion.
sin miramiento,
The singer is emphasizing how their own heart does not seem to care about their suffering.
ciego, sordo y mudo
The singer lists the ways in which their own heart is unresponsive to their pleas: blind, deaf, and mute.
de nacimiento, sí,
The singer believes that their own heart has always been this way, with no hope of change.
de nacimiento.
The singer is expressing their hopelessness and despair over their own heart's unchangeable behavior.
Me das tormento.
The singer concludes that their own heart is the source of their torment and suffering.
Contributed by Kennedy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@brunnepetrov5123
Corazón, contesta,
por qué palpitas, sí,
por qué palpitas,
como una campana
que se encabrita, sí,
que se encabrita.
Por qué palpitas.
No ves que la noche
La paso en vela, sí,
la paso en vela,
como en mar violento
la carabela, sí,
la carabela.
Tú me desvelas.
Cuál es mi pecado
pa maltratarme, sí,
pa maltratarme,
como el prisionero
por los gendarmes,
sí, por los gendarmes.
Quieres matarme.
Pero a ti te ocultan
duras paredes, sí,
duras paredes
y mi sangre oprimes
entre tus redes, sí,
entre tus redes.
Por qué no cedes.
Corazón maldito
sin miramiento, sí,
sin miramiento,
ciego, sordo y mudo
de nacimiento, sí,
de nacimiento.
Me das tormento.
Sin miramiento,
me das tormento.
@lolo.jamaico
alguien sabe como se llama esta cancion y quien la canta por favor??
mi canto no se ha quebrado x2
con tanta pena que he visto x2
y el apego en tu resino...
y no hay penas que me quiebren x2
por mas penitas que sean x2
se me ha abierto la ventana x2
se me ha cerrado el destino x2
porque ayer cantaba el mirlo
su canto de muerte herido
hoy canta tu corazón es estos silvidos...
a otros las penas les caen x2
como piedras de molinos x2
cuanta sangre se ha perdido x2
en vez de limpiar la sangre
se van por otro camino
gracias penas que me dieron
tanto fulgor a los ojos
mi canto no se ha quebrado x4
@jacac
Le mostré esta canción a un amigo inglés y se la traduje. Me respondió: "la guitarra va palpitando al ritmo del corazón". Nunca lo había visto. Siempre que se comparte con otros el arte y la belleza, se aprende algo nuevo :)
@brunnepetrov5123
Corazón, contesta,
por qué palpitas, sí,
por qué palpitas,
como una campana
que se encabrita, sí,
que se encabrita.
Por qué palpitas.
No ves que la noche
La paso en vela, sí,
la paso en vela,
como en mar violento
la carabela, sí,
la carabela.
Tú me desvelas.
Cuál es mi pecado
pa maltratarme, sí,
pa maltratarme,
como el prisionero
por los gendarmes,
sí, por los gendarmes.
Quieres matarme.
Pero a ti te ocultan
duras paredes, sí,
duras paredes
y mi sangre oprimes
entre tus redes, sí,
entre tus redes.
Por qué no cedes.
Corazón maldito
sin miramiento, sí,
sin miramiento,
ciego, sordo y mudo
de nacimiento, sí,
de nacimiento.
Me das tormento.
Sin miramiento,
me das tormento.
@Yamilett61
Un corazón maldito es sufrir por los que sufren, a tal grado que dan su vida por la causa.
Son verdaderamente mártires.
@joaquingarcia9665
Hace años,en una huelga,ponían estás canciones;se te enchinaba el cuerpo y nos daban más ganas de luchar.
@gregoriofilemonrosasgomez
Inti illimani, una gran institución latinoamericana, pasaría escuchando sus interpretaciones y siempre encontraré algo nuevo !!!!!
Lo que lamento es no haber podido asistir cuando vinieron al cervantino hace unos años.
@CarlosGomez-ho8ch
Desafortunadamente nuestra nueva generación de jóvenes no son tan sensibles que no entienden lo que el corazón siente hay que mostrarles que hay música que te Hase vibrar
@aleacevedo350
Qué hermoso de verdad te llega al alma, gracias Violeta Parra, pura poesía sentimiento, genia.
@carloslabra9969
Sólo poesía musicalizada. Tremenda interpretación.
@martinezeler5564
Quelle tristesse et quelle nostalgie dans cette superbe chanson... Cette musique vient du plus profond du coeur des Hommes!!!
@alejandrinagalvez5115
Está canción me hace llorar. Gracias por poner la letra.