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
El Faro
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
tus pechos un timón de doble auxilio,
tu boca una angustiosa y dura proa
que me condujo al fondo del exilio.
Por ti sé de ensenadas nunca abiertas,
por ti sé de un volcán de color rojo.
por ti yo descubrí el faro secreto
He navegado en ti como en un barco
donde se concentraron mis pasiones.
Hice de tu alma un acto de mi vida
para hacerte olvidar mis obsesiones.
La proa me condujo a tu arrecife
y en él yo naufragué con alegría,
puesto que amar es navegar sin rumbo
y naufragar es lenta poesía.
Pero todo es inútil porque un barco
traiciona al navegante sin reparos,
si por tu capitán te preguntaran,
diles que lo cegó la luz del faro.
In the song El Faro by Inti-Illimani, the lyrics explore the idea of love and the metaphorical comparison of love to sailing. The song begins with the singer describing their lover's body as the "ship of their dreams." The lover's body is described as a "double aid steering wheel," indicating the importance of the lover to navigate and guide the singer through their own emotions. The lover's mouth is compared to the ship's bow, leading the singer towards the "abyss" of exile. The singer acknowledges that it was through this journey, guided by their lover, that they discovered "unopened coves" and a "volcano of red color."
Throughout the rest of the song, the singer compares their lover to a ship they sail on, where all their passions and emotions are concentrated. The singer confesses that they made their lover's soul an act of their own life, in the hopes of making their own obsessions disappear. The ship's bow then leads them to the "reef," where they happily sink into an uncertain future, as the act of loving someone is like sailing without direction. Finally, the singer admits that everything was all in vain, as the ship itself will always betray the sailor, blinded by the light of the lighthouse, in this case, a metaphor for either society or reality.
Overall, the lyrics of El Faro create a beautiful metaphor for the complexity of love and how it can lead us through uncertain waters, driven by our passions and desires. It is a song that speaks of both the joy and the pain that comes with loving someone with all your heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu cuerpo fue la nave de mis sueños,
Your body was the ship of my dreams,
tus pechos un timón de doble auxilio,
Your breasts a dual purpose rudder,
tu boca una angustiosa y dura proa
Your mouth was an anguished and hard bow
que me condujo al fondo del exilio.
That led me to the depths of exile.
Por ti sé de ensenadas nunca abiertas,
Because of you, I know of unopened inlets,
por ti sé de un volcán de color rojo.
thanks to you, I learned of a red volcano.
por ti yo descubrí el faro secreto
You showed me the secret lighthouse,
y una noche sin luz me llamó su ojo.
and one night, it's eye called out to me in the dark.
He navegado en ti como en un barco
I've sailed in you like in a ship,
donde se concentraron mis pasiones.
where my passions were concentrated.
Hice de tu alma un acto de mi vida
I made your soul an act of my life.
para hacerte olvidar mis obsesiones.
To make you forget about my obsessions.
La proa me condujo a tu arrecife
The bow led me to your reef,
y en él yo naufragué con alegría,
and there, I happily shipwrecked,
puesto que amar es navegar sin rumbo
because loving is sailing without direction,
y naufragar es lenta poesía.
and shipwrecking is slow poetry.
Pero todo es inútil porque un barco
But everything is in vain because a ship,
traiciona al navegante sin reparos,
betrays the sailor without scruples,
si por tu capitán te preguntaran,
if they were to ask for your captain,
diles que lo cegó la luz del faro.
tell them he was blinded by the light of the lighthouse.
Contributed by Samantha H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Inti Torrez
Amigos......desde mis 18 años tengo este disco....o...lo conosco y tiene respuestas y soluciones para cualquier amor.....saludos....canciones bellas..q si ponen en cualquier velada o conquista...les aseguro q hacen la mitad del trabajo
Jorge E Olvera
Escuché en la radio alternativa por casualidad este tema y rescaté en la memoria algunas líneas hasta que dí con él. Caray que belleza! ahora la sacaré en la guitarra sé que será éxito seguro en las noches de bohemia. Gracias por subirlo!
Nuluck
Muchas gracias a ti por escucharlo, Jorge. Saludos :)
Pablo Tapia
deja los acordes!
Pablo Tapia
Logré sacarlo amigo jajaaja si lo necesitas....
Anderson Gómez - Lauritamiamor
hermosa cancion...inti lo mejor
palinovski
excelente tema
janopulus del janebrin
putas que hay musica linda
Pablo
Maravilloso. Esto es un vals verdad?
Mónica Cavada López
Si, está melodía se conoce como vals peruano