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
Ella
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
me cansé de decirle
que yo por ella
de pena muero.
Ya no quiso escucharme
si sus labios se abrieron
fue pa' decirme
Yo sentí que mi vida
se perdía en un abismo
profundo y negro
como mi suerte.
Quise hallar el olvido
al estilo jalisco
pero aquellos mariachis
y aquel tequila
me hicieron llorar.
Me cansé de rogarle
con el llanto en los ojos
alcé mi copa
y brindé con ella.
No podía despreciarme
era el último brindis
de un bohemio
con una reina.
Los mariachis callaron
de mi mano sin fuerzas
cayó mi copa
sin darme cuenta.
Ella quiso quedarse
cuando vio mi tristeza
pero ya estaba escrito
que aquella noche
perdiera su amor.
The song "Ella" by Inti-Illimani tells a story of a man who has fallen madly in love with a woman who does not share his feelings. The lyrics express the singer's frustration and heartache as he has tried everything to win her over but to no avail. He is exhausted from begging and pleading with her, but she refuses to listen to him, and instead, she tells him that she no longer loves him. The singer feels as though his life is sinking into a deep, dark abyss, similar to his unlucky fate.
The singer tries to forget his sorrow in the way of Jalisco, which translates to turning to alcohol and seeking solace in a party setting. However, this only makes him more emotional, and he ends up crying. Eventually, he realizes that he cannot make the woman love him and decides to let her go. In the final portion of the song, he raises his glass to her as a final farewell gesture, and the last stanza suggests that she wanted to stay with him, but it was too late, and he had already lost her love.
The lyrics of "Ella" express the pain of unrequited love and the torment and frustration that come with it, making it relatable for anyone who has experienced heartbreak. The emotional depth of this song is further enhanced by the beautiful and melodious sound of Inti-Illimani's music.
Line by Line Meaning
Me cansé de rogarle,
I got tired of begging her,
me cansé de decirle
I got tired of telling her
que yo por ella
That I for her
de pena muero.
die of grief.
Ya no quiso escucharme
She no longer wanted to listen to me
si sus labios se abrieron
If her lips opened
fue pa' decirme
it was to tell me
ya no te quiero.
I don't love you anymore.
Yo sentí que mi vida
I felt that my life
se perdía en un abismo
was lost in an abyss
profundo y negro
deep and dark
como mi suerte.
like my luck.
Quise hallar el olvido
I wanted to forget
al estilo jalisco
in the style of Jalisco
pero aquellos mariachis
but those mariachis
y aquel tequila
and that tequila
me hicieron llorar.
made me cry.
Me cansé de rogarle
I got tired of begging her
con el llanto en los ojos
with tears in my eyes
alcé mi copa
I raised my glass
y brindé con ella.
and toasted with her.
No podía despreciarme
She couldn't disrespect me
era el último brindis
it was the last toast
de un bohemio
from a bohemian
con una reina.
with a queen.
Los mariachis callaron
The mariachis stopped playing
de mi mano sin fuerzas
From my powerless hand
cayó mi copa
my glass fell
sin darme cuenta.
without me realizing it.
Ella quiso quedarse
She wanted to stay
cuando vio mi tristeza
when she saw my sadness
pero ya estaba escrito
but it was already written
que aquella noche
that on that night
perdiera su amor.
she would lose her love.
Contributed by Camilla C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Fanny
on Hermanochay
Hola, mi padre tenia un grupo de musica andina y cantaba esta cancion. Mi padre hoy ya no está y me hubiera gustado entender la letra, no encuentro traducción por ningún lado, alguien sabe la traducción?