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
Estoy de vuelta
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Por las calles de mi pueblo,
Cada vez que vuelvo a Salta
Una copla sale al viento.
Abrazado a mi guitarra
Camino por aires viejos,
Por caminos de la zamba
Me fui solo, volví triste,
Por las calles malherido,
Menos mal que guitarreando
Me esperaba algún amigo.
Me has pedido que te cuente
De mi ausencia guitarrera,
Te diré que anduve suelto,
Hecho zamba y polvareda.
Por Santiago sol y bombo,
Por Horan y Chomadera,
Por Jujuy y en Cacharpaya,
Y aquí Salta estoy de vuelta.
The lyrics of Inti-Illimani's song Estoy de vuelta speak of a musician who has left his town and returned, but not without feeling sad and wounded. Whenever he comes back to Salta, a traditional Argentine music genre called copla echoes in the wind. He walks through the old rhythms of zamba, a style of music and dance that originated in Argentina, Santiago, and other regions where he has traveled during his absence, with only his guitar as company. However, upon his return, he is grateful to have his friends who have waited for him through thick and thin.
The song's theme is about a musical journey, both figuratively and literally, as the singer travels through various provinces of Argentina, playing his music and experiencing new things. Despite the challenges he faced during his absence, he returns to his hometown, Salta, where he feels a sense of belonging and comfort in the familiarity of its sounds, including the copla that he hears in the wind. The lyrics express both the joys and the sorrows of traveling, playing music, and living life as a musician.
Line by Line Meaning
Me fui solo, volví triste,
I left by myself and came back in sadness,
Por las calles de mi pueblo,
Walking through the streets of my hometown,
Cada vez que vuelvo a Salta
Every time I return to Salta,
Una copla sale al viento.
A melody emerges in the wind.
Abrazado a mi guitarra
Holding my guitar,
Camino por aires viejos,
I wander through old tunes,
Por caminos de la zamba
Along paths of the zamba dance,
Y por rumbos bagualeros.
And through traditional bagual songs.
Me fui solo, volví triste,
I left by myself and came back in sadness,
Por las calles malherido,
Hurt from walking through the streets,
Menos mal que guitarreando
Luckily, with my guitar in hand,
Me esperaba algún amigo.
A friend waited for me.
Me has pedido que te cuente
You asked me to tell you,
De mi ausencia guitarrera,
About my time away from playing guitar,
Te diré que anduve suelto,
I'll tell you that I wandered freely,
Hecho zamba y polvareda.
Playing zamba and raising dust.
Por Santiago sol y bombo,
Through Santiago's sun and drums,
Por Horan y Chomadera,
Through Horan and Chomadera,
Por Jujuy y en Cacharpaya,
Through Jujuy and in Cacharpaya,
Y aquí Salta estoy de vuelta.
And now I'm back here in Salta.
Contributed by Lillian I. 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?