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
La Sombra
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cayó la tarde sobre tu pelo alborotado.
La misma tarde con dedos rojos rompió las trabas
y entré en tu cuerpo,
y entré en tu cuerpo que lentamente me devoraba.
Cayó la noche,
cayó la noche sobre juncales ya conjurados.
un rayo tibio quemó mis labios enamorados,
Pero de vuelta,
pero de vuelta tras la ventana donde morabas
vimos la sombra;
vimos la sombra de un hombre triste que te esperaba.
Cuántos dolores dan los amores que están despiertos
y de repente el fuego de frío ha muerto.
Tristes amarras que se cortaron de amanecida
con los puñales que inexorable forja la vida.
The lyrics of Inti-Illimani's song La Sombra describe a passionate encounter between two people during the evening and night. The first verse speaks of the evening falling on windswept willows and the wild hair of the person being addressed. The singer describes breaking down barriers and entering the other person’s body, which was devouring them slowly. The second verse sees the nightfall on already bewitched reeds, and a warm ray burning the singer’s enamored lips. Returning back to the window of the person they had been with, they saw a shadow of a sad man waiting for them. The final verse acknowledges the pain that love can bring, with ties that are cut at sunrise with life's inevitability.
Overall, the song paints a picture of a fleeting, intense moment of passion that is followed by a sense of melancholy and the realization of the consequences of actions. It speaks of the bittersweet nature of love and how it can bring both agony and ecstasy.
Line by Line Meaning
Cayó la tarde sobre los sauces desmelenados.
The evening fell upon the willows that were unkempt.
Cayó la tarde sobre tu pelo alborotado.
The evening fell upon your unkempt hair.
La misma tarde con dedos rojos rompió las trabas
The same evening with red fingers broke the obstacles.
y entré en tu cuerpo,
And I entered your body,
y entré en tu cuerpo que lentamente me devoraba.
And I entered your body that was slowly devouring me.
Cayó la noche,
The night fell,
cayó la noche sobre juncales ya conjurados.
the night fell upon the already conjured reedbeds.
Y un rayo tibio,
And a warm ray,
un rayo tibio quemó mis labios enamorados,
a warm ray burned my enamored lips,
Pero de vuelta,
But going back,
pero de vuelta tras la ventana donde morabas
but going back behind the window where you resided,
vimos la sombra;
we saw the shadow;
vimos la sombra de un hombre triste que te esperaba.
we saw the shadow of a sad man waiting for you.
Cuántos dolores dan los amores que están despiertos
How many pains are given by the loves that are awake,
y de repente el fuego de frío ha muerto.
and suddenly the fire of coldness has died.
Tristes amarras que se cortaron de amanecida
Sad ties that were cut at dawn
con los puñales que inexorable forja la vida.
with the knives that life forges inexorably.
Contributed by Chase W. 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?