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
Señora Chichera
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Véndeme chichita
Si no tiene chicha
Cualquiera cosita
Huila palomita
Chihuanku chihuanku
Machayku chihuanku
Kasayku chihuanku
Huila palomita
The song "Señora chichera" by Inti-Illimani is a popular folk song from South America that captures the essence of the chicha culture. In this song, the singer is addressing a chichera, a woman who sells chicha, a type of fermented corn drink. The lyrics implore the chichera to sell the singer some chicha or anything she has, even if she doesn't have any chicha left. In this plea, the singer is using playful and catchy language to connect with the chichera and other potential customers, urging them to indulge in the local drink.
The lyrics' repetition of "Huila palomita" is a traditional Andean call for customers to buy and emphasizes the playfulness of the song. The chorus of "Chihuanku chihuanku, Machayku chihuanku, China jampahatua, Kasayku chihuanku" is a call-and-response between the singer and the chichera, which imitates the sound of music and dance instruments. Behind the cheerful language of the song, there is a celebration of the everyday life of South American people and the importance of regional customs and traditions.
Overall, "Señora chichera" is not just a folk song praising fermented corn drink, but it also reflects the cultural significance of chicha in Andean society. Its lyrics serve as an invitation to new customers and a familiar call to long-time fans of the drink.
Line by Line Meaning
Señora chichera
Madam who sells chicha
Véndeme chichita
Sell me some chicha
Si no tiene chicha
If you don't have chicha
Cualquiera cosita
Anything else will do
Huila palomita
Fly away little dove
Chihuanku chihuanku
Dance, dance
Machayku chihuanku
Dance with me
China jampahatua
In the land of the China
Kasayku chihuanku
Dance with me like this
Huila palomita
Fly away little dove
Contributed by Alaina T. 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?