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
Ya Parte El Galgo Terrible
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
a matar niños morenos.
Ya parte la cabalgata
la jauría se desata
exterminando chilenos
ay que haremos, ay que haremos
ya parte la cabalgata,
ay que haremos, ay que haremos.
Con el fusil en la mano
disparan al mexicano
y matan al panameño
en la mitad de su sueño.
Buscan la sangre y el oro
los lobos de San Francisco,
golpean las mujeres
y queman los cobertizos.
Maldita sea la hora
y el oro que se deshizo
y para qué nos vinimos
de nuestro Valparaíso.
Ya matan a los chilenos,
ay que haremos, ay que haremos
en la mitad de su sueño
ay que haremos, ay que haremos.
The lyrics of Inti-Illimani's song Ya Parte El Galgo Terrible (The Terrible Greyhound Starts) describe the violence and destruction unleashed by the Spanish conquistadors upon the native people of Latin America. The imagery of the "terrible greyhound" and the "pack" of wolves represent the conquistadors and their armies, who come to kill and plunder. The song portrays the invaders as merciless killers who take pleasure in massacring children, shooting innocent people, and burning houses. The lyrics urge listeners to reflect on the impact of colonialism on the indigenous people of Latin America, and to question the motives of those who came to conquer and enslave.
The song also alludes to the greed that motivated the conquistadors to leave their homeland and embark on a mission of destruction in the Americas. The "gold" that they sought is portrayed as a curse that led to the death and suffering of countless people. The line "y para qué nos vinimos de nuestro Valparaíso" (and why did we come from our Valparaíso) suggests that the singer is questioning the wisdom of leaving their home to seek fortune and adventure.
Overall, Ya Parte El Galgo Terrible is a poignant and powerful reminder of the atrocities committed during the colonization of Latin America, and a plea for justice and redemption.
Line by Line Meaning
Ya parte el galgo terrible
The vicious hunting dog is unleashed.
a matar niños morenos.
Its mission is to kill dark-skinned children.
Ya parte la cabalgata
The cavalry is also on the move.
la jauría se desata
The pack of hunters is released.
exterminando chilenos
Their target is to exterminate Chileans.
ay que haremos, ay que haremos
Oh, what will we do? What will we do?
ya parte la cabalgata,
The cavalry is already on the move.
ay que haremos, ay que haremos.
Oh, what will we do? What will we do?
Con el fusil en la mano
With a rifle in hand,
disparan al mexicano
They shoot at the Mexican.
y matan al panameño
And they kill the Panamanian
en la mitad de su sueño.
In the middle of their dream.
Buscan la sangre y el oro
They seek blood and gold.
los lobos de San Francisco,
The wolves of San Francisco,
golpean las mujeres
Beat women
y queman los cobertizos.
And burn the sheds.
Maldita sea la hora
Cursed be the hour
y el oro que se deshizo
And the gold that was lost,
y para qué nos vinimos
And why did we come
de nuestro Valparaíso.
From our Valparaiso.
Ya matan a los chilenos,
Chileans are already being killed,
ay que haremos, ay que haremos
Oh, what will we do? What will we do?
en la mitad de su sueño
In the middle of their dream.
ay que haremos, ay que haremos.
Oh, what will we do? What will we do?
Contributed by David B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ifutureman
soy de los Estados Unidos y me considero afortunadamente que tuve un amigo de Mexico en colegio quien me mostro Inti Illimani. Hace 30 anos pero todavia me gusta mucha este musica. (Disculpe si me espanol no es perfecto) Esta cancion es mi favorita.
David Garcia diaz
Tu español es mucho bueno
Jethro T.
@David Garcia diaz muy xd
German Llanes
Se la oí a un compañero de piso de estudiantes que me despertaba con esta canción cada mañana. Después me pasé años buscándola, pues no sabía ni el título ni quién la cantaba. Mereció la pena encontrarla.
ellebi415
Gli Inti Illimani hanno vissuto diversi anni in Italia e, in seguito, girato molto, in particolare, in Europa, facendo conoscere la propria musica e le loro tematiche di libertà e tradizione. Credo che l'Europa abbia imparato molto da questo gruppo anche perchè, a cavallo tra oriente e occidente, col muro di Berlino ancora in piedi che divideva il vecchio continente, noi europei comprendevamo in modo particolare quei canti di sdegno e di protesta.
CELIA TATIANA SÁNCHEZ BARAHONA
Qué linda canción!!! Hace años que no la escuchaba!!!!!!👏👏👏👏👏👏
andy elcortez
Maravilla cancion . Vigente hasta nuestros días😔
mariaoriental46
Hay que aclarar que la letra de esta canción es de Pablo Neruda
Premio Nobel de Literatura y chileno.
Se dió a la tarea de investigar quién fué JOAQUIN MURIETA ( Chileno).
Saludos
Jose Miguel Rojas
Deseo agregar algo más respecto de la creación de la letra.
Se trata de una obra de teatro, probablemente la única de Pablo Neruda, en que relata las vicisitudes que enfrenta el protagonista, este “bandido” de leyenda norteamericana. Su título es “Vida, fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta”. Fui dueño de quizás uno de los pocos ejemplares que de él se imprimieron, pero tuve la mala ocurrencia de prestarlo al padre de un amigo, quien se interesó en su lectura y ya sabemos lo que pasa en estos casos, nunca más lo recuperé y lo perdí, con el peso que a estas alturas y significado que el ejemplar tiene o tenía. Estoy hablando de los años 1976 a 1979, por ahí. Casi 40 años atrás.
Raúl Sepúlveda
¿Y la música, de quién es?