Inti-Illimani (from Quechuan inti and / Aymara illimani) are an instrumenta… Read Full Bio ↴Inti-Illimani (from Quechuan inti and / Aymara illimani) are an instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile. The group was formed in 1967 by a group of university students and it acquired widespread popularity in Chile for their song Venceremos (We shall win!) which became the anthem of the Popular Unity government of Salvador Allende. At the moment of the September 11, 1973 Chilean coup they were on tour in Europe and were unable to return to their country where their music was proscribed by the ruling military junta. In Europe their music took on a multifarious character, incorporating elements of European baroque and other traditional music forms to their rich and colourful Latin American rhythms - creating a distinctive fusion of modern world music. They are perhaps the best internationally known members of the nueva canción movement. Their name means 'Sun of the Illimani.' In Aymara Illimani is the name of a mountain in the Bolivian Andes. They influenced Yeni Türkü, a Turkish group, during their debut album, Buğdayın Türküsü (Song of Wheat) in 1979.

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 ciudad
Inti-Illimani Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

La ciudad está creciendo
por los que llegan del campo,
unos huyendo del frío,
otros huyendo del llanto.

En la esquina de esa calle
la ciudad está creciendo,
llegaron cuatro familias

y doce niños hambrientos.

En la esquina de esa calle
la ciudad está creciendo.

Para el techo traen sombras
y los muebles a la espalda,
traen el agua en botellas
y a los críos en la falda.

Traen puertas y ventanas
en sus maletas de trapos,

traen paredes completas
entre dolores y harapos.

Overall Meaning

The opening lyrics of Inti-Illimani's song "La Ciudad" paint a picture of a growing city, the result of people migrating from the countryside. Some are fleeing the cold, while others are fleeing sadness or pain. In the verse following, we see the introduction of specific families - four of them, all with children who are hungry. They arrive with nothing but the essentials and what they can carry on their backs or in bags made of rags. They bring water in bottles and babies in their arms. Despite lacking proper tools and resources, they bring with them doors, windows, and other essential materials needed to build a home.

Line by Line Meaning

La ciudad está creciendo
The urban landscape is expanding

por los que llegan del campo,
Due to the arrival of those from rural areas

unos huyendo del frío,
Some fleeing from the cold

otros huyendo del llanto.
Others running away from tears.

En la esquina de esa calle
On the corner of that street

la ciudad está creciendo,
The city is expanding

llegaron cuatro familias
Four families have arrived

y doce niños hambrientos.
And twelve hungry children.

Para el techo traen sombras
For a roof they bring shadows

y los muebles a la espalda,
And furniture on their backs

traen el agua en botellas
They bring water in bottles