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
relato 3
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
esto sí que me gustó,
porque siempre me apalearon
cuando levanté la voz.
Ahora que ya sabemos
que se acabó el apaleo
vamos a ver que tal sale
The lyrics in Inti-Illimani's song "Relato 3" speak of the oppression and fear that comes with raising one's voice against a system that often violently suppresses dissent. The first line, "Pon la flauta compañero" (put the flute, comrade), is a call to action, a request for a fellow musician to start playing, to begin the journey towards freedom through the power of music. The singer expresses their enthusiasm for this moment, how they enjoy this feeling of playing and expressing themselves, without fear of being beaten down for daring to speak their mind.
However, this joy is tinged with the pain of past experiences of violence and oppression. The line "porque siempre me apalearon cuando levanté la voz" (because I was always beaten when I raised my voice) is a testament to the brutality of the system that silences those who dare to speak out. Despite this, the singer retains hope, acknowledging that the violence has ended, and that they are now free to express themselves in a more public, communal way. The final lines of the song, "vamos a ver que tal sale decirlo con tamboreo" (let's see how it goes saying it with drumming), suggest that the singer and their comrades are ready to embrace this newfound freedom, to see how far they can go, how loud they can be, how much they can change the world through the power of their music.
Overall, "Relato 3" is a powerful song that speaks to the struggle for freedom, the power of music, and the need for solidarity in the face of oppression. It is a song that speaks to the past, present, and future, reminding us that the fight for justice and freedom is ongoing, but also that it is possible to achieve.
Line by Line Meaning
Pon la flauta compañero,
Compañero, toca la flauta para que podamos expresarnos de manera sincera y auténtica a través de la música.
esto sí que me gustó,
Me gusta escuchar y crear música porque es una forma de expresión que me hace sentir libre y auténtico.
porque siempre me apalearon
En el pasado, fui castigado y reprimido por expresarme honestamente y decir lo que sentía.
cuando levanté la voz.
Cuando intenté hablar y expresar mis opiniones, fui silenciado y castigado por aquellos que tenían el poder.
Ahora que ya sabemos
Sin embargo, ahora nos damos cuenta de que no podemos permitir que aquellos que tienen el poder nos silencien y repriman. Debemos ser valientes y hablar la verdad.
que se acabó el apaleo
No dejaremos que ninguna forma de opresión o violencia nos detenga en nuestra búsqueda de libertad y justicia.
vamos a ver que tal sale
Ahora, exploraremos nuevas formas de expresar nuestra verdad y nuestra lucha a través de la música y el tamborileo.
decirlo con tamboreo.
Usaremos nuestra música y nuestros tambores para hacer llegar nuestro mensaje y nuestra verdad, y para luchar contra todas las formas de opresión y violencia que enfrentamos.
Contributed by Alexandra G. 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?