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 7
Inti-Illimani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
pero diré algunas coplas
y voy a hablar muy cortito
para que siga la cosa.
Porque hoy abrí la boca
tan sólo para contarles
que lo que ahora comienza
Como son muchas tareas,
y todas interesantes,
tan sólo algunas podremos
esta vez enumerarles.
The lyrics of Inti-Illimani's song "Relato 7" focus on the concept of social responsibility and the importance of taking action to make a difference in the world. The opening lines of the song express a humble approach to speaking out, as the singer does not put themselves at the forefront but instead decides to share some words (in the form of coplas, traditional Spanish couplets), speaking in a brief and concise manner as to not disrupt the momentum of change that is beginning.
The singer then goes on to shed some light on the Tareas Sociales (Social Tasks) that are beginning - various projects and initiatives aimed at making a positive impact on society. The next lines reveal that there are a multitude of these tasks, all of them important and deserving of attention, but the singer can only share a few of them at this time.
Overall, the lyrics advocate for social responsibility and action, as a communal effort is needed to bring about positive change. The repetition of "tan sólo" (just/simply/only) throughout the lyrics suggests that every little bit counts, and that even if one can only contribute in small ways, it is still important to do so.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo no me pongo delante
I don't like to draw attention to myself
pero diré algunas coplas
but I will sing some songs
y voy a hablar muy cortito
and I will speak briefly
para que siga la cosa.
so the conversation can continue.
Porque hoy abrí la boca
Because today I opened my mouth,
tan sólo para contarles
just to tell you all
que lo que ahora comienza
that what is starting now
son las Tareas Sociales.
are the Social Tasks
Como son muchas tareas,
Since there are many tasks,
y todas interesantes,
and they are all interesting,
tan sólo algunas podremos
we can only list a few
esta vez enumerarles.
this time around.
Contributed by Declan 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?