Inti-Illimani - grupo musical Chileno - TT: Illimani Mountain Sun - TA: Chilean musical group

Latin Beat Magazine, Nov, 1996

In Ayamara, a dialect of Chile's indigenous people, the word [Inti] means sun and the word [Illimani] is the name of a mountain in Bolivia. In this case, it is also the name of a legendary acoustic music ensemble from Chile, Inti-Illimani. This band evolved in musical as well as political spirit in 1967 as a group of students enrolled at the University of Santiago in Chile.

Veterans of the "New Song" movement (Nueva Canción), the group has established itself as the leading proponent of this popular musical wave. In 1973, the group was exiled from their homeland when a political coup overturned the government of Salvador Allende. In 1988, Inti-Illimani was allowed to return to Chile, by this time having garnered international fame and respect through most of the globe. Today, the group celebrates its thirtieth anniversary in the music world with a U.S. tour and a brand new release called Arriesgaré La Piel (I Will Risk My Skin) on the Xenophile label. The tour, which started on October 25 at Clayton College/Morrow, Georgia, is scheduled to visit about ten cities, ending at Stanford, California's Lively Arts Center on November 15, 1996. Together, the eight members of Inti-Illimani create an acoustical musical salad of Andean folk, African, Latin American, flamenco and classical musical elements. In their performance, the group handles over 30 wind, string and percussion instruments, which they have already mastered.. The only rule the group observes is that they work within the limits of acoustic instruments. Over the years their music has evolved from political protest to human freedom and social justice themes. Inti-Illimani has released over twenty albums, and have performed on every continent within the past few years. Its members are: Horacio Salinas, musical director/composer/guitar/cuatro/tiple/charango/percussion and vocals; José Seves, composer/guitar/ quena/sikus/rondador/guitarron/congas/Peruvian cajon and vocals; Jorge Coulon, composer/guitar/tiple/harp/hammered dulcimer/rondador and vocals; Marcelo Coulon, guitar/quena/piccolo/bass/flute/guitarron and vocals, Horacio Duran, charango/cuatro/violin/percussion and vocals: Max Berru, percussion/guitars and vocals; Pedro Villagra, sax/flute/piccolo/congas/sikus/clarinet/mandolin and vocals: and Efren Manuel Viera, Latin percussion/baritone sax, and clarinet.