| Inti-Illimani | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Years Active: | 1967–2004 Inti-Illimani Histórico 2004–present Inti-Illimani Nuevo |
| Origin: | Santiago, Chile |
| Label: | EMI-Odeon, Picap, Warner Music, Xenophile |
| Associated Acts: | Violeta Parra, Víctor Jara, Quilapayún, Ángel Parra, Isabel Parra, Luis Advis, Sergio Ortega, Pablo Neruda, Patricio Manns, Illapu, Daniel Viglietti |
| Website: | Inti-illimani (R) Website |
| Current Members: | Horacio Salinas José Seves Horacio Durán Jorge Coulón Max Berrú Marcelo Coulón José Miguel Camus |
| Past Members: | (1967–1973) Pedro Yáñez (director), Oscar Guzmán, Ciro Retamal, Ernesto Pérez de Arce (1974–present) Renato Freyggang, Efren Viera, Daniel Cantillana, Manuel Meriño, Christian González, Juan Flores, Cesar Jara |
Inti-Illimani (pronounced as /es/; from Quechuan Inti and Aymara Illimani) are an instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile. The band 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. When the 1973 Chilean coup d'état took place, they were on tour in Europe and were unable to return to their country where their music was proscribed by the ruling military junta of Augusto Pinochet. In Europe their music took on a multifarious character, incorporating elements of European baroque and other traditional music forms to their Latin American rhythms, creating a fusion of modern world music. Their name means 'Sun of the Golden Eagle' in Aymara.
The group was formed by students at the Universidad Técnica del Estado at Santiago, Chile in 1967.[1] In 1973 while they were on tour abroad, General Augusto Pinochet launched a coup d'état 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" as they remained in 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, supporting the "No" side during the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite.
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-Illimani Histórico.[2] From 2005 onwards, there has been two groups.
In August 1967 Inti-Illimani's earliest membership consisted of:
In 1968 Inti-Illimani's membership consisted of:
Current line-up of the "Inti-Illimani Nuevo":
Current line-up of the "Inti-Histórico":
Other members in the history of the group: