Few groups can rival the forty year career of Chilean folkloristas Inti Illimani. In the indigenous dialect of Aymara, “Inti” means sun, and “Illimani” is the name of a mountain in Bolivia. The group is indeed a sun that refuses to set behind the mountain of time, even after four decades. Formed in 1967 when the original members were engineering students at the Technical University of Santiago, Inti Illimani perfected their blend of Andean music with folk in informal gatherings known as peñas. During the late sixties, they emerged as principal players in what came to be known as the New Chilean Song Movement. The innovative mixing of various Latin American musical genres coupled with the politically leftist lyrics that characterized the movement played a vital role in the election of Salvador Allende to the presidency in 1970.

With Allende in power, Inti Illimani’s artistic role in Chile metamorphosed. They became de facto cultural ambassadors, touring the globe for el compañero presidente’s Popular Unity coalition government. When a U.S. backed coup ousted Allende’s government in 1973, the group was on tour in Europe. Upon hearing news of the murder of their friends, including folk singer Victor Jara, members of the group decided to stay in Italy. The new dictatorship, headed under General Augusto Pinochet, despised Nueva Cancion and barred the members of the group from re-entering Chile. Inti Illimani had become political exiles.

For the next fourteen years, Inti Illimani became the voice of protest as they had been once before during the late 1960’s. With classic songs such as “Chile Herido,” Inti Illimani lamented the continued existence of a dictatorship in a country where formal democracy had been the historical norm. In 1988, during the plebiscite on Pinochet’s dictatorship, they were allowed to return to Chile and were greeted by 10,000 adoring fans at the airport. In 1990, the group permanently resettled in Chile.

Recently, Inti Illimani has evolved to include many newer and younger band members. Likened to an “archetype,” Inti Illimani’s current manifestation is an eight piece ensemble complete with a brand new album, Pequeño Mundo. Pequeño Mundo has yet to be released in the United States. When it becomes available, fans can expect a perfect balance between the band’s historical legacy and a continued innovativeness. Manuel Meriño, the group’s artistic director, composed one of Pequeño Mundo’s brightest moments; “Rondombe,” a percussion heavy jazz flavored instrumental. Featuring former members and long time collaborators, Pequeño Mundo also harkens back to the early beginnings of Nueva Cancion with a remake of 1965 song by Patricio Manns, “La Guitarrera Que Toca.” Jorge Coulon, the last active founding member, believes that Pequeño Mundo “takes the sound and identity of Inti Ilimani like a starting base, but has a strong presence of the points of view of the younger musicians in the group. The blend between the roots, the strong musical identity and esthetic concept of Inti Illmani and the energy and innovative power of the new generation gives Pequeño Mundo a very special “aura.” It’s a very good CD to celebrate 40 years.”

As a cross generational group that possesses multiple musical talents, Inti Illimani can put on quite a show. I had the pleasure of seeing them live for the first time in Pasadena when they visited the Beckman Auditorium in October, 2004. Fans remarked with amazement about how every member of the group passed around an array of musical instruments before every song. Their musical arsenal is a reflection of the cultural mosaic that exists in Latin America. Inti Illimani plays over thirty wind, string and percussion instruments from Indigenous, Mestizo, European, and African cultures.

Marking their fortieth anniversary, Inti Illimani has embarked on an intercontinental tour that will feature more than forty stops in North America including this Saturday night in Pasadena at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium.