The Band
The "Inti" is an eight-member all male band. Each member plays four to seven instruments, in addition to singing solo and together in harmony. Their sound is melodic and varied with breathy panpipes and powerful congas. Guitar, bass, saxophone, flute, violin, cymbals, and other Latin percussion weave cultural tones into expressive layers. "Inti" sing famous Spanish poems and traditional ballads.
History
The Inti-Illimani (pronounced Inte-E-gee-mane), formed in 1967. “Inti” translates to sun and “Illimani” is a Bolivian mountain according to the group's official web site.
The founders were engineering students at Santiago Technical University in Chile, until they fell in love with music said band founder Jorge Coulon, in a Spanish interview.
The group's music carries political undertones, but their emphasis is on musical artistry. Coulon said that politics, in its grand sense, is the interaction of human kind and so all art is political to some extent. He later added that the world has a lot of ignorance but that human nature is the same in all countries and “when people get to know each other, they realize they are all the same.”
Concert at the Americas Society
During other songs, the audience appeared relatively subdued, though Coulon did not take this as a sign of disinterest. He said that the superficial reaction of North Americans may be more stoic than Latin Americans, though inside they are just as moved.
His assessment was corroborated by one concertgoer who said this was the best concert she had seen at the American Society. She said she experienced a “feeling of being one entity with the entertainment” and that the concert bonded people, bringing them together the way art should.
The show also included a warmly-welcomed surprise performance by Francesca Gagnon, the Canadian singer known for her lead in Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria.
The America Society, a nonprofit dedicated to understanding issues of contemporary Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada. They offer free public concerts and events, for more information visit: http://www.as-coa.org/.
