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Preview
of INTI
ILLIMANI
October 6, 1999
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Soledad Falabella
In Latin America,
art and politics have been historically intertwined in many
ways. One of the
arguments that Father Bartolomé de las Casas used in order
to argue that the inhabitants of the colonies were human beings
to the King of Spain was indeed their capacity to produce art
and especially to sing. Ernesto Cardenal, not only a priest,
but also a poet, was a crucial secretary of state for the Nicaraguan
Revolutionary Government. He coined the phrase: "A la ética
por la estética" ("Let's do ethics through aesthetics"). In
Chile, Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda was a Presidential candidate
in the 1970 elections for the Chilean Communist Party (eventually
stepping down in favor of Allende), and the music of Violeta
Parra, Quilapayún, Víctor Jara, Patricio Mans, Los Jaivas and
Inti-Illimani was crucial for mass communication of the passion
and meaning of the Unidad Popular's political ideas.
By
mixing Chilean folklore, oral tradition with modern music
(Edith Piaf and cabaret were
very important for Violeta Parra, who spent some years
in Paris where she set up a "peña", the Spanish Civil war songs
were always present during the Unidad Popular), folk and
rock music (Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, the Beatles,
and Led Zeppelin were an important source of inspiration
and dialogue) and sometimes classical music (there is an
important Baroque legacy in the colonies, especially around
in the Andean region) these artists contributed in one of
Latin America's most historical political and cultural movements.
As such they became important agents in the social change
that was taking place. With their music they created a fertile
ground for communication and expression of the new social
ideals. Also, this musical artists ruptured what had been
a highly hierarchical art scene in Chile, with rigid divisions
between "high" and "low" culture: high culture was for
the upper class who lived in the city, low culture for
the lower
class who lived in the country and the shanty towns.
The appeal of the new popular
music crossed the cultural barriers between classes and center/periphery.
It is no accident hat these artists came from diverse class
and cultural backgrounds. For instance, Víctor Jara came
from Santiago's (in)famous "poblaciones" (shanty towns);
Violeta Parra, a miner's daughter, came from the North of
Chile and was able to stand out in a traditionally male-dominated
world; and Patricio Mans was from the deep-south Mapuche
territory. In the same way, Inti-Illimani brought together
diverse elements, taking advantage of the rich diversity
of Chilean and Latin American culture.
One of the special trademarks
of Inti-Illimani, however, is that its members are all formally
trained musicians. The Quilapayún, whose song "Venceremos" can
be regarded as the hymn of the Unidad Popular, have been
traditonally seen as more focused on "hard-core" politics.
On the other hand -- and bearing in mind that this is quite
a manichean reduction - Inti-Illimani are generally as concerned
with the formal musicality as with the political message.
Following the 1973 coup, the
members of the group were forced to go into exile. In Italy
they not only became influenced by popular and classical
European music, but also came into contact with a wide and
diverse scope of musical production from Africa, Asia and
Latin America. Exile in that sense allowed for a maturation
of the "soul" of Inti-Illimani, product of the dialogue with
the larger world. During exile, they worked to maintain the
unity of the Chilean people through their concerts and music,
and to raise consciousness about the political and ethical
consequences of military oppression in many Latin American
countries. When my own family was exiled from Chile, Inti-Illimani's
music came with us, helping us to work through our nostalgia
for our lost soil, and giving us a sense of identity and
pride in our culture. Throughout the transition to democracy,
their music has been an important reminder of what Chile
historically stood for; and today, it remains a powerful
example of what we can be. Recently, Inti-Illimani performed
in the National Stadium - the same national stadium where
the military once rounded up its opponents to kill them,
and broke Víctor Jara's hands in a brutal display of repression.
Inti-Illimani's concert inaugurated the reincarnation of
the facility as Víctor Jara Stadium, reminding many Chileans
of both the beauty of our freedom and the high cost at which
it has come.
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