Search - Inti-Illimani :: Andadas

The Chilean folk group Inti-Illimani spent the years of 1973 to 1988 in Europe (exiled by the Pinochet military dictatorship, which apparently feared their celebration of indigenous culture as much as their populist lyrics). During those expatriate years, Inti-Illimani often found themselves playing for non-Spanish-speaking audiences and came to emphasize their exquisite chamber-folk instrumental work over their vocals. The band returned in triumph to its native country in 1988, however, and Andadas (recorded in '92 and finally released here) is the first Inti-Illimani album made at home in 20 years. As a result, the album places a renewed emphasis on lyrics and vocals. Eight of the 11 selections are songs, and the words come from such Latin American poets as Nicolas Guillen, Eugenio Ilona, and Patricio Manns. The same seamless harmonies that characterize the group's instrumental work are present in its singing, which is dominated by joined voices rather than solos. Inti-Illimani explicitly address the issue of their exile in the slow, ghostly "El Equipage del Destierro" ("The Luggage of the Banished"). In the CD booklet's English translation, Manns's words are, "I will let you assume that I abandoned my people, that I fled, breaking the cruel threshold as a terrified puma.... Yet I must confess I did not misplace one single grain of pollen, since they will not be able to separate me from this land." By contrast, other songs translated as "Loving You Dark Woman Till Death," "Elegant Look," and "Mulatto Woman" are lively, percussion-driven celebrations of romance and sensuality. --Geoffrey Himes