Known for their open-minded musical approach, Inti-Illimani continues to allow for its own evolution while staying true to its musical roots. Since 2002, Inti has welcomed four new members, and so the changing of the guards, so to speak, only strengthens the Inti legacy-- like always at an Inti performance, one can expect the musicians to trade instruments with staggering fluidity, perform classic songs with fresh air breathed into them, and entertain with personal anecdotes and expressions. Manuel Meri o, current musical director and member since 2001, sees Inti's 2002 release Lugares Comunes (Common Places) as the point at which the present ensemble came together. Daniel Cantillana (violin, vocals) posits that the classic repertoire, which the younger Intis have mastered, is not a constraint but rather that it "establishes an intangible aesthetic framework that lets us know whether a song can fit.It is our identity, and if it determines what we do, it does so very subtly."

As founding member and Inti constant Jorge Coulon remarks, "What pleases me about this group today is that the creative risks it is taking are very much in keeping with our history while opening us up to many perspectives, many possibilities." Pequeño Mundo, their most recent album, continues Inti's exploration of Latin American, Afro-Latin, and Italian sounds and includes the group's first foray into jazz-flavored composition. Pequeño Mundo also features appearances by several special guests, including former founding member Max Berru, past members Pedro Villagra and Renato Freyggang, and longtime collaborator and dear friend Patricio Manns.

Among many new projects is the scoring of Mike Nguyen's animated film, My Little World. This film, by its own words, "aims to express the beautiful simplicity of life that often gets overlooked, and to capture the feeling of true friendship and community." Tu Pequeño Mundo, the title track to their newest release, offers fans a preview to the Inti-composed soundtrack of this unique, work-in-progress film.

Inti-Illimani (Inti-E-gee-manee), from the Aymara dialect, means "Sun of the Illimani," in reference to the mountain at La Paz, Bolivia. It is therefore a kind of paradox that the history of Inti-Illimani began underground, in a dark canteen of Santiago's Arts and Trades School of the Technical University of State. It was there in the 1960's that the founding members met and began playing music together. Originally on the path to engineering, they would soon discover that their true destinies lie not in trade, but in the arts. This love of music encouraged their restless souls to explore the indigenous cultures of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina. In these poorest, purest and ancient cultures, they discovered not only Andean music and therefore their roots, but corners of the world in need of voice. Inti-Illimani's music quickly became Latin America's visceral link between pueblo and people, vivified in Nueva Canción.

Nueva Canción (new song) is not only the name of the early Inti-Illimani recording which propelled them into global recognition and popularity, but is also the name of the socio-political, artistic movement of the 1970's and 80's throughout Latin America, seeking to resurrect and celebrate the traditional folk sounds of Latin culture while delivering messages of social change and revolution. It played a powerful role in the many uprisings against oppressive governments during these times, and many of its messengers faced censorship, exile, forced disappearance and worse. Inti-Illimani was no exception.

In 1973, Chilean president Salvador Allende was deposed during a coup d' tat when Augusto Pinochet took control of the country; overnight the democratic atmosphere of Chile disappeared. The Intis were on tour in Europe, and found themselves without patria or passport, in sudden political and artistic exile. Italy became their home for the next 15 years. Separated from beloved family members, friends and their homeland, the coup d' tat and their subsequent exile dramatically changed their personal stories, as well as the story of Inti-Illimani, forever. Inti-Illimani became, and remains, South America's ambassadors of human expression. In 1988, they were unexpectedly allowed back into Chile by the same military government which had banished them. They were warmly welcomed home by the Chilean people, with 6,000 fans greeting them at the airport; their arrival was symbolic of the end of a tragic, stifling era. They soon after gave a home-coming concert, attended by 130,000 people for whom Inti's music had become a common voice, a communal place for the dispossessed as well as for the Chilean spirit. They moved home permanently in 1990, coinciding with the official resignation on Pinochet.

What followed were many performances and collaborations inspired by and born out of their own struggle, and the struggles of the bereaved across the world. In honor of slain guitarist, poet, and singer-songwriter, Victor Jara, Inti-Illimani gave a "purifying" concert at Victor Jara Stadium, to heal the residue of atrocities committed there. This was followed by various Amnesty International Concerts in South America as well as the UK, where Inti-Illimani appeared on stage with Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracey Chapman, Youssou'n'Dour, Mercedes Sosa, Wynton Marsalis, and others. In February of 1989, Inti-Illimani performed in the Berlin Song Festival just weeks after the demolition of the wall. On September 21, 2008, Inti-Illimani gave a concert in celebration of the 100th birthday of former president Salvador Allende, at the Plaza de la Constitucion (Constitution Square) in front of the presidential Palace. They played 100 songs in his honor, without pause, in this historic performance.

Inti-Illimani on stage offers passion and poetry that is mantra for peace in the world and within ourselves. As Coulon remarks, "We are not political in [the propaganda] sense, but we have always been politically engaged. We have a concept about society and about the relationship between human beings, and we try to translate our ideas into our sound, not to be part of one political party or another but in the sense to bring about a better world."

Inti-Illimani has appeared on Amnesty International stages with Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Mercedes Sosa, and Wynton Marsalis; at benefit concerts for the Victor Jara foundation with Peter Gabriel, Paco Pe a, John Williams, Emma Thompson, Karen Matheson, Maria Farantouri, Salsa Celtica, and the Rambert Dance Company, also sharing the stage with Federico Fellini, Patricio Manns, Arja Saijonmaa, Holly Near, Mercedes Sosa, Yousssou'n'Dour, and Pete Seeger.

In 1982, they were nominated for a British Academy Award (TV's most original band). In 1984, their platinum, BBC record, El Vuelo del Condor (Flight of the Condor), received a British Academy of Music nomination (best soundtrack of the 1982 BBC film The Flight of the Condor). In 1985, they won an INDIE award from the National Association of Independent Record Distributors, USA. They were honored with the 1990 Lion of Venice Award from Italy, and in both 1991 and 1999, were named Group of the Year by Chile's Entertainment Journalists Association. EJAC also awarded them Best Record of the Year in 1991, for Leyenda. In 1997, UC Berkeley honored them with the Human Rights Award. In 2004, the Indie Acoustic Project awarded their album Lugares Comunes, as one of their Best CD's of 2001 to 2003 Awards. In addition to their prolific tours and recordings, Inti Illimani's music was used for the award-winning documentary Devil's Miner (2004), a moving portrait following two young brothers as they work the silver mines of Cerro Rico, Bolivia.

In 2009, Inti-Illimani collaborated with French-Canadian singer Francesca Gagnon, aka the “Voice of Alegria” of Cirque du Soleil.  Like Inti-Illimani, Francesca toured the world, inspiring audiences with her powerful, singularly sparkling voice and energy. In 2010, they released their recording, Meridiano (Warner Latin), which highlights the most stunning moments of their collaboration thus far in a spellbinding, dreamlike, intimate and alluring collection of compositions from both Cirque de Soleil and Inti-Illimani.  The cultural exchange between these renowned international artists is endorsed and supported by the Embassy of Canada in Santiago, Chile and the Quebec Delegation in New York.

With a program that mixes popular songs from Cirque Du Soleil with beloved compositions from Inti-Illimani’s vast repertoire, this collaboration celebrates, arouses, rekindles, and motivates the human spirit, transporting the listener to a world with a universal language, a world where we celebrate our differences be that of culture, color or creed.  Together, their experimental, imaginative reinterpretation of each other’s music produces an impressive musical dialogue, “illustrative of music's indefatigable prowess as a place of peaceful encounter for the cultures of the world. KPFK Los Angeles

In August 2012, Inti-Illimani launched their 45^th anniversary with “La Máquina del Tiempo” – The Time Machine: 2 concerts held at the traditional Teatro Caupolican in Santiago, Chile. Joining Inti-Illimani for these concerts were some of the most important figures in Chilean music: Illapu, Luis La-Bert, Andrés Perez, Nano Stern, Joe Vasconcellos, Alexis Venegas, Fernando Ubiergo. A few days later Inti-Illimani and their guests got together at the Universidad de Chile radio station’s Sala Master for a live recording of this encounter. This landmark new recording named for the tour, “La Máquina del Tiempo” – The Time Machine, features a double CD & DVD. The official release date is March, 2013.

As part of their worldwide 45^th Anniversary celebration, they completed a US tour in the Fall of 2012. Each concert featured songs from every era of Inti-Illimani’s prolific history. The tour was a huge success, with several sold-out halls, stunning reviews, international TV [via CNN, Telemundo], and perhaps most especially, Inti-Illimani conducted extraordinary outreach workshops along the way from inner city schools to correctional institutions. A Southern Exposure Grant awarded to Inti-Illimani, from the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation, made much of this tour possible, and allowed Inti’s unique story and cultural insight to touch many lives- from audience members to disadvantaged youth alike. The 45^th Anniversary Tours will continue throughout 2013, as both Chileans and the global community reflect on the 40^th anniversary of the coup in Chile on September 11, 1973.

Inti-Illimani is also developing a new orchestral program, since their initial foray with symphony orchestra in the 90's, which culminated in the 1999 release of Sinfonico (Symphonic). In their performances with symphonies and children's choirs, their resonant sound finds a new dimension of emotion and presence. Based on their musical expertise as well as their socio-political past, Inti-Illimani is also currently seeking to partner with universities for the development of a Residency Project, which would be appropriate for and an exciting addition to a range of collegiate departments, such as Latin American Studies, Ethnomusicology, Political Science (specifically in relation to political exile), and Intercultural Relations, to name a few.

(January 2013. Please discard any previously dated materials.)