Inti-Illimani Celebrates Chile

While old man winter returns to New England, it's still summertime in Chile.

Legendary Chilean folk collective Inti-Illimani brought their southern-hemispheric style to the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts Thursday.

Named after a mountain in the Bolivian Andes, the earliest lineup of the group met in 1967 as students at the Universidad Técnica del Estado in Santiago, Chile. Nearly four decades after the release of their debut album, "Si Somos Americanos," Inti-Illimani has released forty-three albums, including three albums in 2006. Over the years, Inti-Illimani has performed throughout five continents and in over 100 North American cities. Their current stop at UConn is part of their two-phase, 40 concert tour across North America in celebration of their 40th anniversary.

The larger, main stage of Jorgensen was hidden behind black curtains as a smaller, two-tiered stage was placed much closer to the audience. This created an illusion that shrunk the concert space. The effect worked wonders, as there was a much more intimate interaction between the performers and the audience.

With such a worldly performance came a diverse crowd, and founding member Jorge Coulon spoke in Spanish for a majority of the performance. However, in between songs, he joked, "I will try to speak the dialect of this region in respect to the minority."

Although Coulon was the only founding member performing in the octet, Inti-Illimani's performance had the feel of a well-traveled, tightly-knit band.

One of the most impressive aspects of Inti-Illimani was all of the members' ability to sing. Selections "La Guitarrera Que Toca," "Lo Que Mas Quiero" and "Q'Apac Chunchu" had seven vocalists providing lush soundspaces.

"Lo Que Mas Quiero," had audience members tapping their laps as if their legs were congas. Impromptu clapping from the audience also added flavor to the song. After the tune, an audience member yelled "Viva Chile!" Coulon laughed and added "Viva Argentina, viva Colombia, viva Bolivia," listing additional South American and Caribbean nations as a sign of respect.

Another highlight was Bolivian tune "Vino del Mar." The song started off with a barrage of guitars, playing intricate textures of quickly played notes. While those instrumentalists were playing, other members guided the audience to a clap-along. Even though the song was in a 7/4 tempo difficult for large audiences to follow the rhythm, the audience did an excellent job clapping in unison.

With wonderful songs and band members changing instruments between every tune, there was a natural energy within Inti-Illimani's two sets.

"I was really impressed with the musical talent of the band," said Whitney Van Sciver, a 6th-semester English major. "Each member was able to play nearly every instrument on the stage."

The performance was even nostalgic for some audience members. "I spent a few years of my childhood in Chile and out of all the Chilean folk groups that I've seen as a kid, none compared to the pleasant awesomeness that I saw in Inti-Illimani tonight," said Mike St. Clair, a 4th-semester Physiology & Neurobiology major. "I'm really glad I came because I got to relive some of my Chilean heritage,"

When the night was over, the Storrs audience warmly applauded the Chilean octet. Inti-Illimani's tour continues this Saturday with a performance at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.