With teachers and students mixed together performing songs from the emblematic Chilean musical group, the in-person course Musical Interpretation and Sound Identity in Inti Illimani concluded in the theater of the Recoleta Cultural Corporation, which was organized by the Sol del Illimani Foundation – Cultures del Sur and the Open University of Recoleta, through its Institute of Culture and Popular Art (ICAP).
After eight sessions and satisfying the desires of the participants, the first course taught by the members of the Inti Illimani group came to an end, addressing in each of its days the experience and exploration of the instruments that constitute the musical proposal and identity. sound forged in more than fifty years of experience.
In the sessions, the musical work of the group was reviewed, which has been dedicated to popular music with Latin American roots and has had influences from various parts of the world. The members of Inti Illimani who guided the classes explained, based on their repertoire, the use and sound exploration of each of the instruments or a family of them, from their experience, their history and the social and political contexts they have faced. set.
When opening the eighth and last session, Jorge Coulon in his speech indicated his satisfaction with this first experience and stated that he felt it was a first step in a path of work between the Sol del Illimani Foundation - and more specifically the Escuela Popular del Sur - and the Open University of Recoleta. He added that the participation and willingness of the students stood out, who from their own approaches and experiences had enriched the course work.
For their part, the different students consulted throughout the eight sessions expressed their satisfaction with the contents, with the way in which the course was developed, and with how the group members transferred their knowledge. Furthermore, they appreciated the possibility of free access to the course, of being able to learn this knowledge firsthand, especially in contexts in which education and training continue to be very difficult to access in Chile.
They distinctively highlighted that the option of being able to delve deeper into an instrument or family of theirs in each session was a very good decision, since it allowed them to get closer to these sonorities, and to know, according to the needs of each one, more than one. that particular instrument.
In relation to the last session, the students celebrated the possibility of working with their instruments as a group - blocks of guitars, winds, strings and percussion - to finish, performing five songs together to Inti Illimani.
After the group photo on the theater stage, one of the ICAP coordinators, Jordi Berenguer, highlighted the completion of the course, remembering the first conversations with the members of the foundation and the group, which was the moment when construction began. the path that permanently had almost complete attendance and that provided the possibility of addressing aspects of the history of Latin American and popular music in Chile.
Photography: Carolina Meneses
