Chilean group to perform at Quick Center

Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts will present a performance by Chilean musical group Inti-Illimani at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at the center, 1073 N. Benson Road. A pre-performance discussion will take place at 7:15 p.m. with Michelle Farrell, the school's assistant professor of modern languages and literatures.

The eight-member group, whose influences include jazz, classical, Afro-Cuban and Latin American music, will appear at the center as part of its "La Maquina del Tiempo" (The Time Machine) tour marking its 45th anniversary, according to a release.

The tour began in August in the band's hometown of Santiago, and will continue on to Turkey, the United Kingdom, Australia and across South America after the American tour.

The band will perform songs from its historical catalog during the Oct. 13 show and will have advance copies of a forthcoming two-CD release, "La Maquina del Tiempo."

The group, started in 1967 by students at Santiago's Technical University, was forced into exile when Pinochet came to power in 1973 for using its music to express the need for social change, the release states.

Members continued to record and tour, and their outspoken opposition to the Pinochet regime earned them a worldwide reputation as unofficial ambassadors of Chilean music.

In 1988, the band was unexpectedly allowed back into Chile by the same military government which had banished them, soon after which they gave a home-coming concert, attended by 130,000 people.

The group, having moved home in 1990 when Pinochet resigned, has welcomed four new members since 2002, the release states.

The band has performed at Amnesty International concerts with such artists as Sting, Peter Gabriel and Bruce Springsteen.

Its awards include Group of the Year in 1991 and 1999 from Chile's Entertainment Journalists Association, a Human Rights Award from U.C. Berkeley in 1997, the Lion of Venice Award in 1990 and the Indie Acoustic Project Award in 2004.

Tickets, $40, $30 and $25, may be bought at the box office at 203-254-4010 or online at www.quickcenter.com.