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El Cóndor Pasa
Daniel Alomía Robles

Oh majestuoso Cóndor de los Andes,
llévame, a mi hogar, en los Andes,
Oh Cóndor.

Quiero volver a mi tierra querida y vivir
con mis hermanos Incas, que es lo que más añoro
oh Cóndor.

En el Cusco, en la plaza principal,
espérame
para que a Machu Picchu y Huayna Picchu
vayamos a pasear.


Oh majestic Condor of the Andes,
take me, to my home, in the Andes,
O Condor.

 I want to return to my beloved land and live
with my Incan brothers, which is what I miss the most
O Condor.

In Cusco, in the main square,
 wait for me
so we’ll go visit Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu
Let's go for a walk.


Peruvian songwriter Daniel Alomía Robles composed El Cóndor Pasa in 1913. The song was originally a musical piece in the Peruvian zarzuela (musical play), El cóndor pasa (The Condor Passes). In 1965, the American pop musician Paul Simon heard a version of the melody by the band Los Incas. The Simon & Garfunkel duo recorded the Los Incas version, adding English lyrics which included Paul Simon in the author credits under the song name El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could) in 1970. In late 1970, Daniel Alomía Robles' son Armando Robles Godoy, a Peruvian filmmaker, filed a successful copyright lawsuit against Paul Simon. This evening’s rendition, adapted by ensemble member Maximiliano Fernandez Escalona, uses the original Spanish text written by Julio de La Paz (pseudonym of the Limenian dramatist Julio Baudouin).