"El Cóndor Pasa" (, Spanish for "The

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. One species, the And ...

Passes") is an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

musical piece Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

from the

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

El Cóndor Pasa EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a List of Shugo Chara! characters#El, character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (Stranger Things), Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fiction ...

'' by the

Peruvian Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...

composer Daniel Alomía Robles, written in 1913 and based on traditional

Andean music Andean music is a group of styles of music from the Andes region in South America. Original chants and melodies come from the general area inhabited by Quechua people, Quechuas (originally from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile), Aymara people, Aymar ...

, specifically

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

from

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Since then, it has been estimated that, around the world, more than 4,000 versions of the melody have been produced, along with 300 sets of lyrics. In 2004, Peru declared this song to be a part of its national cultural heritage. This song is now considered the second national anthem of Peru. The song was further popularised by a 1970 cover by

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

, with English lyrics by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

, on their '' Bridge over Troubled Water'' album. Their version is called "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)".

Original zarzuela version

In 1913, Peruvian songwriter Daniel Alomía Robles composed "El Cóndor Pasa", and the song was first performed publicly at the Teatro Mazzi in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. The song was originally a musical piece in the Peruvian zarzuela (musical play), ''

El cóndor pasa EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a List of Shugo Chara! characters#El, character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (Stranger Things), Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fiction ...

''. The zarzuela is written in prose and consists of one musical play and two acts. Its music was composed by Daniel Alomía Robles in 1913 and its script was written by Julio de La Paz (pseudonym of the Limenian dramatist Julio Baudouin). The piano arrangement of this play's most famous melody was legally registered on May 3, 1933, by The Edward B. Marks Music Corp. in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, under the number 9643.

Simon & Garfunkel version

In 1965, the American pop musician

heard for the first time a version of the melody by the band Los Incas in a performance at the in Paris in which both were participating. Simon became friendly with the band, later even touring with them and producing their first American album. He asked the band for permission to use the piece in his production. The band's director and founding member , who was collecting royalties for the piece as co-author and arranger, responded erroneously that it was a traditional Peruvian composition. Milchberg told Simon he was registered as the arrangement's co-author and collected royalties.

recorded the song under the title "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)", featuring English lyrics credited to Simon. The instrumental version by Los Incas was used as the base track. The duo included the song on their 1970 album, '' Bridge over Troubled Water'', and released it as a single in the US, where it reached number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart and number 6 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart, in fall 1970, and peaked at number 11 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100. ''

'' said that "Paul Simon's arrangement and lyrics turn a marvelous South American folk melody into a stunning commentary." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' called it a "sensitive and moving ballad". Later that year,

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

released a recording of Simon's version on his album '' It's Impossible'', while Julie Felix had a UK Top 20 hit with it, taking advantage of Simon & Garfunkel's decision not to release their version as a UK single.

Copyright lawsuit

In late 1970, Daniel Alomía Robles' son Armando Robles Godoy, a Peruvian filmmaker, filed a successful copyright lawsuit against Simon. The grounds for the lawsuit extended that the song had been composed by his father, who had copyrighted the song in the United States in 1933. Godoy said that he held no ill will towards Simon for what he considered a "misunderstanding" and an "honest mistake". "It was an almost friendly court case because Paul Simon was very respectful of other cultures. It was not carelessness on his part", said Godoy. "He happened to hear the song in Paris from a vernacular group Los Incas. He liked it, he went to ask the band for permission and they gave him the wrong information. Jorge Milchberg told him it was a traditional folk song from the 18th century and not my father's composition. It was a court case without further complications." Godoy subsequently wrote new Spanish lyrics for the song, taking Simon's version as a reference.

Charts

Certifications and sales

Other versions

Renowned Argentine guitarist and composer Eduardo Falú also adapted the song for solo guitar. Many other exceptional covers belong to Peruvian guitar players including: Raúl García Zárate, Manuelcha Prado, and Mario Orozco Cáceres. There is also a cover of the song sung by Trini López, and another cover in Chinese by

Teresa Teng Teng Li-Chun ( zh, t=鄧麗君, s=, p=Dèng Lìjūn; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, television personality, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to by some as the "Honorific nicknames i ...

. There are covers by Peruvian singers including: Yma Súmac, Roxsana, and Kesia Rivera with different lyrics. Famous singers

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

, Celia Cruz,

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

, José Feliciano, and Esther Ofarim also have their own covers of the song. In Canada, a version by the James Last Orchestra reached #46 on October 31, 1970, a week after the Simon and Garfunkel version hit its peak. In 2012, Ecuadorian musician Leo Rojas released his debut album ''Spirit of the Hawk'', which included a flute and pan flute version of the song. The song was uploaded on YouTube in October 2013, and has since reached over 400 million views.

References

Sources

*Colectivo Cultural Centenario El Cóndor Pasa, ed. (2013). ''El cóndor pasa…Cien años después''. Lima. . Registered in the National Library of Peru. *Salazar Mejía, Luis (2013). ''El misterio del cóndor: Memoria e historia de "El cóndor pasa…"''. Lima: Taky Onqoy Ediciones. . Registered in the National Library of Peru. *Cerrón Fetta, Mario (2014). ''Cuadernos de Música Peruana Nº 12''. Lima.Editorial/ Cuadernos de Música. Register: Legal deposit Nº2008-06894. Registered in the National Library of Peru. https://www.discogs.com/release/5991275-Leo-Rojas-Spirit-Of-The-Hawk

External links

78 rpm gramophone recording by Columbia records. Performer: Banda De La Marina Americana at The Internet ArchiveOriginal version for piano (recording from 1933)
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kQZHYbZkLs {{DEFAULTSORT:Condor Pasa, El Andy Williams songs Columbia Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Switzerland Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles Perry Como songs Peruvian songs Simon & Garfunkel songs Song recordings produced by Art Garfunkel Song recordings produced by Paul Simon Song recordings produced by Roy Halee Songs about birds Songs about South America Songs in Spanish 1913 songs 1970 singles