Facio Santillan is an

Argentinean Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

flute player, specialising in the Quena. He rose to international fame in 1970 with his recording of the Andes folk anthem, El Condor Pasa, released initially as a single and later as a track on the Flutes of the Andes LP record series on the French label Riviera The child of a large family, Santillan was born and raised in

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a sur ...

province in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He began playing the “quena” as a young boy, developing his skills both technically and also in phrasing, tone production and vibrato. From 1960, he played with the ensemble Los Amigos de Amambay, travelling and performing throughout Argentina and Spanish America. In 1970 he was invited to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to record a selection of Andes flute repertoire for Riviera, accompanied by a small ensemble usually consisting of guitar, bass and tambour. El Conder Pasa was released as a single and three albums followed under the French title Sortiléges De La Flûte Des Andes or Flutes of the Andes in English speaking countries. Billboard Magazine issue for 25 July 1970, reported 60,000 copies of the single sold in the first half of that year alone Santillan was particularly popular in France, West

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

during the 1970s. He appeared on the German TV variety shows Die Drehscheibe (1970 and 1971) and Drei mal neun (1971). In 1971 he was also a guest artist at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, sharing the stage with Nancy Wilson, Ivan Rebroff,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

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and

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...

. In 2000, he was awarded by the Government of Santiago del Estero, the Biannual Music Prize "Ricardo Rojas" in recognition of his dedication to Culture. He later settled in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany, where he founded a recording studio and currently resides.

Discography

* ''Flutes of the Andes'' (Riviera) 1970 * ''Flutes of the Andes Vol. 2'' (Riviera) 1971 * ''Flutes of the Andes Vol. 3'' (Riviera) 1972 * ''Facio Santillan'' (Intercord) 1977

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santillan, Facio Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Argentine musicians Argentine folk flautists Year of birth missing (living people) Argentine emigrants to Germany