El Cóndor Pasa ("The Condor Goes by") is a
Peruvian zarzuela, or musical play, and its more
famous title song. In 2004 the piece was declared
Patrimonio cultural de la Nación, an official
part of Peru's cultural heritage. The music was
composed in 1913 by Daniel Alomía Robles and the
libretto by Julio Baudouin under the pseudonym
Julio de La Paz. It was published in 1933. The
story is set in a mine in Cerro de Pasco, and
deals with a tragic conflict between indians and
"sajones" (saxons), their European bosses. The
condor of the title symbolizes the ideal of
freedom. The song was originally wordless. The
singer calls on the mighty condor of the Andes to
take him back to the old Inca kingdom of Machu
Picchu. (In 1970, Paul Simon wrote his own lyrics to the song.)

El Condor pasa - in English (translation: andes.org)
Oh mighty Condor, owner of the skies,
take me home, up into the Andes, oh mighty Condor.
I want to go back to my native place to be
with my Inca brothers,
that's what I miss the most, oh mighty Condor.
Wait for me in Qosqo, in the main plaza,
so we can take a walk in Machu Pikchu and Wayna Pikchu.

- Keith Purtell