Jorge Milchberg, the composer of “El Condor Pasa,” passes away at age 93

Jorge Milchberg, a singer and composer best known for his 1960s adaptation of the Andean tune “El Condor Pasa,” has passed away in Paris at the age of 93, the Argentine embassy announced on Friday.Milchberg, a Polish immigrant who had been living in France since 1955, was born in Buenos Aires in 1928.

He passed away on August 20, but his family and the embassy did not make their death announcement until Friday.Milchberg, a pianist with classical training, was also a well-known performer on the charango, an Andean plucked-string guitar.

He was the man behind the legendary Andean music group Los Incas, also known as Urubamba, which was established in the 1950s.The folk rock group Simon and Garfunkel of New York popularised “El condor pasa” with English lyrics on their 1970 album “Bridge over Troubled Water,” which was originally composed and sung by Los Incas in 1963.

The initial inspiration for “El Condor Pasa” came from a 1913 orchestral adaptation of the same-named musical drama by Peruvian composer Daniel Alomia Robles.