The song's origin and basis are unclear, with some thinking that the song commented on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, as the song was recorded three months after the assassination, although Simon & Garfunkel had performed the song live as Kane & Garr two months before the assassination.

This is one of my favourite songs. So I learnt the meaning … El condor pasa, “The condor passes”, denotes the spirit of freedom. It is about being in control of your life.

In 1964, the American music duo Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel released a song titled The Sound of Silence. Garfunkel, one half of the duo and co-writer of the famous song, summed up the meaning of this song by stating, “this is a song about the inability of people to communicate with each other” (Patton, 2023).

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.