In the 1960s the musical group, "Los Incas" performed the song El Condor Pasa in Paris where it was heard by Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkel. "Los Incas" told Simon, perhaps through ignorance, that the song was a 19th century musical composition by an anonymous composer. Simon became interested in the song and composed new lyrics for the melody. The song appeared on Simon and Garfunkel's 1970 album Bridge over Troubled Water.

In 1970 Alomía Robles' son, Armando Robles Godoy, filed a copyright lawsuit against Simon and demonstrated that song had been composed by his father and that his father had copyrighted the song in the United States in 1933. Robles Godoy said that the lawsuit was almost friendly and that he bears no ill will towards Simon for what he considers a misunderstanding.