In the barrios of Paraguay, music arises from the garbage heaps and children find new dreams
The Inter-American Developmant Bank's Water and Sanitation Division, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), and the Cultural Center of the Office of External Relations proudly present the Orquesta De Instrumentos Reciclados (Orchestra of Recycled Instruments) of Cateura, Paraguay in their D.C. debut on August 27, 2013.
“The world sends us their garbage, we give them back music”
The Orchestra of Recycled Instruments is a mind-boggling creative effort. An innovative 18 member group of young musicians from Paraguay, the orchestra uses musical instruments made with recycled materials, resulting in a seamless combination of culture and social innovation.
Favio Chávez, the Orchestra’s visionary Director, used his ingenuity to put a team together to search the landfill for usable materials and craft musical instruments out of discarded materials. In Cateura, a village that grew around a landfill, children are often at risk of getting involved with drugs and gangs, but the Orchestra of Recycled Instruments has offered these young people new life opportunities through music.
In just a few years, their program has led to a thriving music school and a youth orchestra that performs internationally. The Orchestra is also the subject of a documentary, Landfill Harmonic, which is slated to be released in 2014.
The Orchestra of Recycled Instruments will have two presentations, both on August, 27, 2013. The performance at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will be at 6:00 p.m. at the Millennium Stage (2700 F St NW, Washington, DC at Foggy Bottom Metro station). This event is free, open to the public on a first come first serve basis.
This event will be held in the framework of the Regional Initiative for Inclusive Recycling, a joint project of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) and Water and Sanitation Division, both part of the IDB Group, Fundación Avina and Coca-Cola Latin America.