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Landfill harmonic follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a paraguayan musical youth group of kids that live next to one of South America’s largest landfills.
This unlikely orchestra plays music from instruments made entirely out of garbage.
Recycled Orchestra of Cateura
Cateura, located on the outskirts of Asuncion in Paraguay, is a community formed around the landfill. Most people here make their living by selling plastic bottles or anything they can recycle from garbage. There is trash everywhere, and poverty and lack of education are a bad combination for the future of its inhabitants - mainly children and young people who are prone to delinquency and drugs.
But for the past six years, a light of hope has been shining in Cateura, through MUSIC.
It's the Recycled Orchestra. It got that name because all the instruments these kids play are made with materials found in the trash. Old water pipes become saxophones. Forks, knives, spoons and coins become the keys. Cans and bake trays are used to make violins, and percussion drums are made with X-rays and wooden pallets or trash cans.
"Garbage is not garbage. If you have creative ideas, you can do anything with garbage."-Gómez
And the orchestra is illuminating Cateura. Until a couple of years ago, no one had ever heard of this place. But all that changed thanks to the trailer of a documentary film that is now being released:
"Landfill Harmonic."
In recent years, The Recycled Orchestra has been invited to perform concerts worldwide. It has received awards from the Royal Crowns of the Netherlands and Spain. Favio Chávez and the children of Cateura have given lectures at the famous TED conferences, and they are inspiring millions.
On 14th of July, 2015,
Recyled Orchestra of
Catuera performed for
Pope Francis.
In slums like Cateura, even houses are made from recycled garbage. A normal violin would cost more than a house. But here, the impossible becomes possible, and the music that comes from recycled instruments is not only giving hope to the children of this community in Paraguay, but also around the world.
Following Paraguay's example, in 2014 a recycled orchestra was created in Spain, and it already has 50 children that were at risk of social exclusion. This is the first of several projects that are being inspired by Cateura.
It all started with an idea of an environmental technician and music teacher to take children out of the streets and out of the landfill. Favio Chávez, who used to be the choirmaster of his church, directs this innovative project.
"This is a social project that uses music as a catalyst," Chávez explained. "We are working intensively with many families and many children. We propose a life change, projected
into the future. This is a mission. I feel God's presence. I believe things happen according to His plans."
Thanks to the help of Nicolás Gómez, a trash picker, who was in charge of finding the materials to manufacture the musical instruments since the beginning.
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