Recycled Orchestra of CATEURA

Recycled Orchestra of CATEURA

Paraguay

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The young musicians in this Orchestra have performed around the world. They've even met European royalty. Yet they live in a garbage dump in South America! 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.

Performers:
•Ana Maria Meza, 19 years old, Violin 1
•Celeste Elizabeth Fleitas Ortiz, 9 years old, Violin 2
•Victor Hugo Caceres Martinez, 23, Cello
•Angel Andres Riveros Cabrera, 21, Tenor Sax

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