In Paraguay there is a town essentially built atop a landfill where adults pick through the latest heaps of trash for sellable goods and children are at risk of getting involved with drugs and gangs.
Things changed for the people of Cateura when an orchestra director and music teacher came to town with the notion of teaching the youth how to play violins and flutes. But they had a problem. Too many students for the number of instruments they brought.
Then, someone from the town brought something the musicians had never seen before: a violin made out of garbage. The town scrap dealers fashioned horns, violins, violas and guitars out of junk. The newly created orchestra used only assembled instruments and chose a new name, The Recycled Orchestra.
With the children inspired by a new passion and purpose, Beethoven never sounded so good.
“An upcoming feature-length documentary shows how trash and recycled materials can be transformed into beautiful sounding musical instruments,” according to the filmmaker’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/landfillharmonicmovie. “More importantly, it brings witness to the transformation of precious human beings.”
(WATCH the inspiring video below)