Recycled Orchestra of Cateura visits Kani Ka ʻŌpala exhibit
A group of music students from Paraguay made a little noise in the Bridge Gallery on May 4 when they came to tour the Kani Ka ‘Ōpala exhibit with its creator and UH Mānoa ethnomusicology instructor Benjamin Fairfield.
Their matching black t-shirts read, “El mundo nos envía basura … nosotros le devolvemos música.” The quote from the group’s director, Favio Chávez, instills an an inspiring perspective in his students:
“The world sends us garbage, we send back music.”
The talented young musicians are part of the world-renowned Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a youth ensemble that hails from a community on the skirts of the main landfill of Paraguay’s capital, Asunción. Like Fairfield, they play instruments made of garbage. Theirs are crafted by ganchero-turned-luthier Nicolás “Colá” Gómez—“Don Colá,” as the students affectionately call him—and other local artisans, who salvage materials from the landfill to create musical instruments.
The Recycled Orchestra is more than a musical group: it is a social initiative that provides children with access to arts education. The organization fosters creativity, discipline, and opportunity in a community shaped by economic hardship. Its story has reached global audiences through international performances with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Megadeth; a children’s book (Ada’s Violin); an upcoming Broadway show; and the documentary Landfill Harmonic.
The students enjoyed seeing the many instruments Fairfield and his students had made from discarded items—including Spam cans, rice bags and Hot Wheels—and also shared some of their own instruments. One girl played a few notes on a violin featuring a Sherwin-Williams paint can top and a bent spoon chin rest. Another played a flute made of metal scraps. Others carried a variety of percussion, woodwind and stringed instruments in their bags.
“Most of us see trash as worthless, as discards to be thrown away,” said Fairfield. “The Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay inspires us to think otherwise: these objects still have potential, still have a voice. And they extend this grace to people: no one is worthless, everyone has a voice, and all have a story to share.”
The Recycled Orchestra’s visit to Hawaiʻi was organized by the East-West Center and co-sponsored by the UH Mānoa Music Department. The group will be in residence with East-West Center Arts next week, and they will perform a free concert at 5:30 p.m. on May 8 at Capitol Modern in Honolulu.
