May 28 (UPI) — The story of the Cateura Recycled Instruments Orchestra, a Paraguayan music project born in a vulnerable community surrounding the Cateura landfill in Asunción, will reach U.S. stages this Saturday with the world premiere of Basura, a musical produced by Gloria Estefan at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.
The production, inspired by the internationally recognized group led by Favio Chávez, tells how children and young people from low-income backgrounds learned music using instruments they built themselves from recycled materials recovered from the landfill.
“Taking the story of real people and of a country like Paraguay here in the United States are stories that are still waiting to be discovered, so it remains an important undertaking,” Chávez said in a recent interview with Paraguayan news outlet NPY.
“We have to understand that this musical is also a major risk for these producers,” Chávez said.
The musical will feature original music by Gloria Estefan and her daughter, Emily Estefan, as well as elements connected to Paraguayan culture, including phrases in the Guaraní language, one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in South America, and compositions in 6/8 rhythm, characteristic of Paraguayan polka.
“These people are placing Paraguay on one of the best and most important artistic stages in the world,” Chávez said.
The production is based on the story of the Cateura Orchestra, founded by Chávez in 2006 in an area marked by some of the country’s highest levels of poverty.
The community is home to nearly 150,000 people, and residents face extreme vulnerability, periodic flooding caused by overflows of the Paraguay River and a lack of basic services and adequate infrastructure.
The project uses recycled instruments that imitate violins, violas, cellos, double basses, guitars, saxophones, trumpets and percussion instruments, all made from waste recovered from the landfill.
“The world sends us trash, we send back music,” became one of the project’s emblematic phrases.
In addition to teaching music, the initiative seeks to provide educational and social opportunities to vulnerable youths.
According to Chávez, the program also includes scholarships and academic support so members can continue their studies and gain access to better job opportunities.
“We do not stop at simply bringing the kids onto a stage to receive applause, but we also support them so they study something,” he explained. “Most of them maybe music, but if not music, then another career that allows them to have a better future.”
The Cateura Orchestra gained international recognition following the 2015 documentary “Landfill Harmonic” and shared stages or collaborations with artists including Metallica, Megadeth, Stevie Wonder and Damon Albarn, leader of Gorillaz and Blur.
Metallica invited the Paraguayan group to open part of its South American tour in 2014, while members of Megadeth participated in project activities and presentations connected to the documentary.
Basura will run from May 30 through July 12 in Atlanta. The production is directed by Michael Greif, known for productions such as Rent and Dear Evan Hansen, with a script by Karen Zacarías and musical supervision by Alex Lacamoire, a Grammy and Tony Award winner for Hamilton.
Gloria Estefan said in previous interviews that she was deeply moved after watching Landfill Harmonic and decided to become personally involved in the project because of its message of resilience and social transformation through music.