Lest some who look in might think that tea chests and wash tubs are the end-of-all constructions, it is suggested that those with a "creative instinct" should take a look at:

'A way out of the landfill': Paraguay kids play Mozart with violins made from trash

> CATEURA, Paraguay -- The sounds of a classical guitar come from two big jelly cans. Used X-rays serve as the skins of a thumping drum set. A battered aluminum salad bowl and strings tuned with forks from what must have been an elegant table make a violin. Bottle caps work perfectly well as keys for a saxophone.

> A chamber orchestra of 20 children uses these and other instruments fashioned out of recycled materials from a landfill where their parents eke out livings as trash-pickers, regularly performing the music of Beethoven and Mozart, Henry Mancini and the Beatles.

> A concert they put on for The Associated Press also featured Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and some Paraguayan polkas.

> Rocio Riveros, 15, said it took her a year to learn how to play her flute, which was made from tin cans. "Now I can't live without this orchestra," she said.

> Word is spreading about these kids from Cateura, a vast landfill outside Paraguay's capital where some 25,000 families live alongside reeking garbage in abject poverty.

> 'We're doing the impossible'

> The youngsters of "The Orchestra of Instruments Recycled From Cateura" performed in Brazil, Panama and Colombia this year, and hope to play at an exhibit opening next year in their honor at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Ariz.


The article is quite long, so I won't attempt to post more than the above short clip. The page linked has some pictures one should see to get the full meaning of what's been done, and there are additional links to related articles that might be of interest.

The article mentions a Facebook page and a YouTube posting, but doesn't give a link to them (????)

According to what's given, the instruments may not look like much, but they are real instruments. Much credit apparently should go to the "music shop guy" who's put most of them together, but from what can be seen his claim "give me the plans and I'll make you a helicopter" may not be too idle a boast.

Makes me a little sad that we don't have trash dumps (officially) here. All we have are landfills where everything is crushed and buried immediately on arrival.

John