Resounding London Success For Paraguay’s “Cateura” Orchestra:
“Paraguayan music has transcended its borders and gained international recognition”. Although the Spanish-language website Korespa.com acknowledges the role of the harp as a symbol of that country’s cultural identity, it also hails the “vibrant fusion of indigenous, European and African influences” which were very much in evidence at London’s Lancaster House in the evening of January 26th. It was at this glamorous venue near Buckingham Palace, constructed in 1825 for the Duke of York, 2nd son of King George III, that the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura produced a performance that inspired an enthusiastic response from the audience of over 200.
As the advance press release from the Paraguayan Embassy , which hosted the event, pointed out, this music group evolved initially from a project launched in 2006 and is composed of young people and children who live in the community surrounding the Cateura landfill, the main garbage dump in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay.
Indeed, as was highlighted by the orchestra’s conductor, Fabio Chavez, while introducing each of its members (one of whom, the flute player, was only 13 year’s old and had never before been outside his country) astonishingly all their instruments, including the violins, cellos,trombone and even the harp had been made out of discarded solid household waste.
As promised in the published programme, the repertoire featured not only Paraguayan and Latin 
American classics such as “Tren Lechero”and “El Humaguaqueno / Carnavalito , but also John Lennon’s “Imagine” (on the trumpet), the bossa nova “Girl from Ipanema”, Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” and Mozart’s “Serenata Nocturna”. It was apparent why the orchestra has received so much global acclaim and was an unforgettable occasion for both the participants and everyone who attended.