Children and adolescents from Moinho Cultural had the chance to exchange experiences with South American musicians during a cultural and educational activity held on the afternoon of this Friday (05.16) during the Festival América do Sul (South America Festival). The activities were coordinated by conductor Eduardo Martinelli and included the presence of South American musicians Raul Quiroga, Hector and Ivan Letelier.
Conductor Eduardo Martinelli explained that this afternoon’s activity was held with artists coming from our neighboring countries, from countries here in South America, where they get to share a bit of this musical experience, listen to Moinho Cultural’s students, and take part in a discussion circle together with the artists. “The goal is to address issues such as the difficulty of exchange that we have, especially with some more distant countries, like British Guiana [Guyana] and Suriname, and so, well, beyond the musical educational activity itself. We’re also having an exchange of expectations, an exchange of experience, an exchange of perspective among the artists visiting Moinho Cultural. Many of them, in fact, are experiencing the Pantanal for the first time, through this initiative of the Orquestra América do Sul (South America Orchestra).”
For the conductor, it’s very important to keep an educational activity within the festival. “If we don’t keep an educational music activity going today, music won’t exist tomorrow. Because the ones who will make music in the future are today’s children. So this is more than a concern, it’s an obvious fact. I’m going to die one day, my companions from my generation will also die one day. If we don’t have children, young people, renewing this art, this learning and this passion, all of it will have a hard time being carried forward. So our concern for children and young people is precisely about paying attention to, getting involved with, what we hold most precious. For the future of our culture, which is today’s children and young people.”
Musician Raul Quiroga, from Uruguay, came to take part in this beautiful celebration that is happening, and how cultural the Festival is. Raul plays classical guitar and electric guitar. “It’s a fabulous event, unlike many others; you can breathe culture here in Corumbá. And the Moinho Cultural project is something that ought to spread to other cities. Not just in Mato Grosso do Sul, but also São Paulo, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, because it’s an extreme example of how to educate a child. For example, to explain myself better — the surprise I got is that many children, when we arrived, were there waiting for us, and none had a cell phone in hand. And that, while they’re here studying, they’re keeping themselves from falling behind with this technology that’s become so complicated.”
Héctor Letelier also took part in this afternoon’s activity. He plays guitar, but also plays the quena, the zampoña, the antara and the charango. “We’re very grateful to be invited to join the orchestra. It was a beautiful piece of work. We really enjoy doing this kind of event, and more workshops, because we’ve already done it here in Paraná too, in Toledo and in the Marechal Rondon region — we also did it once across four cities. And it’s very beautiful for us, very rewarding.”
Ivan Letelier plays the zampoña, charango, guitar and sings. For him, these activities during the Festival help elevate folklore and all of South American music. “I’m part of this movement, so much so that I started playing and singing at ten years old. So having had this opportunity to learn, I love this kind of work.”
Moinho Cultural student Luiz Carlos Vilalva da Silveira is 13 years old, has been at Moinho for eight years, and plays classical guitar. “I think it’s really great because we get to learn more from new teachers and we can grow our knowledge much further. I learned a lot of things like respect, responsibility, discipline, and I also met a lot of new friends and played a lot — I like family.”
Tahani Melissa Hurtado de Moraes is 14 years old, plays violin, and has been at Moinho for 7 years. “I think it’s a very good experience for people who never had this kind of opportunity to join Moinho, to see this kind of performance, and also the Festival América do Sul is a very big festival that gives a lot of opportunities to artists who are just starting out, or to give performances, and it’s a really wonderful thing that society offers.”
Kauane Eloá de Abreu is 14 years old, plays violin, and has been at Moinho Cultural for four years. “I think it’s really great because of the cultural aspect too, which really stirs our hearts, and it’s a very good thing that here in Corumbá there’s such a strong culture, when it comes to the Pantanal, which has a lot of tourists coming here every year. I think it’s really great.”
