Music helping save the lives of Wayuu children

With enthusiasm, we continue to consolidate the project of the Wayuu Taya Intercultural Orchestra as a tool to contribute to the pedagogical, occupational, and ethical rescue of children and youth of the most vulnerable groups of the Mara municipality.

We developed this project in conjunction with the National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela (EL SISTEMA), consolidating the second Nucleus with children and indigenous youth of the country and the first of the Wayuu ethnic group.

Through instruction and the collective practice of music, we contribute to preventing situations such as school dropout, labor, or sexual exploitation, a product of the existing poverty in the communities of the Guajira region.

Also, through the transformative power of music, we provide hope to almost 300 children and young people from 17 communities in the Mara municipality, with strict monitoring of their attendance at classes, facilitating access to the practice of musical instruments, and offering transportation and snacks for the satisfactory and uninterrupted completion of the program.

We invite you to join our mission and provide hope and opportunity through music. Your support can help us reach more children and youth, preserve indigenous culture, and have a real and lasting impact on the Wayuu community.

We started the Orchestral Academic Program

In the year's first quarter, we received more than 200 musical instruments to form the intercultural symphony orchestra. Through the National System of Orchestras, a group of instruments was assigned to the Wayuu Taya Nucleus: Strings (violins, violas, cellos, double basses); woodwinds (flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoon); brass (horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba) and percussion instruments (timpani, drums, bells).

The instruments were assigned to 205 participants after analyzing the skills of each of the members of the Wayuu Taya Nucleus. Thus consolidating the intercultural orchestra with 206 members and the choral activity with 193 children and young people.

They all attend classes three times a week guided by teachers and directors who train their students holistically in addition to teaching music.

With the assignment of musical instruments, we have achieved one of the objectives set for this year. Thanks to the support of the expert teachers of El Sistema, we have consolidated the musical training process.

The Legacy of Music and Traditions

One of the values that characterize the Wayuu Taya Nucleus is respect for traditions and cultural heritage. We incorporated the Ancestral Music Program into this project to support and promote traditional music.

More than 115 children receive weekly training on the instruments and singing in the Wayuu culture and their relationship with the surrounding environment, allowing them to express themselves in the different aspects of joy, mourning, or pain.

By preserving and disseminating these artistic expressions, we are strengthening cultural and linguistic diversity in the region.

Additionally, we started the Alma Llanera Program, which aims to promote the performance of typical Venezuelan instruments, such as the cuatro, guitars, and mandolins.

Thanks to the contribution of various collaborators, we have acquired more than 100 traditional instruments and formed this orchestra, comprised of 96 young people who receive Venezuelan music classes and sheet music reading, with the valuable participation of El Sistema teachers.

Preparing the First Choral and Orchestral Show

During the last months of this semester, all the members of the Wayuu Taya Nucleus are concentrating on the preparation of the first intercultural choral and orchestral show, in which the children and young people participating in the Alma Llanera and Ancestral Music Program are also integrated.

All children and young people attend the established rehearsals in a disciplined manner, and we have organized seminars and other intensive activities to improve the abilities and skills of the members of the Nucleus.

For Wayuu Taya, one of the most significant experiences is the composition of all the programs in a single product represented by integrating all the instruments that make up the different programs: Choral, orchestral, Alma Llanera, and Ancestral Music.

Next Challenges

The enthusiasm of the members of the Wayuu Taya Nucleus and the need to intensify the training process of the students indicate the need to increase the classes with daily frequency from the second semester of this year, which requires additional resources to cover the costs of transportation logistics, snacks, instrument maintenance, etc.

Additionally, we have 100 new applicants on the waiting list to be incorporated into the music program, who expect to start classes next semester.

The increase in activities, the need to incorporate more children and young people into the program, as well as the reservation of new musical instruments and other cultural activities, suggest the need to build a home for the Intercultural Orchestra Program for children and young people from the subregion of La Guajira to have a permanent space for the development of their artistic and cultural potential and have a brighter future.

With your help, we can create opportunities and hope for the region's children and youth and preserve the Wayuu people's cultural heritage. We look forward to continuing our work and making a difference in the lives of those we serve.

Our music program continues to advance as a strategy for social improvement and cultural transformation of the children of Mara. All this is possible thanks to the support of our allies, volunteers, and donors.