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In Popayán, the first chonta marimba residency took place.
As part of the VI Jazz Festival in Popayán, the concert 'Harmonies for Peace' took place at the Guillermo León Valencia Theater. This artistic and musical ensemble was a product of the chonta marimba residency, featuring for the first time the participation of children, youth, adolescents, formative artists, and traditional artists from the Pacific regions of Cauca, including Guapi, Timbiquí, Santander de Quilichao, El Bordo, the El Tuno village in Patía, and Popayán.
Undoubtedly, the talented artists shone brightly, with 14 chonta marimbas, singers, cununos, and various instruments accompanying the ensemble, all resonating in unison and energizing the audience with the rhythms and cultural richness of our territories. This chonta marimba residency was made possible by special projects carried out by the Popayán Music Festival Corporation, with support from the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge through the presidential program 'Sounds for the Construction of Peace.'
Additionally, it had partners like Batuta, the Energía de Occidente Company, and Campanario Shopping Center, entities that joined this important initiative aimed at strengthening artistic and musical expressions as powerful tools for social transformation.
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Maricela Cárdenas, rector of special projects at the Popayán Music Festival Corporation, highlights the great work that has been developed through orchestral residencies. In this instance, she emphasizes the participants' experience of traveling from their municipalities to the city of Popayán to share new forms of learning and knowledge about the chonta marimba, which is an emblematic instrument of the Cauca department.
A significant effort that promotes the strengthening of artistic capacities among young Colombians, collective work, and harmonious coexistence—fundamental pillars in the reconstruction of social fabric. 'An exercise that is rarely seen, especially among children; it would be pretentious to say it hasn’t been done, but it is very likely, because we had 14 chonta marimbas, singers, drums, cununos, and various instruments performing together in the theater for the first time. In these spaces, we all learn that what we do should be good for everyone. As long as we support each other, the product and the final result—in this case, the concert—will be much better,' expressed Maricela Cárdenas.
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The chonta marimba residency included beneficiaries and formative artists connected to the presidential program 'Sounds for the Construction of Peace,' the government's largest cultural initiative for change. This initiative is made possible through an agreement between the University of Cauca and the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge, representing the implementation of musical training processes in 227 educational institutions across the departments of Cauca, Huila, and Nariño, bringing artistic education to 45,400 children, youth, and adolescents in these school environments.
From the University of Cauca, we highlight the work being done in the territories through the implementation of this pedagogical strategy. 'The formative artists and knowledge bearers, who have always been engaged in this work in their daily lives, now, within the framework of the presidential program 'Sounds for the Construction of Peace,' continue to weave, compose music, and create songs. They harness the sensitivity, strength, talent, and laughter of children to bring life back to the territories.
In these training processes, they believe that through music, stories, the faces of communities, sound, celebration, silence, and even laments, all pain can be transformed into strength to build peace, support life, promote joy, and reconstruct social fabric,' expressed Claudia Hurtado Triviño, Director of the presidential program 'Sounds for the Construction of Peace' in Zone 6.
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We invite you to follow the official channel of the Presidential Program 'Sounds for the Construction of Peace' to learn how the Government of Change is transforming territories through arts and culture.
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Written by: Communications Sounds for Peacebuilding - Zone 6.