Ecuadorian Sounds

I was in Ecuador last January. This place is of great importance to me. This is where I first landed in March 2011, before embarking on the very first musical adventure in the Amazon. The memories of that first visit, the fear and excitement of the unknown and the unexpected, embrace me every time I come here. This is the place that, eight years ago, helped me open a new door, the one with the writing “Music Can Change the World” written on it.

The capital Quito is the place where the first Keys of Change music education programme was formed. With the help, guidance and local knowledge of the Condor Trust, an inspiring UK organisation that provides essential scholarships to children from deprived backgrounds that wish to go to school but cannot afford it, in 2012, newly formed Keys of Change UK, started providing music lessons to children in Quito, a programme which continues to day. Since starting, we have had more than 60 children learn to play the guitar, the violin and traditional dances. Following up on the first musical journey in the Amazon, we even brought guitars and provided music classes in a small community called Sani, in the depths of the Ecuadorian rainforest. Last month, I visited the Quito centre, ran by Condor Trust, where the music classes take place every weekend. I heard their music and I saw the enthusiasm of our students. One of them told me that music has helped him “open doors”, and another one shared that through music she “never feels alone anymore”. 

Starting in 2016, Keys of Change USA has been supporting another group of children who live in very difficult conditions in the outskirts of Quito. It is really remarkable what children can do to inspire themselves, despite the extreme adversity they are living in. The classes, in this case Ecuadorian percussion instruments and traditional dancing, take place in a school called Honrar la Vida, which provides emotional, psychological and educational support to children at risk. I heard that, in many cases, the single meal many kids receive during the day is when they are in the school grounds. The cases of violence, abuse, and neglect are too many. Then there are the refugees: kids running away from Venezuela, having walked more than 1500 miles, alone or with their families through the jungle and mountains, all the way to Quito. These same kids smile, dance and play music full of joy. One of them took my hand as soon as I arrived, and wouldn’t let go until it was time for me to leave. We played music for each other, and they were keen to teach me an Ecuadorian song, so that I can play music with them. 

I only saw the Amazon from above this time, flying above the rainforest, while leaving Ecuador behind. Like the river that always flows towards the sea, my thoughts ran towards the same direction as they did in 2011: music can change the world.