Music-loving teens take recording lessons

Yamil, an 18-year-old guitar player, is one of a small group of teenagers hoping to master the art of recording music at twice-weekly workshops organised by Proyecto Horizonte. So far he has learnt how to use software and operate sound and recording equipment such as consoles and microphones. “I like these workshops because they’re interesting for us and they give us a foundation that we can perhaps use to teach others one day,” he says.
Favio Ismael Montealegre Covarrubias, the sound engineer who runs the workshops for Proyecto Horizonte, says it is important for the teenagers to realise that they can use modern technology to record their own music at home easily and cheaply rather than having to pay a fortune for a studio to do it.
At the same time, music distracts these young people from the difficulties of their everyday life in the community of Mineros San Juan, where money is short and aggression is rife. “Music is a way of expressing yourself – if you compose a song, for example, you can express bad times and bad sentiments and get rid of them. Just listening to music can also help you to de-stress and forget the many problems you have,” Montealegre Covarrubias says.