Who are we?

Armonia Cuscatleca is a California State non-profit organization in Los Angeles which focuses on promoting the integral development of children and young adults using musical education. Armonia Cuscatleca facilitates safe spaces for musical practice and rehearsals, saving and strengthening the artistic, cultural and musical identity of El Salvador. Armonia Cuscatleca has been working in association with Musicians Without Borders since 2018.

Armonia Cuscatleca was born in 2015 initiated by Pablo Mendez Granadino as he worked as a teacher for Harmony Project LA alongside director Myka Miller, who offers musical education to more than 2,000 underprivileged students of Los Angeles. Considering the objectives of Armonia Cuscatleca and the necessity to offer children/youth affected by violence and high probability of immigration to the United States more opportunities, Pablo Mendez Granadino travelled from Los Angeles to his native country, El Salvador, to develop the first formal musical education program in San Pedro Perulapan, a rural municipality that has been agitated with high violence provoked by street gangs and has gained a position as one the of most violent sectors in the country. This program offers children/youth ages 8-14 and families of San Pedro Perulapan an alternative reality from the problems mentioned earlier. More than just musical education which helps strengthen and discover the highest potential of capabilities, discipline and self esteem, these families have come together to coordinate fundraising events, concerts and dinners both in El Salvador and the United States, bringing the community closer together. The project now has 50 students receiving free violin and cello instruction where unfortunately the public school system does not provide musical education as part of their curriculum. We have been generating very clear and positive results. Students have improved in school grades and family relationships at home. At least half of the students have the opportunity to take their instrument home and help create harmony within their households and communities.

The project has received help in many different forms including help with transportation of instruments and vehicle loans from the Consulate of El Salvador in Los Angeles and the donation of instruments by Mendez Granadino’s family. We also receive help from individual patrons such as Myka Miller from the Harmony Project, the mayor of San Pedro Perulapan with their monthly donation to help maintain the location/office of Armonia Cuscatleca, the families and kind-hearted individuals that donate and organize fundraisers and concerts in Los Angeles and El Salvador, and Pablo Mendez Granadino who has given lessons 5 times a week in San Pedro Perulapan since January 2016. We are continuing to apply for grants and searching for other forms of donations to help stretch these musical opportunities to other parts of El Salvador.

Armonia Cuscatleca has played concerts in different parts of El Salvador including San Pedro Perulapan, San Salvador, Suchitoto, and the Granadino Festival in Santa Ana. We have also been featured in news articles both in El Salvador and Los Angeles and has been celebrated by the President of El Salvador Sanchez Ceren, who donated a few violins to Armonia Cuscatleca in 2016.

JUSTIFICATION

El Salvador has been in a violent conflict since the end of the civil war which ended in 1992 with a peace treaty. The group of people most affected by the war was younger generation, many of them lost their families and got into a massive immigration of refugees to United States, specifically to Los Angeles, California.

The Armonia Cuscatleca project in El Salvador seeks to have a positive impact on many children and young people. Despite all the beauty that El Salvador possesses, the violence and fear that the gangs are exercising is growing. Members of these include many children who have lived in poverty, lacking education, and opportunities, and many have had no other choice but to join these groups.

Also, in an endless circle, their family members are gang members and therefore, young people tend to follow the example and join these groups of negative influence. Armonía Cuscatleca will benefit not only the children of El Salvador, but also the entire country.

The program will not only enrich the children lives who have no other options or programs but will also enrich the community life, for the purpose of promoting a different way of living life. Music will not only teach them how-to live-in peace and harmony with each other, but they will also develop their leadership and learn how to be productive people for a positive and prosperous development of a community.

ObjeCtivEs

GENERAL OBJECTIVES:

• Generate binational spaces to strengthen artistic-cultural links between children, adolescents and youth in Los Angeles and El Salvador.

• Promote the healthy development of children and youth through music

ESPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

• Promote participatory processes in Los Angeles and El Salvador, which carry out cultural development, the art promotion, and the Salvadoran identity rescue.

• Promote children to be ambassadors of peace, hope and understanding.

• Promote children and adolescent’s healthy growth through the study, practice and playing of music.

• Teach the diversity of cultures, beliefs, and contexts through music.

• Build healthier communities and promote girls and boys positive development through music.

Policy

Safeguard and Protection Policy

Armonía Cuscatleca uses music to create peace, empathy and encourage creativity in vulnerable communities or susceptible to violence. We create safe spaces where participants can explore and develop their creativity. We believe that all people have the right to be protected from harm. Therefore, we are committed to act in their best interest at all time

Let’s learn more by download our safeguard and protection policy