El Sistema

El Sistema “poverty is not just a lack of a roof or bread. It is also a spiritual lack—a loneliness and lack of recognition. The vicious cycle of poverty can be broken when a child poor in material possessions acquires spiritual wealth through music” (Tunstall, 2012, p. xii).

r. As one girl wrote on her survey, “I joined choir because singing is my passion and my life” (student survey, #3). Another echoed these sentiments and said that she joined the choir “because all of my friends said that I had a lovely voice” and because her mother suggested that she join since “I love to sing at home a lot.” This student remarked that she enjoyed the various trips that the choir took and that her participation in the choir will “make me a superstar” (student survey #4). Others noted that they decided to participate in the choir because “it releases my inner talent” (student survey #6) and because “it’s fun to use your voice in different places” (student survey #5). In most cases, the girls joined the choir simply because they thought they had good voices and wanted to find a way to improve their skills and sing with others. But as arts educator Nathan points out, “creative work as an actor, musician, dancer, sculptor, or graffiti artist gives students bragging rights and credibility, both critical to healthy adolescent development” (Nathan, 2013, pp. 47–48).

 This young woman argued, “people are totally different in choir…they open up more because there are not many people around them” (student 3, interview, December 15, 2012). Several other girls agreed with this statement, suggesting that the choir created a space where they could talk to other young women about their school and community and the challenges they faced there (student 2 and student 5, interview, December 15, 2012). Finally, the youth argued that their participation in the Sister Cities Girlchoir allowed them to “cool down” and took away the “stress of doing a lot of work” in school and at home (student survey, #8). In one interview, one of the members said that her involvement in the choir “made a difference in my life when I had really difficult problems…when my grandma died” (student #4, interview, April 13, 2013)