Former choir director Ana Marvez could not stand to see the musical skills of her fellow Venezuelan go to waste in their host country. So, she started an orchestra.
"One of the most wrenching aspects of being forced to leave one's home is having to give up your profession"
Ana Marvez a 34 year old music teacher and choir director who left Venezuela to seek safety in Chile around five years ago.
Ana considers herself lucky. Not only did she find work within weeks of her arrival in the Chilean capital, Santiago, but she also managed to secure a position that was at least tangentially related to her former career, a minimum wage job as a secretary in arts school.
The "Fundación Música para la integración," or "Music for Integration Foundation" was born. Around 350 musicians, most of them Venezuelan refugees and migrants, while others hail from Colombia, Peru and Mexico, as well as Chile, take part in their project, which includes a symphony orchestra, a choral ensamble, and several music classes for children.
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