Regular Beach Cleanups Begin

As the high season advances on us, we once again worry about the health of our beaches. Harmony Hotel cleans up the beach regularly in Guiones and is organizing a volunteer cleanup on next Wednesday, November 23 at 8 am. Meet at the palm tree, where you’ll get a trash bag to fill and choose which part of the beach to clean. Starting in December these cleanups will occur on the third Wednesday every month. Watch for reminders.

NCA heartily endorses this initiative and thanks Cindy Alonso of Harmony for starting it and Bobbi Johnson for coordinating it with her. If you want to participate or have questions about the project, please write Bobbi at info@nosaracivicassociation.com. As the project continues, we expect to enlist help from local businesses.

Here’s news to lift your spirits:

About 5 years ago, a group of kids in Paraguay began to make musical instruments from materials reclaimed from their neighboring landfill. They learned to play them and soon formed the Recycled Orchestra of Cautera, also called the Landfill Harmonic. Soon the world noticed, with stories appearing in the New York Times, on NPR, 60 Minutes, and many more news outlets. As the kids achieved their dream of playing with the heavy metal band Megadeth, someone was making a movie about their adventure. Last week it became available for streaming or purchase. Watch the trailer here.

“The film is a testimony to the transformative power of music and the resilience of the human spirit,” says the promotional copy on LandfillHarmonic’s web page. One commenter added “To make an instrument from garbage and play Beethoven or Hendrix on it is triumphant. Bravo!”

Could Nosara have its own LandfillHarmonic some day? Why not?