Everyone will agree that each part of our life has its own difficulties. Old age can be particularly tough for some because of health problems or even loneliness. Therefore, it is the community’s job to care about the elderly and help them.
At home, I have often seen activities to gather older people. It often deals with playing “bridge”, a card game strongly anchored in the old age stereotypes. There is also a recurrent lack of communication to let people know about such activities.
In Argentina, it seems that people have a totally different idea of this life period. Papelnonos, the association I followed for an afternoon, totally broke stereotypes people have about the elderly. Everything started in 1989, in Mar del Plata, when after having organised a paper instrument-making workshop with 15 elderly people, Jorge Strada thought about using what had been produced to form an orchestra. “Those instruments were making an interesting noise that was coming from the elderly, a social group that usually stays silent,” he said at the time.
The Buenos Aires group has around 30 members and on this sunny Monday, I was invited to come along to the inauguration of a new Papelnonos entity in Almirante Brown, in Buenos Aires’ province. The ambience on the bus to get there was telling of the energy the over 60s have. The group meets three times a week, twice for concerts and once for an instrument workshop.
The hour and a half bus ride was a chance to discover lots of different life stories and personalities. It was also a chance for me to know what makes those people passionate about the association. “With Papelnonos, I am so busy that I’ve got no time to think my knee hurts,” says Enrique.
The ambience on the bus is amazing, there is a female majority but the three men are stars. One of them sits in front of me. Miguel joined Papelnonos about three years ago after a recovering from a disease that left him partly paralysed for six months. “These people are like my family. I’ve got one daughter but she lives really far away and in your old age, being alone is not easy. Joining Papelnonos has changed my life,” he tells me.
Everyone has a chance to join Papelnonos, and the Buenos Aires group always has a few newcomers. The group will teach them to make the instruments and even lend them one to be a part of the orchestra from their first days in the group. “The rest come naturally” I’m told.
“Old age is what old people make of it,” once said Jorge Strada. It summarises really well what I have felt and the general idea the Papelnonos expressed when I was talking to them. According to the founder, we need to have a new approach of the old age and bring back desire into people’s lives, when their motto would usually be “I can’t”. Therefore, all the activities developed by the Papelnonos foundation act towards the promotion of desire and the creation of a new paradigm of the old age. “No matter if you lose, no matter if you win, what really matters is that you don’t lose your passion” is the foundation’s slogan.
The show in Almirante Brown’s Cultural centre was an exceptional occasion to see how the foundation promotes its project. For the inauguration of a new community, Buenos Aires’ Papelnonos group had to impress to encourage people to join. I have to say that their talent goes beyond music. The main feature of a Papelnonos group is that they are all united but also really independent. Everyone designs his own suit and makes it with the help of the dressmakers of the group. The instruments are made with moulds and again, each member can choose the one he wants to play, and also design it.
During the show, there is a lot of interaction between everyone. They really seem to have fun and nobody is left aside. The energy they spread is overwhelming, and they probably have more of it than people half their age. After a few songs, the audience is invited to share the experience. It first starts with dancing on the music but soon, another Papelnonos’ mystery is unveiled. How do those paper instruments make any noise? I tried to get an answer to this from my first moments on the bus, but the musicians managed to keep the secret until the last minutes.
At the end of the show, everyone received a cardboard straw. It is a regular tube but with a hole covered with tape on the top. If you blow into it making a sound similar to “tu-tu-tu”, the adhesive tape vibrates, creating a sound, then it’s all about moderating your voice and having a bit of imagination. The orchestra uses a musical base emitted through speakers to harmonise the whole thing but the show is still staggering. The crowd seemed conquered as many people were asking for information on how to join.
The foundation also publishes books written by Jorge Strada that relates its principles about the old age. You could buy a handbook explaining how to make paper instruments and the foundation also publishes a magazine every two months, with updates about Papelnonos and several articles related to the study of the old age. Having celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2009, the federation is now established in every province of Argentina. It is focusing on being available for people who live in the most remote places of the country. As a proof of success, the foundation has now three sub divisions in Mexico, Ecuador and Chile. The Argentine government is supporting such initiatives and that is why the foundation is able to form more and more entities through the country. In the case of Almirante Brown, it seems that our paper orchestra has been a success.
“I want to move like those people,” says Julieta who attended the show. “I think it is a really good initiative since, the show was amazing and it still seems accessible to everyone.”
For more information: visit www.papelnonos.org.ar To contact the Buenos Aires group email capitalfederal@papelnonos.org.ar