Help
THE UNA CORDA COURIER PROGRAMME
Planning a Trip to Cuba ? You can help…
Anyone planning a trip to Cuba can support Una Corda by bringing a small quantity of materials or tools with them in their luggage. The materials are packed in clear plastic bags, small and light enough to slip into a suitcase or a rucksack, and don’t worry – with the approval of the Cuban Ministry of Culture and support from the Cuban Embassy in Dublin, everything is above board.
Once you arrive in Cuba, all you do is contact Una Corda’s man in Havana and arrange to drop the materials into our HQ in Cuba, the National Workshop of Musical Instrument Repair in the old part of the city. You’ll be helping Cuban music to survive, and you’ll be getting yourself an unforgettable glimpse of real Cuban life. Think of it as carbon neutral for the soul !
LATEST: THE UNA CORDA STRING APPEAL
An instrument with no strings attached is an all too familiar sight in Cuba. The tropical climate is not kind to instruments and the ongoing US trade embargo makes things like strings and tuning pegs hard to come by, even for the few who have money.
We in Ireland can help. For the past three years, UNA CORDA has been working to rescue the pianos in Cuba’s struggling music schools from decay and Irish visitors to the island are helping by bringing supplies with them a few kilos at a time in their luggage. Now our workshop in Havana is expanding to fix other instruments, from violins and harps to drums and electric guitars.
If you are traveling to Cuba, and want to make a contribution to Cuban music while you’re there, then why not bring some strings with you ? Get in touch with us now and find out how. Send us an e-mail with your location and the date and airport of your departue. Your support will help to safeguard one of the richest musical legacies in the world.
