At the CCP arts forum held at the National Arts Center in Makiling, Laguna, which some of us Mindanao artists attended, we saw this great video entitled TOCAR y LUCHAR.

The movie is about how the musician-conductor Jose Abreu set up what he calls EL SISTEMA or THE SYSTEM, which allowed for 250,000 poor youth from across Venezuela to learn and play classical music, and how they are all TRANSFORMED BY MUSIC.

The result is astounding.

The Venezuela El Sistema experience reminds us about the power of art to transform entire communities and change people’s attitudes and behaviors. We have all been trapped in the box, looking merely to politics and economics for the answers to all our problems. We forget that everything has to do with our belief systems–how we think and believe, and how we act upon what we think and believe. And the most powerful, if not the only way that can transform our thoughts and belief systems, is to awaken our right brain—where art and creativity reside.

Below are two links to EL SISTEMA at www.ted.com.

“TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).”

I suggest you DOWNLOAD (zipped mp4) instead of viewing it online as it takes a while to stream. Look for DOWNLOAD THIS TALK at the bottom of the video window, then click on Video to Desktop (Zipped mp4). After downloading, unzip it and view it freely using windows media player, real player or divx player.

The founder of El Sistema, José Antonio Abreu, talks about El Sistema http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jose_abreu_on_kids_transformed_by_music.html:

“Music has to be recognized as an … agent of social development in the highest sense, because it transmits the highest values — solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion. And it has the ability to unite an entire community and to express sublime feelings.”

José Antonio Abreu

Meanwhile, this link leads you to Gustavo Dudamel–probably the youngest conductor in the whole world–leading the Teresa Carreno Youth Orchestra in Caracas, Valenzuela. Gustavo was a student of Jose Abreu who moved on to conduct the best orchestras around the world, including his own country’s youth orchestras–the Teresa Carreno Youth Orchestra and Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra. He is currently the conductor of Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/astonishing_performance_by_a_venezuelan_youth_orchestra_1.html

Tocar y Luchar may be bought at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000UHAGNO/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new.

Hope you enjoy the videos and will be inspired. (Have you noticed that videos about art put smiles in our faces and give us hope? (examples: Arnel Pineda, Charice Pempengco, the Sound of Music at the Belgium Central Station, the dancing at the Cebu City Prison, and well, American Idol!)

Oh and by the way, while you’re at www.ted.com, you might want to go through other inspiring videos and learn from the world’s best thinkers and reformers.