Cultural Foundation certifies ten professionals in the construction and repair of string instruments
In six months of learning, the students used certified wood, a result of the partnership between FCP and Confloresta
The Curro Velho Workshop Center (NOCV), linked to the Cultural Foundation of Pará (FCP), hosted on Wednesday (15) the closing ceremony of the Luthier Initiation Workshop, which certified ten professionals. The event celebrated the six-month learning cycle in the construction, repair, and maintenance of string instruments, using certified wood.
The ceremony was opened by Paulinho Assunção, coordinator of Musical Language at FCP, who emphasized the relevance of the partnership for the realization of the course. "Today we are certifying 10 students who participated in this workshop. It was six months of work experience, and now we have the honor of certifying this group," he declared.
Regarding the partnership with Confloresta (Brazilian Association of Forest Concession Companies), which provided the wood, the coordinator highlighted that "they are great partners. They work very seriously with wood, and we intend to maintain this partnership going forward and achieve others." He also stated that, "if we can establish this partnership, we will have, within this State, a workshop center specifically focused on Luthier, for the repair and making of instruments."
Next, the workshop instructor, luthier Paulo Mateus, recalled his journey and the origin of the course, highlighting the use of scrap and donated wood in the making of the instruments. “It is a very special job, where we receive these donated woods, do the selection, and transform this wood into musical instruments. These instruments will then operate this mechanism that makes the Foundation work, where they will participate in cavaquinho and guitar workshops. In the future, they will also need periodic maintenance, and they will end up returning to Luthier to do this maintenance and complete this cycle,” he informed.
Knowledge - The event also featured the participation of musician Salomão Habib, who performed with one of the guitars produced in the course, in addition to sharing technical knowledge about Luthier and the raw materials used. “The guitar is a very difficult instrument to make, and it requires special care in measurement. Mathematically, if you make a mistake of thousandths of a millimeter in this math, you lose the guitar because it won't tune, and it's a nightmare for anyone who plays the instrument,” explained the musician.
Neuza Marques, the only female student in the class, expressed her joy with the training. "I am very happy! I thank God for being here. Their welcome was wonderful, as I am the only woman in the course. The learning was great," declared Neuza, adding that "the first thing I did was fix my cavaquinho and my guitar. I said I would fix my cavaquinho, and I did. Now, I believe I can fix others, and that is what we intend to do."
Learning - Thiago Miranda, president of the Cultural Foundation of Pará, thanked the partners and the staff who worked on the realization of the workshop. “I am very happy to see the delivery of such an important course, which brings not only music, art, but also our Pará culture and the strengthening of this House. And here, for sure, these instruments will make history in the hands of those who will learn, play, or carry this craft forward. We try to bring together what is possible, make it happen, and implement public policy at the grassroots level. And we are happy to deliver ten certificates, as these are ten people who today are capable of starting the craft and delivering the art they learned, whether at home, in their street, or in their city,” emphasized the manager.
The certificates were handed to the students by Thiago Miranda; Elaine Gadelha, representative of Sesc-Pará; Igor Kahwage, Administrative and Financial Director of FCP; Celeste Iglesias, Director of Docia/FCP; professor Paulo Mateus and Andrei Miralha, coordinator of Workshops at the Curro Velho Center, after a musical presentation with the new instruments.
The Luthier Initiation Workshop strengthens professional training in the musical production segment and values the conscious use of natural resources, such as certified wood. With this initiative, the Cultural Foundation of Pará maintains its commitment to offering diverse training and promoting cultural production.
Actions by FCP are available on the website https://www.fcp.pa.gov.br/ and on the social network https://www.instagram.com/fundacaoculturalpa/.
