The Christian Science Monitor

These musicians fled home – but brought the music with them

Omar Zambrano, executive director and founder of Latin Vox Machine, stands outside Kirchner Cultural Center in central Buenos Aires, where the group of mostly Venezuelan refugee musicians has played.

The music wafting along the platform of La Plata subway station on a recent springtime Saturday afternoon is so beautiful that people hastening to the exits stop to listen, and some turn back. 

Children down the platform loosen a parent’s grip to approach and get a closer look at the violin and saxophone players.

When the quartet segues into “Por Una Cabeza,” a beloved tango tune, smiles broaden, feet glide and tap. The applause is enthusiastic, and even though Argentina is reeling from a deep recession, a few small bills and coins are dropped into an open violin case.

It was music like this that intrigued Omar Zambrano one day, nearly two years ago, on another Buenos Aires

3,000 miles from homeAppreciative audienceGift of music

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