LatinaLista — Started in 1989 in Argentina and now in seven countries throughout Central and South America and southern Europe, Papel Nonos is an unique program just for senior citizens with one purpose — to make senior citizens feel like they are a part of something.
The program was started to promote and create a social, educational and cultural opportunity for senior citizens to actively participate in society by putting on recitals with paper mache instruments.
Retirees belonging to the program learn how to transform paper mache into common musical instruments. Dressed alike, the members travel weekly to different schools to put on recitals for the children where they perform for them, play with them and most importantly, feel included in a society that is more focused on youth than viejitos.
In this video, the English-language Buenos Aires-based publication Argentina Independent profiles the local Papel Nonos group and shows that the seniors receive as much joy from their experience as the people who watch them.
