Over decades, a dedicated search for local instruments has preserved and shared a vast heritage. The ongoing effort saved many instruments from loss and formed a collection that is now split between the Museum of Ethnic Music in Busot and the museum in Caravaca de la Cruz, reflecting a broad, international ambition rooted in local roots.
The Culture House in Alicante welcomed a remarkable display that spans five continents, supported by more than a hundred photographs. This travelogue-like exhibition, opened by a Uruguayan musicologist and researcher who has lived in Alicante for more than forty years, offers visitors a window into diverse musical traditions. The event includes a live performance by the organizer, featuring guitar and traditional wind instruments alongside celebrated local artists Juanmi Asensi on bandurria and Felipe Duperly on guitar.
From the opening, the exhibition guides visitors through themes that connect places as far apart as India, China, Easter Island, Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Senegal, Indonesia, and Egypt. The selections emphasize events involving disabled communities, the children of the world, and diverse ethnic groups, while also highlighting moments shared with famous artists, political figures, ambassadors, or humanists and inventors who shaped musical tools and traditions.
Documentaries from various regions accompany the exhibition, presenting footage of activities and projects carried out in different countries. The collection itself is a narrative—an archive that not only shows instruments, but also the stories that accompany them and the people who preserve them for future generations.
The author also published a book titled The Secret Smile of Music, which received honorable mention at the International Latin Book Awards in 2022. The volume assembles journeys to remote corners of the world and the author’s experiences in assembling indigenous instruments. It chronicles more than four thousand items from about one hundred fifty countries, each item offering its own chapter in the broader story of musical heritage.