Cesar Lopez
Encyclopedia
César López is a Colombian musician. For the past several years, López has been part of a group, the Battalion of Immediate Artistic Reaction, which consists of various other musicians and activists seeking alternatives to the ever-present violence that plagues Colombia and its capital of Bogotá
. Whenever news of violent attacks in the country arrives, the group convenes on site and plays music for victims.
López is the creator of the escopetarra, a largely symbolic musical instrument which is an AK-47
converted into a guitar.
López's most well-known achievement is the Escopetarra, which are decommissioned AK-47
s converted into guitars. So far, only a few dozen of these guitars have been produced, but upon completion, López intends to give the guitars to high-profile musicians across the world, such as Juanes
, Fito Páez
, Bob Geldof and Manu Chao
, and to political and religious leaders such as Kofi Annan
.
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
. Whenever news of violent attacks in the country arrives, the group convenes on site and plays music for victims.
López is the creator of the escopetarra, a largely symbolic musical instrument which is an AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
converted into a guitar.
Escopetarra
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s converted into guitars. So far, only a few dozen of these guitars have been produced, but upon completion, López intends to give the guitars to high-profile musicians across the world, such as Juanes
Juanes
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
, Fito Páez
Fito Páez
Rodolfo "Fito" Páez Ávalos is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, Spanish language singer and film director.-Early career:...
, Bob Geldof and Manu Chao
Manu Chao
Manu Chao , is a French singer of Spanish roots . He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Galician, Arabic and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages...
, and to political and religious leaders such as Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
.
External links
- TodaBalaEsperdida.com, Cesar Lopez TODA BALA ES PERDIDA' website.
- cesarlopez.org, Cesar Lopez' website
- @CesarLopezMusic , Cesar Lopez' Twitter.
- Killer Sound, Kevin Sites, Yahoo! News, 24 April 2006
- Colombian musicians organise online, BBC News, 1 June 2006