César López

César López Giraldo (born 1973) is a classically trained musician, composer, producer guitarist and pianist from Bogota, Colombia. In 2003, López founded the Battalion of Immediate Artistic Reaction which involves various musicians and activists seeking alternatives to the ever-present violence that has plagued Colombia over many years. The group mainly concentrates its efforts on the capital city of Bogotá. When advised, the group is widely known to immediately convene together to play for the victims directly impacted by the violence within the country.[1]

For other uses, see César López (disambiguation).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Giraldo.
César López
César López in 2012
Background information
Origin Bogota, Colombia
Occupation(s)Musician, peace activist
InstrumentsVoice, Guitar, Drums, Piano
WebsiteCesarLopez.org

Cesar Lopez is officially a 'Non Violence Messenger' of the United Nations and an 'Emissary of Consciousness' for Amnesty International.

López is the creator of the Escopetarra, a largely symbolic musical instrument which is an AK-47 converted into a guitar.

In 2010, he and his Audio Engineer, Julio Monroy, recorded the album "Las voces del Salado", the álbum was recorded at the "Montes de Maria" with the people from the town El Salado who were involved in the Masacre of El Salado.

Escopetarra
Main article: Escopetarra
A Lopez Escopetarra on display at the United Nations Headquarters.

López's most well-known achievement is the Escopetarra, which are decommissioned AK-47s 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.[2]

References
  1. Dudley, Steven (March 7, 2006). "Making music out of menace". Miami Herald. Miami. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  2. Restrepo, Norha. "Escopetarra: Instrument of peace". United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Retrieved August 21, 2018.
External audio
Sample of Cesar Lopez' music


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