Youngsters carry tunes from trash to triumph

Festering alongside mountains of stinking trash under the sweltering South American sun, Cateura is a long way from the conservatories of Prague or Vienna.

Yet the township, which grew out of Paraguay's largest dump, is gaining an unlikely reputation as a hothouse for musical talent - and for its youth orchestra that plays instruments made from discarded trash.

"The world sends us garbage. We send back music," says Favio Chavez, leader of the "Recycled Orchestra", during a recent visit by the group to Los Angeles.