Mil Sentires, voices that remain on stage

The choral network brings together around 150 older adults at seven locations in Quito. Through music and learning, its members build relationships and find spaces to participate.

Rehearsals begin with vocal exercises, physical relaxation and theater games. Then comes the repertoire: pasillos and pasacalles, among other Ecuadorian songs that participants themselves have asked to learn. It is not simply about preparing a performance. For the older adults in the Mil Sentires Choral Network, singing also means coming together, sharing knowledge and keeping a creative space of their own.

The initiative brings together around 150 older adults at seven active locations in Quito. The groups rehearse separately and come together in one place every Sunday. Different experiences and interests meet there. Rehearsals offer opportunities to learn and to make music with others.

A place to participate

Sofía Chuquitarco, director of the Mil Sentires collective, understands active aging as the opportunity to continue taking part in cultural life. She talks about safe spaces where older adults can sing, socialize and pursue interests they may have put aside. For her, age should not limit access to the arts: members still have stories and aspirations to share.

Choral practice is complemented by theater exercises and movement work. Teachers at the different locations support musical learning and help prepare activities. In one of the group’s recent projects, participants are also working on dance and acting elements for the production Entre Cristos y Balcones. Singing opens the door to other forms of expression.

Choosing the songs is also part of that participation. Sofía explains that the repertoire reflects the preferences and requests of the older adults. In this way, choir members help decide what music to perform and how to take the stage.

What continues after rehearsal

Some of the effects the director values most happen far from any public performance. She has seen friendships develop among participants who did not know one another before and now arrange to meet independently. Sometimes the reason is another rehearsal; other times, it is simply to share a coffee. Their relationships no longer depend entirely on having a scheduled class.

She also sees progress in musical skills. At first, she recalls, few participants could read sheet music; with the teachers’ support and sustained practice, that ability has become more widespread among members. Beyond sharing songs, the gatherings allow them to learn and develop new skills.

Families also take part in the life of the choir. Sofía recalls sons and daughters involved in music who accompany their parents as they learn, and nieces and nephews who come to applaud their relatives. These experiences reveal another dimension of the project: the opportunity to share an artistic activity across generations, without reducing older adults to the role of spectators.

“We always want them to be the protagonists.”

The work behind the voices

Mil Sentires grew out of an arts collective working in music, performing arts, dance and visual arts. Its choral network was launched through a call for citizen-led initiatives by the Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre. According to Sofía, the proposal received non-repayable funding that made it possible to begin educational and production activities; other needs have been covered through self-management.

Running the project means coordinating seven locations, rehearsals, teachers and joint gatherings. She estimates that about 27 people make up the team supporting the initiative. This structure allows participants to prepare in their groups and then share their work with the rest of the network. It also requires ongoing organization to avoid interrupting the activities already underway.

The greatest challenge, she explains, is sustainability. Keeping the spaces open, sustaining the educational work and securing resources require continuous effort. In her experience, the difficulty is not older adults’ willingness to learn and participate, but finding the conditions that will allow the program to continue over time.

“I would like to preserve the human side.”

Alongside this concern is a fundamental decision: the network does not want the stage to serve only as a showcase for teachers’ or directors’ work. Sofía insists that members’ own ideas should have a place, even when they propose new productions or different ways of performing. The artistic team, she says, should support those initiatives, not replace them.

The approximately 150 voices brought together in Quito offer a concrete way to understand active aging: people who rehearse, learn music, form friendships and find a place to express themselves. The value of Mil Sentires does not end when a performance is over. It also lies in what its members choose to keep doing afterward, together and on their own initiative.