Forty million pesos raised from auctioning motorcycles seized from former Canadian athlete Ryan Wedding will fund a new music conservatory and cultural center in Tultepec, State of Mexico, benefiting child and youth musicians. El Universal reported the information, citing the Institute to Return to the People What Was Stolen.
INDEP director Mónica Fernández Balboa said the funds fulfill a commitment President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo made after visiting the municipal music school in 2024. The goal is providing students with dignified facilities, adequate equipment and instruments for artistic training.
Secretary of Culture Claudia Curiel de Icaza detailed that the conservatory will include 24 practice rooms, 16 rehearsal rooms, percussion spaces and an outdoor acoustic shell. The project covers 3,500 students, with 1,500 in high school and 2,000 in higher education, she said.
Three educational axes include marching band training at four high schools, the country’s first bachelor’s degree in Mexican Music, and teacher professionalization. Basic training begins in the 2027-2028 school year, with the degree program starting in 2028-2029.
Municipal president Ramón Sergio Luna Cortés said Tultepec has purchased nearly 4,500 instruments, hired 120 teachers and formed 18 bands, 14 rondallas and mariachi ensembles. A marching band program is being launched across public schools, he said.
For more information, visit eluniversal.com.mx.