Last month, we learned about Wuilly Arteaga, a 23 year old protester in Caracas, Venezuela, who was plays his violin during demonstrations against government crackdowns. On May 31, 2017, the young musician had his violin smashed by a Venezuelan National Guardsman.
BBC, CNN, and FoxNews have published reports about the incident and it appears that during a protest, a guardsman approached Arteaga on motorcycle, wrestled his violin away from him and smashed it. There is a heartbreaking video on Twitter recorded immediately after the incident showing Arteaga in distress, holding the damaged, and now unplayable, violin.
The BBC article includes some extraordinary photos of Arteaga playing his violin during protests, one of which shows him alone, in front of a phalanx of government troops clad in riot gear.
Attempts to raise funds for Arteaga are underway but it is unclear if he is able to access those funds or locate a replacement violin.
You can learn more about Arteaga via a pair of articles published on 6/4/2017 by 2001.com.ve and LaRazon.com.mx.