Colombian singer Andres Cepeda performed with a host of international musicians at a benefit concert in Bogota on Saturday night, raising over $3 million for flood-damaged schools, reported W Radio.
Eight other musicians performed at the Voces Solidarias (Voices in Solidarity) concert, including Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz, Venezuelan musician Carlos Baute and Puerto Rican “Gentleman of Salsa” Gilberto Santa Rosa.
The seven hour festival was organized by Telefonica and held in the capital city’s Parque Simon Bolivar, where 25,000 concert-goers paid entrance donations of between $11 and $84.
In addition, donations made by text message exceeded $270,000, Telefonica donated $2.54 million and the French government donated $746,000. Colombian bank BBVA also donated school kits worth a total of $254,525.
The money raised will go towards rebuilding more than 170 of the 2,200 educational insitutions damaged by the year’s devastating rains.
Colombia has suffered a severe rainy season over the past year, which intensified in April due to the La Niña phenomenon. In total, floods and landslides have killed 443 people and affected nearly 3.2 million.
