Student-Led Workshop Series “The Pulse of Latin America” Builds Community Through Music and Culture

Written by Chloe Borgida

Arts
A close-up, shallow-focus shot shows the hands of several people playing conga drums in a dimly lit room. In the foreground, a pair of hands is positioned mid-strike above a light-colored drumhead. The person wears a bright green wristband. Other drummers are blurred in the background against a dark red wall, creating a sense of rhythm and community.

Created and organized by Sofía Orjuela Parra, a third-year Music History and Ethnomusicology student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, The Pulse of Latin America brought students, faculty, and community members together through participatory workshops exploring Latin American and Caribbean music traditions.

“My interest in Latin American music comes from my background as a Colombian immigrant,” Orjuela Parra explained. Growing up in North Bergen, she noticed a striking lack of representation in school music programs. “Never once [did we play] a piece by a composer who the students could see themselves in,” she said. “The first time I heard a piece by a Latin American composer was at a Valley Winds concert after I had moved to Massachusetts in 2023.”

A group of eleven diverse people stand together for a group photo in a modern room with a large red accent wall. They are positioned in front of a projection screen displaying a video player. A single conga drum stands prominently in the center foreground. The group is dressed casually, and the atmosphere appears friendly and academic.

That experience sparked a broader interest in cultural representation and ethnomusicology, leading her to enroll in the Five College Ethnomusicology Certificate program. As she explored coursework across the Five Colleges, she became increasingly aware of the limited opportunities to study Latin American music traditions.

“When I started my studies here at UMass, especially with ethnomusicology, I directed my attention to Latin America,” she said. “In doing so, I realized the narrowness in the curricula.”

After semesters of meetings with advisors, faculty, and community members, Orjuela Parra launched an interest form for a Latin American music course alongside faculty collaborator Leila Paredes. The form received more than 100 responses and was submitted to the Department of Music and Dance in support of expanding ethnomusicology offerings on campus.

When it became clear that immediate curricular expansion would not be possible, the idea for The Pulse of Latin America emerged.

A wide shot of a music workshop in a brightly lit multipurpose room. Participants sit in a semi-circle of chairs, each with a drum or percussion instrument in front of them. At the front of the room, two instructors lead the session—one holding a large drum and the other gesturing toward a marimba. A television on the back wall displays a presentation slide.

“I called my mom after that meeting,” Orjuela Parra recalled. “On the phone call, I threw out an idea of a three day workshop series as a way to make sure that all the time and work this had cost me wouldn't go to waste.”

The resulting series brought together acclaimed artists and educators including Julian Gerstin, Dan Neville, Armando Quiñones, and Eguie Castrillo. The featured traditions—including Currulao, Samba, and Bomba—were shaped organically by the artists’ backgrounds and expertise.

Beyond organizing the programming itself, Orjuela Parra independently secured funding for the project through grants, departmental partnerships, and community outreach. “I am now an adamant supporter of cold emails,” she said, crediting support from faculty and campus partners who helped bring the series to life.

For Orjuela Parra, the most meaningful outcome was the sense of connection the workshops created across campus and beyond. Participants included students, faculty, staff, retirees, and community members from across the Five Colleges. “What was most successful and fulfilling was seeing the creation of community in just 3 hours,” she said. “Music like the ones explored in the workshops is played in community so it's an amazing conduit for connecting people.”

An over-the-shoulder, close-up shot of a man playing a large traditional drum with a wooden stick. He wears glasses and a blue polo shirt. The focus is sharp on his hand and the drum's edge, while another participant in the background is softly blurred. The warm, low lighting suggests an intimate indoor rehearsal or classroom setting.

Looking ahead, Orjuela Parra hopes to continue and expand the series in future years, creating deeper collaborations across departments and reconnecting music and dance traditions within ethnomusicology programming. “In hopes of creating a more interdepartmental campus community, I will be working to establish official ties between the sponsoring departments through this workshop series,” she said. “This format will de-isolate music and dance and promote the community building that so easily flourishes when given an opportunity.”

Orjuela Parra emphasized that the workshop series was deeply collaborative and made possible through the support of mentors, faculty, staff, friends, and family. She offered special thanks to Cara Takakjian, Ericka Drake, Faith Conant, Neri Torres, Angelie Peterson, Marianna Ritchey, Luiz Amaral, Matthew Westgate, Greg Williams, Alabode Omojola, Ayano Kataoka, and Tom Giampietro, as well as her family. She noted that The Pulse of Latin America “would have been impossible to accomplish” without their encouragement and support.

 

 

Spotlight posted in Arts