The 񱦵 American Music Research Center (AMRC) isconducting a comprehensive study of the music and music making of Pueblo, Colorado, and the surroundingcounty. Led by 񱦵 ethnomusicologistAustin Okigboand faculty affiliate Susan Thomas—along with alumnaXóchitl Chávez (University of California, Riverside)—the projectdocuments the music and culture of the city of Pueblo, Colorado, and its immediate vicinity. Researchers will interview community members who are current and past participants in musical activities and will create a digital archive of interviews and performances that will be accessible to the general public through the University of ColoradoLibraries. The project is also partnering with the and K-12 educatorstocreate educational and curricular materials.

For inquiries on interview or project status, please contact pueblo.soundscapes@colorado.edu.

Our commitment

We areactively advancing the University of Colorado’s commitment to building diversity, inclusivity, and equity by sharing the diverse histories, experiences, and perspectives of American musicians broadly, through thoughtful research and promotion, community programming, and archived music collections. The Soundscapes of the People research initiative is a response to these core values. In collaboration with communities who have been traditionally underrepresented in music studies, this initiative aims to document and preserve unique stories andsounds from Southern Colorado and the Borderlands region. Through its diverse labor force and rapid industrial expansion in the late 19thand early 20thcentury, Pueblo hadan integral role in establishing the American West. This project examines the city’s social and labor history as experienced through music and sound and also follows musicians and their music into the present as the city transitions into a post-industrial future.

Pueblo’s role in shaping narratives of the AmericanWest

Pueblo’sstory is integrally tied to the nation’s. The city can be thought of as occupying a double “borderland,” both between North and South--as it once stood ontheU.S. border with Mexico--and between East and West--the “rails and nails” produced at thecity’ssteel mill and theregion’squite literally provided the key to open Colorado’s Gateway to theWest. Pueblo’sindustrialization and the importance of the Colorado Fuel and Iron steel plant made the cityabeacon of 20th-century modernism and also a draw for waves of immigrants from Europe, the eastern United States, surrounding rural areas, and Mexico and Central America. Pueblo is surrounded by quality farmland and thecity’seconomy and culture are marked by both industrial and agricultural labor and the struggles of workers to secure and retain their rights. In spite of theregion’scentrality in theU.S.’seconomic, geographic, and military development and its role in shaping narratives of the AmericanWest,Pueblo’sown cultural history and its contributions have largely been lost and overlooked. Looking to music as a tool for community building and activism, and as the soundscape forPueblo’sexperiences of industrialization and cosmopolitanism as well as economic decline and isolation, this project aims to shed light on the role of music in shaping the city in the past, helps us to better understand the present, and suggests new paths for thefuture.

Funding + support

The AMRC’s Soundscapes project is made possible in part through support from a 񱦵 Research and Innovation Seed Grant, the 񱦵 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, and an Outreach Award from the 񱦵 Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship; the Soundscapes project is also a 2022 recipient of the with $248,000 total support to date (2021-2024).

Community + university leaders​ of the Soundscapes project

The AMRC is proud to have earned the collaboration and support of community, university, and thought leaders, including

  • NicholasA.Gradisar, Mayor of Pueblo
  • Dennis E. Flores, Pueblo City CouncilPresident
  • Pueblo City Council
  • Garrison M. Ortiz, ChairoftheBoard of Pueblo County Commissioners
  • Patricia A Erjavec, President ofPueblo Community College
  • Steven Trujillo,President & Chief Executive Officer ofthe Latino Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo
  • Jason Romero, Jr.,Director of theLatino History Project
  • Robert H. McDonald,Dean of University Libraries and Sr. Vice-Provost of Online Education at 񱦵
  • Brenda M. Romero,Professor Emeritus of Musicology,񱦵
  • Patricia Limerick, Director, Center of the American West, 񱦵
  • Estevan Rael-Galvez, CEO and President, Creative Strategies 360°

The AMRC invites you to support this exciting project by making a donation.