On February 17-18, 2023, two CCI students, Marvin Suarez-Pimienta and Sommaiya Angrish, presented at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC) at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida. Learn more about their presentations and research below:
Marvin Suarez-Pimienta
Major: Information Technology
Presentation: Dos Bocas Oil Well Explosion in Indigenous Veracruz, 1908
Purpose: to recount the phenomenon of an oil fire that burned for 57 days by interpreting the event’s broader implications in Mexico’s pursuits of achieving oil-based modernization. The project details the fire’s health and socioeconomic impacts on San Diego de la Mar residents and the municipality of Tamalin’s Totonac and Huastec Indigenous communities.
Suarez-Pimienta is currently in his final semester in the IT program. He hopes to continue his research on these topics after graduation in order to increase awareness of the challenges facing indigenous people and underrepresented groups.
Sommaiya Angrish
Major: Digital Media Production
Presentation: Sounds of a Wonder City: La Paz, Bolivia
Purpose: to investigate how the sonic environment of the Bolivian capital city of La Paz is reflected and manifested in music. In order to build a profile of the sound landscape of the city, hundreds of sounds recorded throughout the city were analyzed for similarities and consistencies and rhythmic patterns. This research will potentially depict the emotional value of sounds in the culture when used in a piece of music and how the soundscapes of La Paz affect the sonics of Bolivian musicians.
Angrish plans to continue the research by interviewing Bolivian musicians and asking them about any explicit connections that they feel exist between sounds they grew up listening to and the sounds they use in their music. “After I wrap up my research in this aspect, I want to carry out an independent research project back in my homeland India,” says Angrish, who plans to interview musicians there regarding the different meanings of sounds in their cultures.