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Escuchar al Istmo: Los Angeles Central American Diasporic Music Memory Making

Presented by: Gabriel Vidal, UCLA

This presentation utilizes research based on community radio, DJ, vinyl collecting and oral history practice to explore music preservation and memory work for the Los Angeles Central American community. Founded in 2024 with 20 episodes up to date, Escuchar al Istmo, which translates to Listen to the Isthmus, is a dublab internet radio show and a music memory project for the Central American diaspora. The show highlights the diverse musical landscape of the seven countries, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, through its genres, vinyl records, and special guests. The show highlights history, culture and storytelling and invites community members to curate music that brings them joy, inspiration, and reminds them of their upbringing and Central American identity. Los Angeles being home to the largest Central American diaspora, yet musically underrepresented, continuing the practice of sharing music, the past and present sounds, is critical for the diaspora’s preserved memory and cultural identity here in Los Angeles. Based on the radio project and the vinyl collection of Gabriel Vidal, host of Escuchar al Istmo, the presentation will demonstrate various musical genres throughout Central American history and memory making through sharing music amongst the Central American diaspora. The presentation will include audio and visual displays of vinyl records, excerpts from community member oral histories and discussion around music and community archiving for the Central American diaspora in Los Angeles.

📍 Recorded live at the Cal State LA University Library
📅 October 22, 2025
⏱ 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Sounds of the Underground brings together researchers, artists, archivists, and community historians to share work on grassroots sound-making. Presentation themes include diasporic kinships and sonic resistance; community archiving and memory-making; queer and trans nightlife, safety, and belonging; transcultural identity formation across diasporas; student-led education, mental health, and safe-space building; and the geographies of LA’s underground scenes.

Learn more about Sounds of the Underground from the Cal State LA University Library at: https://libguides.calstatela.edu/sounds