My Fulbright Experience: Abigail Lindo
Recently, she had the opportunity to present her work at the International Conference “Musicology and Festivals: Latin American and Iberian Perspectives”, at the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía:
“I am exceedingly grateful for the opportunity to attend the recent international conference on Musicology and Festivals: Latin American and Iberian Perspectives” at the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía, Sede Antonio Machado in Baeza, Jaén (in southern Spain).
The congresso included about 40 different paper sessions, panels, and concerts over the course of two days (Friday, December 2nd and Saturday, December 3rd). In addition to this specific gathering, the conference occurred during a festival called Festival de Música Antigua de Úbeda y Baeza, featuring an extensive selection of performances showcasing skilled musicians playing classical Iberian (and broader European) selections in the evenings. I found them to be a beneficial supplement to the scholarly engagement of the congresso and overall, an enjoyable and insightful experience (due to the conversations had prior to and after the performances in question).
My presentation, entitled “Tremor’s Sonic Landscapes and the Eco-cosmopolitan City,” took place during the opening session of the conference on Friday, detailing the ways in which Ponta Delgada, the capital of the Azores (a Portuguese autonomous region in the North Atlantic Ocean) is a city of ecological knowledge and personhood as a reflection of cosmopolitanism resisting the insularity that is often ascribed to islands – with sound and musical experiences acting as a way for locals and tourists to understand, interact with, and appreciate the natural environment.
I additionally focus on an alternative music festival called Tremor, whose organizers intentionally select environments for sonic engagement and collective understanding of Portuguese identity and sustainable existence on the island. While my first few months in Portugal have not been the easiest, I am grateful for the experiences had in the past months, the amazing people I have met, and the important impact being here has had on my research.”
