Raven Chacon Makes Noise

As Zócalo Presents His Work in ‘How Do We Hear America?,’ the Composer Shares His Liner Notes on Composition, U.S. History, and the Los Angeles Music Scene

Raven Chacon has been making noise, literally and otherwise, since he was a youngster growing up in New Mexico. Fascinated by instruments of all kinds (those he’s bought and those he’s built), the 45-year-old Diné composer and artist has spent a lifetime studying the sounds things and people make, and creating experimental performances that build upon that noise, melodious and otherwise, to make listeners think about the places they inhabit: physical, spiritual, artistic, and intellectual.

Today, Chacon’s music is having a moment. In 2022, his composition for church organ and ensemble …

Interstate 10 Is More Than a Road

Its Recent Closure Reminds Us of How We Need to Rethink Our Transportation, and Ourselves

Funny thing about the world we have created and the structures we build—they are only really seen for what they are when in states of abandonment. Our built environment reveals …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

A Song and Dance for Los Angeles’ Cultures and Communities

Zócalo’s ‘Diaspora Dance Party’ at the Port of L.A. Celebrated the Music and Melodies That Define and Connect Us

They drove from Van Nuys, Boyle Heights, and Long Beach. They biked from Santa Monica. And they made the short walk from just down the street for “How Does a …

How Hollywood’s Black Friday Strike Changed Labor Across America

A 1945 Union vs. Studios Battle Set Off Broad Right-Wing Hysteria—Its Lessons Should Resonate Today

It was October 5, 1945. The Conference of Studio Unions (CSU), a union representing craft laborers in Los Angeles, including painters, carpenters, set designers, cartoonists, and others, was seven months …

Karen Tongson’s Diaspora Jukebox Playlist | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Karen Tongson’s Diaspora Jukebox Playlist

From the Philippines to the Inland Empire, George Michael to Taylor Swift, Songs That Chart a Queer Awakening

As part of Zócalo Public Square’s 20th birthday, we’re sharing the sounds of the Southland with “Diaspora Jukebox,” a series of playlists that celebrate …

Alejandra Campoverdi’s Diaspora Jukebox Playlist | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Alejandra Campoverdi’s Diaspora Jukebox Playlist

The Sounds of Faith, Struggle, and the ‘Magic Dark’ Braid Together in This First-Gen Soundtrack

As part of Zócalo Public Square’s 20th birthday, we’re sharing the sounds of the Southland with “Diaspora Jukebox,” a series of playlists that celebrate …