Patricia Vergara is a musician, music producer, and ethnomusicologist who focuses on the linkages between musical practices, the politics of place, mobility, and memory in contexts of class, race, and gender struggles, and political violence. She is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of California, and her current book project examines processes of musical migrations between Mexico and Colombia, musical meaning, belonging, and political conflict. Focused on Merced County and its diverse communities, Vergara’s ongoing community-engaged research project the Soundscapes of Merced highlights how we can learn about a place and its peoples through their musical practices, sonic environments, and memories of sound and music. It is set to launch in Spring 2026 as a permanent collection at Calisphere, the University of California’s digital archive. She performs regularly on piano with various local groups, and most recently recorded for the album Canciones del San Joaquin (2025) as a member of the Latin Jazz group Rumba 32, a project by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts.