Join us for a special event with composer Iván Enrique Rodríguez and UC Santa Cruz scholar Amy Argenal to discuss the complex experiences of migrants, the many challenges of seeking asylum and refuge in the United States, and the power of music as a tool for social change.

Presented by The Humanities Institute and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the event features “Casting the Dice,” an orchestral work narrated and composed by Rodríguez and based on stories collected from migrants around the world. The piece, which premiered at the Cabrillo Festival in Summer 2024, examines the lived experiences of people who have been displaced, delving into the connections of immigrants and refugees with their homelands, and their personal journeys as they navigate rebuilding their lives in a new country.

Rodríguez will discuss his process composing this orchestral piece with Argenal, a scholar of migration, human rights educator, and active collaborator with local immigrant and refugee rights organizations. Alongside the conversation, attendees will get a chance to connect with groups that offer resources to migrants in Santa Cruz County and advocate for just immigration policies, providing an opportunity to learn about ways to support local efforts in our community.

This event is free and open to the public but we ask that you please register.

Dr. Iván Enrique Rodríguez, a Puerto Rican composer, is acclaimed for his gripping, dramatic music rooted in social justice and Puerto Rican heritage. His notable works include A Metaphor for Power, addressing Latinx and equality issues, and Casting the Dice, about refugees and immigration, commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival. His music has been performed in major venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, as well as in refugee camps across Europe. Rodríguez received the 2019 ASCAP Leonard Bernstein Award and the 2023 ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize. He earned his doctorate from The Juilliard School.

Dr. Amy Argenal is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Community-Engaged Research and Learning in the Sociology Department. She completed her doctorate in International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco, where she also received her Master’s in the same area of study. She received her second Masters in Human Rights from Mahidol University in Thailand. Her current research focuses on the root causes of migration from Central America and explores methodologies that bring the narratives of migrant communities to the forefront.

Co-sponsored by the UC Santa Cruz Department of Sociology, Department of Latin American and Latino Studies, Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas, the Arts Research Institute, the Institute for Social Transformation, and the Santa Cruz Welcoming Network.