Esteban Hernandez Parra

I am a son, an immigrant, a mestizo, and a doctor musician from Colombia 
dedicated to building community around learning, playing, and teaching viola and violin. The 
musical interactions I sustain across Abya Yala (the Americas) are not only 
political, but also continuously transformed by the work of my mentors, teachers, 
ancestors, colleagues, family, students, and friends: it is thanks to our 
communion that we resist in joy; listening and sounding in solidarity. My action as 
a performer and researcher is rooted in decolonial work. I engage with 
communities whose musical practices reclaim local identities and ancestral 
territories in Abya Yala, towards a continuous dignification of our existence. 
Through teaching at UA, I learn from+with my students and colleagues as we 
sustain collaborations through Tucson Viola Rola, TucSon Jarocho, La Peña del Surco, 
TUSD, Arizona ViolAcademy, AZ Phil, Bach Collegium Fort Wayne, Bloomington 
Early Music Festival, and Tanguí Chirimía