I began this project by looking into how Latin culture has been economically marginalized over the years. In Providence, there is a distinct demographic discrepancy between College Hill—where Brown, RISD, and Johnson & Wales are located—and South Providence, a predominantly Latino neighborhood. This divide is the historical result of gentrification. Starting from the Urban Renewal of the late 1950s, College Hill became the epicenter where affluent university expansion took away the living space of people of color and immigrant families. Even now, this gentrification is ongoing: highly capitalized corporate landlords are continuously taking over neighborhoods in both South and North Providence, such as Olneyville and Smith Hill. This exacerbates an extreme “college bubble” defined by a huge disconnection between the local and college communities.

As I explored Afro-Caribbean percussion, I was particularly inspired by the shape of the bongo drum, which was widely played in 19th-century Cuba for Son and Mambo music. Drawing from its dual-chambered structure, I created sinuous designs that reflect both the curves of the drum and the diamond-patterned trunk texture of a palm tree, serving as a visual allegory for a “tropical island.”

As you can see from the mechanism of the reggaeton beat in this video demonstration, I attempted to create the “dembow” rhythm using a stepper motor. It was a very difficult process since the undulating wood panel I created was uneven; the speed of the stepper motor was hard to stabilize once the wooden stick hit the surface. After numerous adjustments, I finally replicated the dembow pattern. Through this trial and error, I realized that using an RC servo motor next time if the motor only needs to move within a specific angle to continuously hit the surface. It ended up being way more complicated than it needed to be.