UC Merced Center for the Humanities

Patricia Vergara’s journey to Merced wasn’t the typical path most take to get here.

Her musical odyssey began in her hometown of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, where by age 17 she was a professional musician. She came to the U.S. to pursue music at the Berklee College of Music, and has traveled across nations and continents, playing everything from classical to jazz and rock.

Now, Vergara is reaching new sonic and musical horizons. She curated “Soundscapes of Merced” – a new exhibit set to premiere May 14 at the Merced County Courthouse Museum.
The exhibit is a collection of stories, oral histories, interviews and environmental sound recordings that serve as an audio postcard of Merced County, plus photos and other important archival materials.

The exhibit will debut with an opening program 6 p.m. Thursday, May 14 at the Courthouse Museum, located at 21st and N streets in Merced. It runs until Nov. 30. Admission to the program is free.

In an interview with The Merced FOCUS, Vergara discussed her journey to Merced and the new exhibit. Link in the comments.

Here is the preview of the "Soundscapes of Merced" exhibit. Hope to see you at the Courthouse Museum this Thursday at 5 p.m. for the exhibit opening reception. https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2026/exhibit-traces-heartbeat-merced-through-sound

Wonderful to see you all yesterday at Merced County Library for our Common Read Book Club discussion of Kao Kalia Yang's Where Rivers Part!

We had a great time returning to Gustine yesterday for this year's Common Read: Kao Kalia Yang's Where Rivers Part. What a lively, long-standing book club they have! Not to mention such a unique and beautiful library building.

Thanks to all who came out to our first Common Read book club discussion of Kao Kalia Yang's Where Rivers Part at Merced County Library's main branch in Merced.

Our friend, ReCCES, would like to share the upcoming Community Engaged Research Reception, which will be held at the MMAC on Wednesday, April 15. Patricia Vergara will present The Soundscapes of Merced Project at 5:30 p.m.

Whenever we eat, we enter into complex circuits of nourishment. Some beings are sacrificed so that others may be sustained. Sustenance engages lands, people, plants, animals, and insects in producing, reproducing, depleting and reconstituting. In this era of the Plantationocene, petrochemical inputs and intensive extraction create sacrifice zones in agricultural areas, as they produce industrially processed goods for a global market. What are the possibilities for finding collective sustenance and building nourishing relations in this disturbed landscape?

REGISTER: bit.ly/Sustenance2026

Panelists:
Catherine Sameh (UCI, Gender and Sexuality Studies)
Vetri Nathan (UCLA, European Languages & Transcultural Studies)
Paolina Lu (UCD, American Studies)

Moderated by Dana Simmons (UCR, Society, Environment, and Health Equity)