Research Bio

 Juan David Rubio Restrepo is an assistant professor in the Department of Music. 

Originally from Colombia, Rubio Restrepo’s research interests include theories of the human; decolonial theory; media studies; cultural and ethnic studies; critical theory; studies of music and sound; ethnomusicology; and Latin American, Chicanx, Caribbean and African-American thought. He is currently using multi-sited archival research and auto/ethnography in his current book project, which focuses on placing the music and figure of Ecuadorian singer Julio Jaramillo in a dialogue with música popular (popular music in its literal translation). In his own creative pursuits, he has performed at Angel City Jazz Festival; Festival Internacional de la Imagen; Festival Altavoz; and the Rock al Parque and Jazz al Parque festivals. 

Rubio Restrepo earned a BMus in Jazz Studies and Drum Kit Performance from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, an MFA in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology from UC Irvine, and a Ph.D. in music with a focus on Integrative Studies from UC San Diego. Before his appointment at UC Berkeley, he thought in the University of Texas at El Paso’s Department of Music and Chicano Studies program.  

Research Expertise and Interest

ethnomusicology, sound and music studies, Latin American studies, theories of decolonization, critical race studies, Science and Technology studies, media technologies