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Project overview

Bordernote will present portraits and biographies of musicians who live in the US-Mexico borderlands. The purpose is to share their personal narratives and, in doing so, contribute to the documentation of the region’s expressive culture. The project’s primary outcome is a photobook of portraits and oral histories.

“It’s a difficult thing, my job. The truth is, it’s a thousand-headed demon. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know who you’re going to meet.” — Joaquín Fragozo, 73, Puerto Peñasco, Sonora
“If you want to be a good musician, you have to dedicate many hours of your day. Not just sticking with what you have, but continuing to improve your technique, your talent, and yes, investing a lot in it.” — Alfredo “Lalo” Domínguez Martínez, 25, Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.
“My family listens to a lot of mariachi music. When I would listen to it, I would hear the bass playing in the background and I would be like that’s a really nice sounding beefy bass sound and I started liking it.” — Jesus Gonzalez-Medina, 20, Phoenix, Arizona

Notebook

Detail of fingers plucking at a guitarrón strings
Wednesday, October 15, 2025

That big guitar is a guitarrón

Tucson summers linger well into October, and on Hispanic Heritage Day, the University of Arizona’s grassy mall is baked in sunshine and smells like beer and gasoline.  Continue reading

Contact

For more information and to participate, please contact Richard Whitmer via email or on WhatsApp using the QR code below.

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