Conversations are a cornerstone of the Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Terapia’s discursive segment. By fostering dialogue, these discussions play a crucial role in  providing essential context for subsequent concerts, but also to amplify voices and articulate experiences, themes, and sounds that have been marginalized or overlooked. Through this series, artists from the Sonic Pluriverse Festival create a platform to discuss their practices and engage in a dialogue with guest artists to review shared experiences and exchange sonic insights with the audience. These live conversations are recorded and archived, contributing to the festival's publishing materials and forming a four-part podcast series. 

In this conversation, Aziza Brahim and Talia Vega León come together to discuss how their musical journeys intertwine with themes of identity, migration, and cultural expression. Aziza Brahim, whose life and music are deeply shaped by her Sahrawi heritage and experiences of displacement, shares a heartfelt perspective on blending sonic practices from West African, Iberian, Mediterranean, and Afro-Cuban traditions. Talia Vega León, co-curator of Radical Sounds Latin America, brings her passion for creating platforms that celebrate and challenge Latin American identity through experiemental music.

Together, they examine the powerful role and impact that music can have in transgressing borders, fostering dialogue, and affirming cultural identities while resisting cultural erasure and marginalization. Their conversation highlights how their personal backgrounds and initiatives contribute uniquely to a richer, more inclusive global music landscape grounded in resilience and empowerment.

Aziza Brahim’s life has been heavily shaped by the displacement and political oppression that ensued after Morocco’s 1975 invasion of Western Sahara. Brahim sought refuge in Cuba as a young teenager, where she discovered her passion for songwriting, later moving to Barcelona, where she is based today. Her music is a powerful and nuanced blend of various musical cultures, incorporating elements from West African, Iberian, Mediterranean, and Afro-Cuban traditions. Drawing from her Sahrawi heritage, she often infuses her compositions with the hypnotic sounds of haul, serving as a means of cultural expression and identity affirmation. As a songwriter, singer, and instrumentalist, Brahim is a prominent and articulate spokesperson for the Sahrawi people and their ongoing struggle for recognition and justice.

Talia Vega León is a curator and creative director of Radical Sounds Latin America, a platform and festival based in Berlin celebrating experimental Latin American music over the past six years. The initiative fosters an ongoing, inclusive dialogue on migration by providing an online and offline space for those who use their craft to challenge notions of identity and belonging.