Fernando Rios

Fernando Rios is an Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at the College of Arts and Humanities, University of Maryland. As Affiliate Faculty in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center, his work bridges academic and regional expertise.

• PhD in Ethnomusicology (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
• Specializes in Latin American and US Latino/a music cultures
• Active member of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), including roles on council and editorial board

His research interrogates music's role in sociopolitical projects, from nationalism to social justice movements. Recent work includes the book Panpipes & Ponchos: Musical Folklorization and the Rise of the Andean Conjunto Tradition in La Paz, Bolivia (Oxford University Press, 2020) and ongoing study of Salvadoran diaspora music in US solidarity movements.

Articles published in Ethnomusicology, Latin American Music Review, and Ethnomusicology Forum map Andean music's transnational evolution and state-sponsored cultural projects. Current projects include a book on the US-Central American Peace and Solidarity Movement (1980-1992) and developing new courses on Central American music in hemispheric contexts.