Christina Zanfagna

Christina Zanfagna is an Associate Professor of Music at Santa Clara University's College of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on ethnomusicology, particularly Afro-diasporic music cultures, hip hop, and the intersections of religion, race, and urban space. She teaches courses on global music, hip hop cultures, and flamenco history, and has published extensively on topics including holy hip hop in Los Angeles, soundscapes of gentrification, and krumping dance subcultures. Zanfagna co-designed the San Francisco Bay Area Sound Map project and is a flamenco dancer performing throughout the Bay Area. Her book Holy Hip Hop in the City of Angels (2017) explores gospel rap's role in urban spiritual and social transformation.

Research Interests: Urban music studies, hip hop theology, African diasporic cultures, flamenco performance, and the relationship between sound and space. Her work bridges ethnography, cultural criticism, and musicology to examine how music shapes and reflects urban identities and social movements.

Recent Projects: Co-designed the San Francisco Bay Area Sound Map (2015), a participatory project mapping urban soundscapes; co-directed SCU's Frank Sinatra Artist-in-Residence program; performed with flamenco companies like Theater Flamenco and Caminos Flamencos.