Report by Eric Leonardson

Megalópolis sonoras. Identidad cultural y sonidos en peligro de extinción (Sound Megalopolis: Sounds in danger of extinction) took place from March 23-27, 2009 at the gorgeous Fonoteca Nacional in the Coyaocán area of Mexico City. The site of the Fonoteca Nacional is the former home of the great Mexican poet Octavio Paz (1914-1998) and now serves as the archive of all significant audio recordings relevant to the history and culture of Mexico. It is a public access facility with a large, sophisticated lab for the collection, restoration, and preservation of recorded sound. This 5-day conference brought the founders of the World Soundscape Project together with the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) and the Mexican Forum for Acoustic Ecology, including a host of new people to the field from around the world.

I attended the conference with Jesse Seay who, in addition to being a member of the World Listening Project, is the director of Favorite Chicago Sounds and a producer at Vocalo.org.