A participatory research project on how sound reconnects people to the places they belong to. Across Guadalajara and Bogotá, 100+ participants aged 3 to 80 explored one question through their ears:

Where does the heart of a city beat?

Degree project · Sole author · Universidad El Bosque · 2024

Methodology

Qualitative and participatory research · 4 stages

Stage 01

32 participants, all ages

Street mediation: Guadalajara, Mx.

What we did
  • Poster inviting strangers to “discover how stars sound”.
  • QR Codes + headphones with NASA’s galaxy sonification.
  • Participants drew “the galaxy of their heart”.
  • We asked: Where’s the heart of your city?
What we discover
Cosmic scale triggers reflection on belonging and place.
Sound made them think about roots, not modernity.
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Located Guadalajara’s heart in the historic center.

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Located Guadalajara’s heart in natural places.

10 faculty members

STEAM interviews: University El Bosque, Bogotá

What we did
  • What sounds do you remember waking up to?
  • What does Bogotá sound like to you?
  • How do you think loud noises affect you?
  • Where does the city’s heart beat?
What we discover
Adults describe sound through emotion and memory, not technical acoustics.
Sound is deeply tied to identity.
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Described Bogotá’s sound as “chaos.” When asked where the city’s heart beats, nobody pointed to the noise. They pointed to parks, wetlands, mountains, history.

35 participants, students

STEAM workshop: Colegio Externado Porfirio Barba Jacob

What we did
  • 90 min session. Zero slides with text.
  • First 45 min: Titles + sounds (bioacoustics, whale songs, spectrograms).
  • Second 45 min: Groups of 3 drew “The ecosystem of their heart” using a Google Labs tool that turns drawing into sound.
What we discover
Children arrived at the concept “heart of ecosystems” without being told.
Experience beats explanation. Always.
One student said: “We see these things every day, but nobody ever explained them like this.”
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Groups completed the exercise immediately. Drawing, laughing and listening to what they created.

25+ visitors

Interactive exhibition: Centro de La Felicidad, Chapinero, Bogotá.

What we did — 4 stations, one journey
IRON

The heart of your heart is iron, and it forms when two stars collide.

JOURNEY

Video narrating the research. Walls covered with all heart-galaxies drawn throughout the project.

CALDWELL 73

Image of the galaxy. NASA’s data sonification. The journey ends where it began: listening to the stars.

BIOACOUSTICS

Two photographs: Downtown Bogotá / Humedal Santa María del Lago. Small speakers, listen to the difference.

What we discover
The loop from stars → heart → city → stars creates emotional resonance.
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Participants reported feeling “connected to something larger.”

Use the arrows — or swipe

Listen to our journey

Historic Center, Guadalajara

Historic Center,
Guadalajara

Historic Center, Bogotá

Historic Center,
Bogotá

Humedal Santa María, Bogotá

Humedal Sta María,
Bogotá

Caldwell 73

Caldwell 73

A heart nestled in a star — the galaxy of your heart

We would love to meet the galaxy of your heart!

Let’s talk