Michelle Guadalupe Felix Garcia, a Blind audio professional, leads a session at The Conference: Live at Lititz, demonstrating accessible sound editing using keyboard-driven screen reader navigation and WCAG-compliant production software to remove barriers in the music and event industry.
Michelle Guadalupe Felix Garcia, a Blind sound engineer from Mexico, has broken new ground in the live events industry by showing how accessible audio technology enables Blind People to participate and even compete. Supported by Clair Global, the Audio Accessibility Alliance (AAA) is an industry think tank focused on fostering conversations and driving change around disability in entertainment technology and live event production. This collaboration highlights the importance of striving to remove barriers that prevent us from building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities!
Michelle’s credentials include convincing Coldplay’s management to let her play Chris Martin’s piano and being personally asked by Chris Martin to help record at their Malibu studio. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Music, Recording Technology, and Audio Design. After earning her degree, she obtained Blindness skills training at the Colorado Center for the Blind. Michelle’s expert use of Pro Tools—which must follow WCAG Accessibility Standards for true accessibility—demonstrates how inclusion and accessibility provide equal access to complex audio production tools. Features like text-to-speech enable full participation without relying on visual waveforms. This created valuable collaboration with key industry players like Live Nation, Cohesion, and Sennheiser, emphasizing the critical role of accessible technology in community building.
The AAA also supports Low Vision artist JJ, an 11-year-old aspiring rapper. Through partnerships with VisionCorps and Clair Global, JJ receives hands-on recording and mentorship opportunities. This example shows how striving to remove barriers allows Blind and Low Vision People to share their talents fully and contribute to vibrant cultural communities, advancing inclusion and accessibility in the arts.
Michelle’s journey—from Mexico to San Diego, where she pursued higher education despite discouragement—underscores the ongoing need for advocacy and commitment to accessibility in the industry. The AAA, facilitated by Clair Global, is working to make accessibility an industry standard rather than an exception. Join the movement in striving to remove barriers that prevent us from building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities by supporting initiatives like the Audio Accessibility Alliance.
“O Children of Men! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory.” -Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words
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