HISTORY AND TRADITION OF ‘SPANISH SERENADE’
We though ‘Spanish Serenade’ would make a catchy name. However, in Spain and Latin America these musical groups are better known as “La tuna” or “estudiantina” (group of students) as they are indeed formed by students. These musical groups are attached to their local universities and each one represents a particular college; people can tell the major these students belong by the color of their V-shaped scarf that hangs from their shoulders.In our particular case, our group represents the Teaching School of the University of Málaga, in Spain. Our scarf is red and white, the color of the School of Teaching.
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRADITION
In the Twelfth Century, the king of Spain allowed students to play music in exchange of food and shelter. The law strove to help many young men who traveled from miles around to attend class at the new founded University in the city of Salamanca, among the four oldest Universities in Europe.In the centuries that followed, students have played in roads and towns with unequal skill and fortune. And till our days they remain attached to Universities all over Spain.
With the appearance of the first Universities founded by Spaniards in America, the tradition of “La tuna” or “estudiantina”, spread overseas. Students from across Mexico to Chile enriched the romantic repertoire with local music styles and instruments, and they continue doing so.
Other than in Spain and Latin America, “La Tuna” can be found in Belgium and Holland (singing in flawless Spanish) as well as Portugal. All they they share the same goal: to entertain the crowds and to play romantic songs to the ladies.
THE INSTRUMENTS
Two variations of the Arabic sitar, the lute and ’la bandurria’ are played with picks; they perform the melody. The Spanish Guitar glues the music all-together. Finally, the tambourine must keep the beat and makes everybody play at unison. The tambourine man is traditionally in charge of collecting the money of the audience in the streets; he often plays the role of manager and show master of the group by cheering up the band and the crowd, as he performs a unique dance.Other instruments used are: accordion, violin, Canarian timple (ancestor of the ukelele), Cuban requinto, clarinet, contrabass, Mexican guitarrón, bongos, maracas, and many others acoustic ones.
