Tuna (music)

In Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries, a tuna is a group of university students in traditional university dress who play traditional instruments and sing serenades. The tradition originated in Spain and Portugal in the 13th century as a means of students to earn money or food. Nowadays students don't belong to a "tuna" for money nor food; rather, they seek to keep a tradition alive, for fun, to travel a lot and to meet new people from other universities. A senior member of a tuna is a "tunante", but is usually known simply as a "tuno". The word “tuno” also refers to anyone who is a member of a tuna, although the first conceptualisation is more used among tunas. Newbies are known as "caloiros", "novatos" or "pardillos".

History

The name ''tuna'' may come from French ''roi de Thunes'',
Tuno
' in the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española. "king of Tunis", a title used by leaders of vagabonds. But there is also a legend of a real King of Tunis, known for his love to music and party that usually liked to walk around the streets at night playing and singing. That explains why the term ''roi de Thunes'' was applied.

In the old times (medieval days) the ''Sopistas'' (a sarcastic title meaning ''soup beggars'') would use their musical talents to entertain people in exchange for a coin and a bowl of soup (''sopa'', in Portuguese and Spanish, hence the name ''sopistas''). They would also play their music under the windows of the ladies they wished to court.

From its origins to the present day, from and through of the Tunas have continued the cultivation of popular instruments such as the bandurria, lute, guitar and tambourine, instruments which are named in the Spanish book ''Libro del Buen Amor'' by Juan Ruiz (c. 1283 - c. 1350)."Libro del Buen Amor"
''Juan Ruiz (c. 1283 - c. 1350)'', Retrieved on 2007-06-23 (in spanish)

For these occupations, they took their guitars and bandurrias and sang popular songs. The ''tunos'' or ''sopistas'' also showed abilities for music, and in courting ladies that they had been wooing to. "Tuna" ''Tuna - Wikipedia in Spanish'', Retrieved on 2007-06-23 (in Spanish) The ''sopistas'' were poor students that with their music, friendly personality and craftiness scoured for cheap eats for a few coins in the eating-houses, convents, streets and squares."Historia de la Tuna"
''Tuna History'', Retrieved on 2007-06-23 (in Spanish)

Expansion into the Netherlands

In 1964, in Eindhoven came up with a new hazing prank: they had some incoming freshmen learn some Spanish songs and serenade a society lady in Eindhoven (possibly the lady in question was Mrs. Tromp, wife of the then-director of Philips). The serenading group was a hit and in 1964 the students founded Tuna Ciudad de Luz (''Tuna of the City of Light'', in reference to the importance of Philips Lighting to Eindhoven). Starting in 1965 Tuna Ciudad de Luz was invited to Madrid regularly for certamenes by several Spanish tunas; in order to return the favor, Ciudad de Luz, together with the female tuna "la Tuniña", started inviting the Spanish tunas to Eindhoven in 1986 (their 1986 certamen was the first ever held outside Spain).

Since then the tuna tradition has spread to several other universities in the Netherlands. There are currently five tunas in the Netherlands: Tuna Ciudad de Luz in Eindhoven, Tuna de la Ciudad Jarrera in Tilburg, Tuna Universitaria de Maastricht in Maastricht, Cuarentuna de Holanda (former students of Ciudad de Luz) and Tuna Veterana de La Haya (former student in The Hague). There are also three tunas for female students: La Tuniña in Eindhoven, Tuna Femenina de Maastricht in Maastricht, and Tuna Femenina Universitaria de Leiden in Leiden.

Clothing

The clothing of the Tuna is derived from that of Iberian students of the 16th and 17th centuries. It is called a ''grillo'' in Spanish (meaning "cricket") or ''traje'' in Portuguese (meaning "clothing", in a traditional sense) and consists of a cloak, doublet