Julian en concierto

Today is an interesting day. My father is playing his Bandurria in Patrocinio, a residential area outside Talavera.

Let me give you a bit of background of my father and his relationship with music.

When he was very young (about sixteen), he was part of a music band called ‘La Tuna’. ‘La Tuna’ is a traditional group of college students. These groups were born in Spain around the XV and XVI centuries. They were formed by poor students who used to travel around villages making use of their musical abilities to cover their studies.

These days, most universities have a ‘Tuna’ and any student of that university can be part of it – although in the past, only males could join ‘La Tuna’. I am not sure if this has now changed – .

Members of ‘La Tuna’ wear old clothes and play songs of Hispanic folklore, normally with stringed instruments. These guys are usually very well-known, especially in small towns. Their cheerful and mischievous character make them particularly popular among females. Some girls consider them as celebrities and try to get off with them to be in the spotlight – maybe this is the way my father ‘conquered’ my mother –.

Anyway, by being part of ‘La Tuna’, my father developed a strong interest in music. He learnt to play ‘la bandurria’, an instrument similar to a laud. He was part of ‘La Tuna’ for about seven years – until he got married and responsibilities shifted towards bringing up a family – .

But he used to love it. They had lots of fun. They played at the local festivities, christmas, weddings… They were lucky, they also used to travel around the nearest villages and sing for the locals. They got to earn some pocket money and travel a bit – more than most people used to at the time – .

Occasionally, they used to stop at each other’s girlfriends’ doorsteps and sing for them under their windows once they’d gone to bed – in a Romeo and Juliet’s style – . I can imagine the annoyance of my grandparents when it was my mother’s turn! . “We knew when they had an argument”, I remember my grandmother saying. “That was your father’s way of asking your mother for forgiveness”. I thought it was quite romantic!

Here is a photo of one of his performance. He is the one circled in red.

Inevitably, when he got married to my mother, he parked his ‘bandurria’ aside, too busy looking after all of us, so no time to play. Although, occasionally I remember him playing for my brother and I on a Saturday afternoon.

Now he is retired and therefore, with more time in his hands, he has returned to his long forgotten instrument. He now belongs to two groups, one based in Talavera and the other one in Patrocinio and goes to rehearse once a week. It is christmas time when he plays for the public.

Today, we have come to see him to Patrocinio. The band is formed of around a dozen people, mostly playing guitar. They are two laudes and two bandurrias, one of them, my father’s.

They are playing traditional folkloric songs from popular Spanish singers of the last fifty years. But, the most played songs, inevitably at this time of they year, are carols.

He is too focused. All his fellows are singing and encouraging the public to sing along with them. He should relax a bit more and engage with his audience. At the end of the day, this is what the stars do ! – I must remember giving him this feedback later on –.

I think he looks like he has swallowed a wasp, hope he doesn’t go into anaphylactic shock! GDR

He got to play a few ‘solos’. His ‘bandurria’ sounds clear, clean and melodic. Very nice.

Here is a video we took.

I am glad he is playing his ‘bandurria’ again. He really likes it and it keeps him active. I also think he is very good at it.

I hope he gets to enjoy his music many, many years and that we continue to attend his concerts too!

SM