Although this week was dedicated to the 70^th anniversary of the Eindhoven WWII liberation, the city center seemed to have been conquered yet again; this time by a group of about 500 Tunos. Among them were musicians from Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, and –of course– Spain.

The festival’s center of attention was the Market Square (De Markt), in which a large crowd gasped at Tuna groups (either male or female) competing in a music contest. The atmosphere definitely resembled a Southern European summer’s night.

Guy Dubois, master’s student Human Technology Interaction and a tuno since 2007, was delighted about this year’s attendance: “I think we attracted more students this year, as the crowd seems to be somewhat younger than during previous editions.” Since the festival had no admission fee, parts of the crowd merely glanced at the performances. Fortunately, they did stick around for re-enactments of Spanish classics, like Escobar’s ‘Y Viva España’.

Dubois remarks that its status has reached global proportions: “We receive annual requests from all over the world to perform here. This year, there was also Peruvian interest and a letter from the Maldives.”

The Tunas also impressed the Dutch audience outside the Market tent. During the ‘Pasacalles’, all Tunas needed to perform a serenade for a boy or girl on an actual balcony. An expert jury then decided which group really melted hearts and which groups had a music meltdown.

In addition to the Spanish tones, there were also non-music traditions throughout the weekend. Particularly, the hazing of prospective Tunos was notable, as men tumbled down a small assault course in their birthday suits. There was no rejoicing for the men though, as women were allowed to wear a bikini.

By the end of Saturday night, the winners of the tent festival had been announced. The Tuna from Cuenca brought back the gold to Spain, leaving the second place for the feminine Tuna from Alicante. The Tuna from Eindhoven did not participate, as they were the organizing party.