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- Student
- 20/09/2018
Casa de Tuna: “Noche de Tuna is the MomenTUm after-party”
Every month Cursor will be visiting a student house. Who lives there, what do they do there, what traditions do they have, and what do they talk about? We'll write down whatever we hear, and put on film whatever we see. This time we are visiting Casa Tuna Ciudad de Luz, Aalsterweg 171. After a plate of shawarma pasta (and a couple of cans of beer), the residents sing one Spanish serenade after the next.
Known for their fine suits and Spanish music, when these men gather every Tuesday at the Tuna House they are wearing their regular clothes. They eat together before they go to café Peapod close by to rehearse. In winter they might wear their capes on these Tuesdays, but on this sun-drenched fall day T-shirts reveal their bare arms as they stand in the courtyard.
Chef Youri Haenen (Master's student at W&I) makes shawarma pasta “in the absence of mince” and while he is busy doing this, the tall tales start spinning at the tables in the ‘garden’. The bitterball parties of the past are legendary - but none of the current residents was ever there in person. It seems that when a new housemate moved in, this rookie (a novato in Spanish) had to throw a party in his not yet painted room. As soon as he brought out the bitterballs, the guests would squirt tubes of mayonnaise, ketchup and whatever else to their heart's content. The mess got all over the walls and that was part of the fun. Oh well, the residents of this Vestide house, can well understand why this tradition has been abolished.
Rookie ronda
One house custom that still persists is that novatos + suit + instrument + passport are sent away for a weekend. This is called rookie rondo. They have to hitchhike to a foreign place and earn money by making music. With the proceeds, food is bought for the Tunos who come and collect the dispatched novatos on the Sunday evening (with a van whose gas also has to be paid for with singing). Matthijs van Wijk (second-year student of Automotive) was able to give a party in Antwerp with 800 euros.
Throwing a party is something they do often at Tuna Ciudad de Luz. This weekend is 'Noche de Tuna', the smaller version of the large tuna festival that is celebrated every two or three years. For the first time, the noche coincides with MomenTUm, but that's not a cause for concern. “Our Pasa Bares, when the tuna groups go from bar to bar, is simply the MomenTUm after-party,” says Reinier Peters (second-year Applied Physics). “No, MomenTUm is our supporting act,” says Matthijs.
Espaňa Cani
After the meal, the Tunos go to a brown cafe on the other side of the street. The first hour they spend playing basic numbers like Adelita and Hoy Estoy Aqui. As warm-ups and because they are difficult enough for new members. Later in the evening they add the new numbers. They are a little more advanced, according to Kasper Knuijt, who is studying Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences. He mentions Espaňa Cani as an example. It can't be all that difficult, can it? Nice suit on, instrument in your hand, and a little swaying back and forth; the party is sure to follow.
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