Tuna

In the five days we have spent in Oaxaca so far, we have attended many festivals and performances and celebrations.  Some of these have been Christmas related, and many others have just been connected to the joy of the city as this is a city that loves to celebrate.  One of the best discoveries we have made so far is a type of music I was previously unfamiliar with, called Tuna.  A little googling indicates that it descends from traditional Basque music, but it seems to be quite popular here in Oaxaca, as we stumbled across a group performing in the street the other night, and on Christmas night there were two competing Tuna Christmas Concerts in different churches.   We chose to go to one by Tuna Real Universtaria (http://www.uabjo.mx/dominios/tuna/), a group of nearly two dozen college students playing a variety of guitars, accordians, drums, and tambourines -- one guy even did backflips down the center of the church as he played the tambourine!

Last night they played holiday songs, including such favorites as Santa Claus llego a la Ciudad, Blanca Navidad, and the big crowd pleaser Los Peces En El Rio, long with a choir of children and adults.  The night ended with the entire church singing 'Noche De Paz' together.

There are many reasons why I would encourage you to come to Oaxaca for Christmas, but this type of concert was high on the list.