What Does tuna Mean
Tuna is a term with several uses. It may be the genus of plants whose scientific name is Opuntia , made up of some three hundred species native to America . Prickly pears can be found in the wild throughout the continent.
The Opuntia ficus-indica is the most popular tuna, highlighted by its fruits are edible . With the fruits of the prickly pear, sweets, sauces and other preparations that have a high level of vitamins and minerals can be made. In some countries , the stems of prickly pears are even eaten.
The idea of tuna is also used to name a musical group made up of students. The members of the tunas usually wear old clothes and perform folk songs .
It is believed that the origin of these tunas dates back to the 13th century , when groups of young people dedicated themselves to music in order to gather the necessary resources to pay for their studies. The tunas are characterized by their funny and humorous themes : by extension, tuno or tunante is an adjective that is used to describe mischievous people.
Throughout history , prickly pears have also become known for their itinerant nature. The students toured different regions carrying their art and cheering the public.
In Spain , traditional tunas used instruments such as the guitar, the double bass, the lute and the tambourine, among many others. The Portuguese tunas, for their part, also used to use the bandoneon, while in Mexico most of the tunas appealed to the accordion as a distinctive element of the region.
At present there are many faculties that have their tunas as a way of following that musical tradition. They also do so, arguing that they are a good way to promote values such as friendship, companionship, brotherhood or love for music.
However, it is no less true that prickly pears also have many detractors who dismiss them as being an archaic formation and even as initiatives that continue to bet on the "humiliation" of newcomers, who have to submit to the well-known hazing.
The clothing of all tuno consists mainly of the doublet, the pants, the shirt, the scholarship and the leggings. All this, of course, without forgetting the emblematic cape that is considered to be the one that protects him from the cold at night, the one that gives him the air of a gallant and the one that shows how much a traveler he is. And it is that the traditional thing is that in that garment it includes shields of the cities that it has visited.
Within the field of cinema we find a film that takes as its protagonist precisely these musical groups that concern us. It is the Spanish feature film “Tuno negro”, which premiered in 2001 under the direction of Vicente J. Martín and Pedro L. Barbero. It is a horror film that revolves around the figure of an unknown serial killer who dresses as a tuno to kill his victims, who are always the worst medical students at the University of Salamanca.