FOLKLORE

Murcia has a rich folkloric tradition, mainly due to the local talents and the cultural mix created by its geographical position.

The city, together with its Huerta and countryside, has given great songs and dances, which have stood the test of time and given the city part of its individual character. On the other hand, the Murcians have stamped their personality on songs and dances from other places such as the Malagueñas and the Jota.

Below are some of the most outstanding typical Murcian dances:

La Parranda: it has been said that "naming La Parranda is enough to attribute to Murcia an outstanding place amongst the great repertoire of Spanish dances". It has also been called "the essence of the Murcian dance". It is a very old and popular dance and is the most characteristic of the Huerta. It has its origins in the Castilian Seguidilla from which Sevillanas is also derived. Parranda comes from the Arabic word meaning merrymaking. In the Huerta, the young lads used the songs in the "Parrandeo" nights to serenade the young lasses and celebrate any event.

La Malagueña or Murciana: This is a very stately dance which accompanies an extremely difficult song. It originates from the 18th century. When it arrived in the Huerta from the fields of Lorca it became very popular, making people forget somewhat about the Parrandas. There is a great variety of Malagueñas, all very different depending on where they come from, the steps, and the chants.

La Jota: although typically Aragonese, on being spread throughout the country it acquired its own characteristics. Its happy and lively style is also present here.

The Boleras -similar to the Jota Murciana- are also interesting, as is the Bolero, a noble and majestic dance that is one of the oldest known.


The Songs:

Los Mayos: these existed in the Huerta at the end of the 19th century. The young bachelors sang them in honour of their fiancées. The current Mayos, Manchegan in origin, were sung for the first time by "Los Auroros del Rincón" in 1957. With the rise of the "Peñas Huertanas" or Huertano groups, some of them have come to be sung before the monuments to the Virgin and the Crosses of May on the night of the 13th of April.

El Aguilando: popular folksongs sung at Christmas time, usually improvised and referring to people and places. The choir repeats the last line sung by the main singer and there is a chorus alluding to the patron Virgin of the brotherhood or the town, or in reference to the birth of Christ.

Other songs, known as "de Trilla", or those which were sung whilst collecting mulberry leaves, are, according to some experts, the most valuable of the Huertano songs.
The musical accompaniment is usually played on a stringed instrument: guitar, lute, bandurria, a type of mandolin, mandolin or violin, though it is the "guitarro" which is most characteristic -smaller than a guitar and with five chords, three of which are doubles. Percussion is also important: tambourine and castanets for the women, "crotalos" a form of castanets for the men.

Maintaining the tradition of the Murcian songs and dances is possible thanks to the work of the groups and associations and "Peñas Huertanas". At the end of the year 2000, the regional folklore federation was founded, bringing together those concerned with rescuing, conserving and promoting folklore, this valuable treasure which is the expression of the culture and tradition of Murcia.