History

In 1212, during the reign of Alfonso VIII, the first Studium Generale was founded in Palencia-an institution that would give rise to what we now know as universities. These "general studies" and their successors were attended by young people, including sopistas, the forerunners of the present-day tunos.

The sopistas were poor students, who made the most of their musical talent, cheerfulness and japing to stroll through the towns, visiting streets, squares and convents and entertaining people in return for a bowl of soup and a few coins to help them pay for their studies. At night they played beneath balconies, serenading the women they had their eyes on. They were called sopistas not only because of the real soup their efforts were rewarded with, but also because it was often said of them that they lived de la sopa boba-a colloquial expression that is more or less equivalent to "sponging". They always had their wooden spoon and fork at the ready to dive in whenever the occasion arose, and this wooden cutlery has become a typical symbol of tuna groups.