Charanga (Spain)

A Charanga is a small amateur marching band with wind and percussion instruments that plays festivals mainly in Northern Spain, Basque Country, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and the Valencian Community.

Charangas mainly play popular, traditional songs that have simple rhythms and often feature risqué lyrics.

They frequently play at pasacalles, a performance which moves along the streets of a town, while the public follows the band and dances to its tunes.

Many middle and high school music students take advantage of their knowledge to earn extra income by playing in the charanga.

Normally a charanga is composed of percussion (bass drum, snare drum and cymbals), the brass section (trombones, euphonium, trumpets and tubas) and finally the woodwind section (alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, piccolos and clarinets).