My friend Maria-Luz
I recorded another one of my own compositions and put it online. It is called Paseo, a bossa nova in a 12-bar blues musical format.

The paseo used to be one of Spain's nicest countrywide customs, and I assume it still is. Late afternoon or early evening (around 5-6 PM) all the young girls in the town or village make themselves pretty and stroll arm in arm in groups of two, three or more, up and down the main street. The young (and not so young) men, also cleaned up after work, sit outside on the Cafe and Bar terraces and inspect the lovely passers by.
Especially up to the 60s or even 70s, when Spain (unlike these days) was very strict and puritanical, this was a very good way of searching for a potential novia (girl friend) or wife.

At the local Fiesta Maior (Birthday celebration of the town's protective Saint) too, there was a paseo like stroll by the girls before and in between every dance. The girls would stroll arm in arm in groups of two or three up and down the dance area, usually the town or village square. You could never ask a single girl out for a dance but had to come up with a dance partner for all two or three of them. Quite a good strategy which ensured that all girls, including the not so pretty ones, would be dancing.
Depending on the size of the village or town a Fiesta Major could last just a day or two or a full month (like in Santiago de Compostela for example).

My University ('Pimpernel') Club friend and fellow geological student Henk Rijks was fortunate to have his assigned fieldwork area right on the North coast of Galicia, where he based himself in the tiny lovely fishing village of Caión (sardines, sardines, sardines!!!). I and another geology student (Freddie Warnaars) had our field work areas 30-40 km inland, halfway between Carballo and Santiago .Not surprisingly therefore Freddie and I regularly spent the weekends with Henk in Caión, especially during its full week long Fiesta Major.

I will never forget my first Fiesta Major at Caión in 1960.
In the morning of the first day the three of us (Henk, Freddie and I) took a stroll on Caión's main beach. It was totally deserted except for one girl, lying on her bath towel in the sun. We casually walked passed her and on to the end of the beach, then turned round.
As we approached, the girl, with beautiful long shiny black hair and dressed in a bright red one-piece swimsuit accentuating every sensual curve of her body, got up and casually, without looking left or right, walked to the water's edge and into the surf.   Wow !! What a sight, we were absolutely bowled over.

In the evening dancing commenced in the central village square while I was sitting in one of the bars having a quiet drink with some of the locals. Suddenly Henk and Freddie came in excitedly. They had found some girls who agreed to dance with them, but there were three of them, one with glasses on for which they needed to find a partner. In those days (much unlike now) all eye glasses were revoltingly ugly and any girl's absolute worst enemy. But never mind, I complied to do my duty as a good friend and be the third man for the ugly duckling.