Salamanca

From the introduction by Guy Bovet:

"Salamanca" was completed in April 1986 in Cincinatti, Ohio. Its origin is a popular theme from the countryside around Salamanca, Spain. The tune is one that was submitted to me for my concert-ending improvisation several years in a row by the caretakers of the Cathedral of Salamanca, who sang it to me telling me that the text was about a burro (donkey), and who were delighted to hear me play the tune on the organ. Later I discovered that the tune exists in D. Dámaso Ledesma's Cancionero salmantino, in two forms, both slightly different from the caretakers's version. Both versions given in the Cancionero, one in minor and one in major, bear the title "La Clara", which refers to a woman who sits on the main altar of the church to ask God for forgiveness. We can suppose that her sins were considerable, or that she must be known in Salmantino folklore for having a bad reputation. D. Estanislao, the Dean of the Cathedral of Ciudad Rodrigo (a city about fifty miles west of Salamanca), never forgave me for playing this tune in his church. He called it "La Tarará" and it made him violently angry.
It was also amusing to learn that in the Tagalog language spoken in the Philippines, "salamanca" means something like "witch" or "sorcerer".