Authors: Felix O. Martin-Sarraga & Paul Ruppa

 Date: July 29, 2026.

 Editor: TVNAE MVNDI. Not for sale.

Abstract: The Spanish Students: 19th Century Rockstars in the Americas reconstructs the international history of Estudiantina Española El Figaro (1878–1892), the most widely travelled Spanish estudiantina of the nineteenth century and one of the earliest transatlantic musical enterprises. Based on more than a decade of research, this study documents the ensemble's tours across Europe and the Americas and examines its role in the international circulation of musicians, repertories, instruments, and cultural practices. The investigation draws primarily upon contemporary historical newspapers, complemented by archival records, concert programmes, iconography, musical scores, official documents, and other primary sources, allowing the reconstruction of hundreds of performances and the identification of previously unknown musicians, routes, and organizational strategies.

Beyond reconstructing concert itineraries, the book demonstrates how El Figaro became a catalyst for the diffusion of plucked-string music, contributing to the emergence of the American mandolin movement and inspiring the creation of estudiantinas throughout Latin America. It analyses the ensemble as a phenomenon of migration, entrepreneurship, cultural transfer, and artistic globalization during the late nineteenth century, revealing the complex networks that connected Spain with the United States, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

The volume also provides extensive appendices, biographical studies, statistical analyses, historical maps, chronologies, and surviving musical sources, offering the most comprehensive documentary reconstruction published to date on El Figaro and its enduring legacy in the Americas. As such, it constitutes a significant contribution to the history of music, migration studies, cultural history, transatlantic exchanges, and the history of plucked-string orchestras.

Bibliography: The book draws upon:

• 2,286 citations analyzed.
• 1,730 distinct sources.
• 2,006 citations to primary sources (89.72%), including:
  • 1,930 historical newspaper articles (84.43%).
  • 65 archival records and documentary sources (2.84%).
  • 11 iconographic sources (engravings, photographs, and objects) (0.48%).
• 280 citations to secondary sources (10.28%), including:
  • 62 websites and databases (2.71%).
  • 42 books and monographs (1.84%).
  • 39 articles published in scholarly journals (1.71%).
  • 10 doctoral theses and academic works (0.44%).
  • 1 conference paper or scholarly presentation (0.04%).
  • 126 references classified as "other" (5.51%).

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