---
title: "Alborada"
slug: alborada
definition: "Gaita piece that opens the festival day. Played at dawn while walking through the village to announce the celebration, within the Asturian ceremonial repertoire."
synonyms: ["dawn call", "Asturian alborada"]
publishedAt: 2026-06-17
---
The **alborada** is the piece that opens the main festival day. At dawn,
the gaitero —alone or paired with the tambor— walks the village streets
playing it to wake people up and announce that the celebration is
starting.

It belongs to the ceremonial function of the **Asturian traditional
repertoire**: it isn't dance music, but a piece of announcement and
opening. Its character is solemn and recognizable, meant to carry across
open ground and be heard from a distance.

It plays a role parallel to the reveille in other traditions, but with
the voice and phrasing proper to the **Asturian gaita**.