Pedro Cerbuna University Hall of Residence

The Colegio Mayor Universitario Pedro Cerbuna, the oldest in Spain ^{[citation required]}, was founded in 1929 by the University of Zaragoza, entity in which it is still fully integrated. It is a mixed school, with capacity for 260 students and 15 graduates in individual and exterior rooms, and 7 apartments for teachers and guests.

In the cultural aspect, the activities carried out at Pedro Cerbuna are historically deeply rooted in the city of Zaragoza (cinema, theater, music, conferences, competitions),... enriching college life.

History

The origin: the Zaragoza Residence Hall (1924-1936)

The origin of the Cerbuna University Hall of Residence is located in the Student Residence of the University of Zaragoza, which began operating in the 1924-1925 academic year. Its official inauguration took place on February 26, 1925, within the celebration of "University Day", with the assistance of King Alfonso XIII. Subsequently, the Residence began to use the name of "Colegio mayor del fundador Don Pedro Cerbuna", in homage to who was the founder and patron of the University, since thanks to his personal will this institution on May 24, 1583.

In the first stage, the Residence was directed by Miguel Allué (1924-1927), and later by Carlos Riba García (1929-1936).

According to the "Propositions for the good regime of the Student Residence of the University of Zaragoza" approved by the Senate in 1923, the Residence was governed by a board of trustees, made up of the rector, a dean, a professor from each Faculty, two assistant professors, the director of the Residence and the general secretary of the University. Appointed by the rector, the director had to live in the Residence.

The building was built on Paseo de Ruiseñores, number 23. It had three floors with 37 available spaces (bedrooms and bathrooms), a visiting room, another for recreation, a language classroom, a dining room, a library, a lounge of acts and chapel. It was also endowed with various recreational facilities: soccer fields, tennis fields, a pediment for ball games, a gym, and a swimming pool.

The Residence organized numerous activities for its residents and became a regular visit place for many students and former students of the University, who passed through Zaragoza. It continued to function until the start of the war, remaining closed until 1939.

In 1942, a Decree of February 19 confirmed the creation of the "Colegio Mayor de Pedro Cerbuna in Zaragoza".

The early years (1939-1950)

The civil war would mark the end of the founding stage. The University of Zaragoza would start operating again in September 1939, but the Residence no longer opened. The second location was on Gran Vía (now Paseo Fernando el Católico, no. 2). The four floors that made up the College housed a hundred students. The most outstanding activities of these years were:

The Literary Gathering, where outstanding figures like Gerardo Diego, Carmen Conde, Eugenio Frutos, José María Pemán, Antonio Beltrán Martínez, Luis Horno Liria, Ricardo del Arco, Federico Torralba...

The Musical Gathering where a choir of sixty schoolchildren was formed.

The Cerbuna Magazine, which was born in the 1945-1946 academic year, with eight pages with articles that talked about culture, society, sports.

Recitals-concerts, literary awards for Spanish and Latin American university students (1948-1949 academic year), reciprocal collaborations with the local press: El Noticiero, Amanecer or Heraldo de Aragón.

It will also be during these years, when it is suggested to form a Cerbuna Alumni Association, a way to intertwine generations and contribute experiences, coordinate initiatives and suggestions.

In the 1940s, the organization and direction of the College were determined by the Law on University Organization. The director was Fernando Solano Costa, professor of Modern History, the deputy director Pedro Altabella, chaplain.

The beginnings of the definitive headquarters: the 50s

In the 1950-1951 academic year, the construction of the new and definitive headquarters of Cerbuna began, in the University City of the San Francisco Campus, in front of the old facilities of the Military Equestrian Society.

On April 22, 1951, its current location was inaugurated by the Minister of National Education José Ibañez Martín.

The director for those years, will be the professor of political law: Nicolás Ramiro Rico, who would impregnate a profound change in the style of the College, and who replaced Solano after the protests of the schoolboys. This period is characterized by liberalization and flexibility in command.

1960s

From 1957 to 1964, the pharmacology professor Pascual López Lorenzo held the position of director, developing during these years a wide range of activities, especially musical ones:

Groups such as Los Panchos (1955), Los Cow-Boys (1956), Los Húsares del Emperador (1957), El Quinteto Cerbuna (1958) or the collective production of the musical parody titled "Tragicomedia de la Paca, or the one who follows her, kills her".

It is also the residence time of numerous students from Peru and Colombia. The career chosen by a large number of them was Medicine, and currently quite a few practice the profession in Spain.

The relationship with other university halls of residence was mainly focused on the Teresianas Women's College, which occupied the floors of the Gran Vía where the Cerbuna was.

Dr. Eduardo Gálvez, a professor at the Faculty of Sciences, created a school for fans of origami, holding exhibitions at the College with great success. Through the showcases of the College, at present, you can see his works and those of his students.

The free time outside of school was occupied, due to the scarcity of money, in frequenting cheap bars: the Old Umbrella, in Plaza San Francisco; the Garage on Casa Jiménez street. Las Vegas was rarely frequented by Cerbunes, only wealthy residents did.

In his Memoirs, Pascual López Lorenzo acknowledges the privilege of directing the Cerbuna in these 60s, and "being part of the illusions and desires of young students, being immersed in their future and their education, in a certain way in its future, it is a rewarding adventure and a risk that is worth taking.

The schoolboys of that time, remember those years as calm, in comparison with those that would come.

Political changes: the 70s

As a consequence of the social and political changes that took place in the Spanish University, at the end of the sixties, the life of the College also became more complicated, leading to constant confrontations between the students and the Public Order Forces. Celso Gutiérrez Losa himself, director during the years 1965-1971, recalls, in the Cerbuna Memoirs, the darkening of the atmosphere of harmony, as a consequence of factors external to the College, which had virulently broken into the University and other communities and which would have its maximum exponent, worldwide, in the French May of 1968.

The university students required a more active participation, and they saw themselves trained to represent society in the demands for change.

Important modifications were made to the building, for the development of daily life. Around 1965, the bar was opened in the basement, and the gym was installed next to it. There is also a music room on the first floor above the dining room, the rooms on the lower floor were refurbished around 1970, and the Assembly Hall was modernized and renovated.

Cultural, recreational and recreational-festive activities were passionate in these years. Any of them: Conferences, colloquiums on political aspects and opposition to the Regime, recitals of protest songs by José Antonio Labordeta, Joaquín Carbonell or La Bullonera (with problems of censorship and police control), the theater or the wall magazine, critical and satirical titled "La Carraca", were the reflection of discontent, of discontent, a vehicle for protest.

Special attention deserves the Origami Section, coordinated by Eduardo Gálvez Laguarta and the Tuna del Colegio presented at the feast of Santo Tomás de Aquino in 1966.

It is also noteworthy in these years, the free film sessions for schoolchildren, which later led to the Cine-Club.

In 1968, and on the occasion of the celebration of the College's Silver Jubilee, the old aspiration to create an Association of Former Cerbuna College Students was carried out.

In 1971 José Cerezo Mir, professor of Criminal Law, replaced Celso Gutiérrez Losa as director, occupying the position until 1974.

Important cultural activities were carried out during these years: "Current Aragonese Painting Show" (with works by José Beulas, José Luis Cano, Antonio Saura and Pablo Serrano, among others) that took place in the Exhibition Hall, then inaugurated at the College.

The Cine-Club was inaugurated on November 15, 1973, with the film "East of Eden", by Elia Kazan.

The Photography Section acquired great prestige at a national level.

New facilities will be created in the building: apartments for teachers on the top floor, the basement bar will be moved to the current location and self-service will be installed in the dining room.

José Luis Viviente Mateu (1974-1981), professor of Differential Geometry, took up the position of director after the resignation of the previous one, and this period will be characterized in the collegial and sociocultural aspect, by the intense activity of the so-called "Sanhedrin" o College Council, a body that allowed the participation of college students in the development of college life. The College Council was made up of the Management Team, the presidents of the Academies (Science, Law, Medicine, Literature), a representative from each promotion and a representative from each group of activities (library, theater, music, photography, club of press, electronics, cinema, sports, etc.).

Consolidation of democracy: the 1980s

Parallel to the changes in Spain, during the political transition, the College begins a period in which, under the direction of Joaquín Lomba Fuentes, Professor of Philosophy, (1981-1983), a draft of new statutes is drawn up more participatory. Joaquín Lomba, points out in his Memoirs, that in this draft the first condition was that "its Director should not be appointed, as until then, directly and exclusively by the Rector, but by Cerbuna himself, by means of ballot boxes and ballots& #3. 4;.

From then on, the college councils would be even more important, since everything would be decided: labor organization, cultural activities, building reforms, admissions, sanctions,...

Thus, it will be in this period, when the new statutes are definitively drawn up, in addition to other new management, such as the incorporation of service personnel to the University staff.

It is in these years, when the dining room was reformed, in response to the idea of the Rectorate that the Cerbuna, house a university dining room, not only for the residents of the College but for the schoolgirls of Santa Isabel, and for all the teaching staff that needed it Space was gained for the area: the fourth part of the central room (previously occupied by self-service) and the back room (the one that overlooks the tennis court). With this reform, the space dedicated to the dining room is almost doubled, and thus the self-service could be isolated independently. Also, a new dining room was built for the service, and two premises were conditioned for food storage, located in a place with easy access from the kitchen.

The next director of the College, will be the professor of Roman law Esteban Varela Mateos (1984-1989), who recalls in his Memoirs, the conversion of the College into a mixed one and the sleeplessness and concerns caused by the hazing of the new residents.

90s

The Statutes were approved in 1991, under the direction of Manuel Calvo (1989-1995), tenured professor of Philosophy of Law. In 1995, he was succeeded by Fernando López Ramón (1995-1997), and after him, the Geography teacher, Ángel Pueyo Campos (1997-1999), directed the school.

The celebration of the anniversary of the 75 years since its foundation stands out in these years, accompanied by various events organized in collaboration with the Association of Former College Students.

The consolidation of the Cineclub Cerbuna, as well as the organization of several competitions (Zerburrock, photography,...) have made the College a benchmark in the cultural life of the university and of Zaragoza in general in recent years.

School News

Currently, Jose Luis Múzquiz (1999-...), professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, holds the position of director.

In recent years, the life of the Residence Hall has been developing with the activity and dynamism that has characterized it, in these more than 80 years of existence. Numerous and varied activities continue to be carried out, in which all the cerbunos and cerbunas are involved, making the years spent at the College become a breeze.

The services and facilities continue to be constantly renewed in everyone's effort to make the stay more pleasant and provide an environment conducive to making contact with knowledge, culture, leisure, and group life. Highlighting, among many other things, the fulfillment in 2002 of the much-desired network connection in all rooms or the involvement in recent years of the College towards ecology.