Yesterday’s post generated more than the usual amount of interest, however, nobody guessed the name of the tune or even where they knew the tune from.

Here is the original video without the title and composer blued out.

The work is the waltz “Sobre las olas” (“Over the Waves”)‚ the best-known work of Mexican composer Juventino Rosas (1868–1894).

You probably never even heard the name of that tune before. Here’s why.

Somewhere around the turn of the 20th century, Wurlitzer included it among the tunes available for its fairground organs, and it became associated with ice skating, carnivals, and circus acts such as trapeze artists, and that’s probably where most folks have heard it.

I heard the tune on the radio a few days ago, and although I knew I had heard it many times, I couldn’t identify it. It was driving me crazy until it came to an end and the announcer gave its backstory. I probably heard it many times as a kid watching circus shows on TV.

The composer Juventino Rosas died at the age of 26 from spinal myelitis.