In the old days in the U.S. a town crier walked the streets at night and shouted “It’s 2 o’clock and all is well!”. In Spain it was “Son las dos y sereno”, meaning 2 o’clock and serene, so they called the man the Sereno. He wore a ring around his neck with some 60 keys and when a resident came home after 10PM he was without a key to his portal. He clapped twice. The sereno would appear, open the door, get a few pesetas and disappear into the night. He knew all about the residents of his...