It was eventually incorporated into common parlance. Today, "to go zarzuela" means to go dancing - even if you are not looking for a specific person. The zarzuela is a type of light-hearted dance drama that originated in Spain in the late 16th century. The word zarzuela is derived from the Catalan word zarza, which means brush or broom. The early zarzuelas were composed entirely of dances performed by couples gaily dressed up like peasants. As time passed, other types of music began to be added to the mix, most notably waltzes and mazurkas. The term "zarzuela" came to mean any short comic opera. In the Philippines, the first zarzuela performance was given by Alejandro Cuvier in 1879 at the Madrid Opera House. He had great success with his composition "La Carpanta", or The Hummingbird. This led him to write more songs about our countrymen who went by the names of El Pirata (the Pirate) and El Cacique (the Chief).