Uruguay

Uruguay is a small country with just three million inhabitants and a 175000 km2 surface. It borders on Argentina and Brazil, which makes it a relaxing place between these two South American giants. Colonia del Sacramento’s pedestrian streets, Montevideo’s old bars and nightlife as well as the east beaches and the thermal baths at north, are just a few of the attractions Uruguay offers.

Uruguay’s carnival: world’s most lasting one

Uruguay’s carnival has its own identity. Even though it shares its roots with Brazilian and Argentinean carnival, it’s quite different. It’s considered the most lasting carnival in the world because it lasts 40 days, where tons of people gather to enjoy one of Uruguay’s finest traditions. In just 40 days, more tickets than football matches in a year are sold.
Uruguay’s carnival is famous for the street parades, which are taken by the public as an open air festival.

Montevideo, Carnival Latin-American Capital

Montevideo is regarded as Carnival’s capital for 2009 and 2010 because:
• It’s the only city that conserves the carnival as a spectacle, for more than one century.
• It identifies Uruguayans and offers a brotherly place to gather around.
• It attracts international tourism because of its patrimonial, historical and cultural values.

Every year, the City Council and the Asociación de Directores de Espectáculos Carnavalescos Populares del Uruguay (Daecpu) organize several carnival events, for example, the Carnival Competition (Concurso Oficial de Agrupaciones de Carnaval).

The competition

It takes place at Teatro de Verano, located at Parque Rodó. The groups taking part are divided in five different styles: Sociedades de negros y lubolos, Revistas, Parodistas, Humoristas y Murgas. Five persons punctuate in each category, evaluating lyrics, instruments, costumes, make-up and motifs.

Candombe

Candombe’s history is connected to the slavery occurred during colonial times. Slaves introduced their own musical rhythms to preserve their ethnicity. Nowadays, this genre is one of the most valuable and admired traditions of Uruguay. There are three drums: chico, piano and repique. Black as well as white people played them dressed up in traditional garments, and follow a choreography which is practiced the entire year.

The most famous name regarding candombe is Ruben Rada, who mixes candombe sounds with wind instruments, drums and bass. Most of candombe lyrics are about the music’s origin, like slavery and the misery black people had to deal with for centuries.

The candombe characters

The classical characters who parade in the Llamadas are:
- El "gramillero": Has a long beard, uses a stick to walk and carries a bagagge full of healer plants called “yuyos”. He represents the African tribe wizard. His dance reflects a spectacular youth despite his age.
- La "Mama Vieja": (the old mum). She parades fanning herself and carrying a parasol in the other hand. She represents the housekeeper from colonial times, and dances with the “gramillero”, moving her hips as if she was a teenager.
- La Vedette: She is one of the characters that joined the Llamadas in the recent years. She’s a dancer and the most sensual figure; the vedette wears a shiny suit with colored feathers.
Candombe’s traditional symbols are the standard, the flags, the stars and mid-moons. Each one moves in a particular way.

Llamadas

The name comes from the call (el llamado) being made by blacks to meet, to celebrate or to discuss social issues. The call was made by the sound of a pair of drums that each group used to play candombe when they came out to walk on the streets. Blacks who were listening followed the drummers and the result was a big parade. The parade involves women and men, adults and children.

Murga

It is said that the Murga is the artistic expression more closely linked to the Uruguayan’s hearts. On the one hand, it is a choral, theatrical and musical genre, and on the other hand, the name given to the groups that practice it. Murga is performed by a choir of 13 to 17 men (and some women, to a lesser extent) who sing with the bass drum, clash cymbals and snare drum. Guitar started to be used later.
Besides singing, the murga makes music scenes with characters and a story line. The main theme is based on the most notorious events of the past year, with political and social criticism. The performance is divided into four parts: "presentation" (presentación), "couplet"(cuplé), "splash"(salpicón) and "retirement" (retirada).
The murguistas (people who participate in a murga) fully paint their faces and wear original costumes, while they move to the beat of "marcha camión" (because murguistas move from a stage to another in trucks), the basic rhythm of the trio of instruments that in 2008 postulated to be a "well protected" intangible cultural heritage. "Promise’s Carnival" was recently created, and only young groups can compete. The event “Murga Joven” within the “Movida Joven”, are more cultural and artistic events organized by the City Council of Montevideo..

Origins

The word murga has its origin in Spain. The most widely accepted version is that the genre appeared in 1909, when a group of zarzuela came to Uruguay. Some of its members formed the murga "La Gaditana" to go out to sing and "pasar la manga" (a term which means to ask for money). As they did not succeed, the group named itself "La Murga Gaditana que se va" (“La Murga Gaditana which leaves”) in order to parody what had happened with the Spanish artists. From that moment the word "murga" began to be used to refer to those groups that already existed since the nineteenth century, called "mascaradas".

The Venice Carnival and Comedy of art influenced the theatrical aspect of Uruguayan Murga, who adopted the characters of Momo, Pierrot and Colombina as distinctive symbols.
At first, they sang on platforms named “tablados”, which are improvised constructions made of wooden tables, built in different neighborhoods. Over the years, the stages and murgas became more professional due to the marketing around them. Murga has also influenced other musical styles besides carnival. Singers like Jaime Roos and Canario Luna, rock bands as La Vela Puerca and No Te Va Gustar, and the Argentine bands Bersuit Vergarabat and Karamelo Santo, introduced murga choirs in their songs.

Montevideo

Montevideo consists of 59 localities called neighborhoods. Each one has it own tradition and identity.

Weather

Uruguay is the only South American country which is entirely located in the temperate zone. This means that its weather is nice and presents sunny days the whole year. Although the seasons are different between each other, none of them implies a drastic change in temperature.

Media temperatures are:
• Spring: 17°C
• Summer: 23°C
• Autumn: 18°C
• Winter: 12°C

In Montevideo the driest month is December and the rainiest month is October. But you can enjoy the city every day of the year!

Architecture

As you go along Montevideo’s streets you’ll be delighted by its facades, made of fine materials, with forge works made by real artists, elaborated woodwork and fantastic stained-glass windows. The city has a valuable architectonic compilation, which goes form Neoclassicism to Postmodernism.

The European immigration was fundamental due to its influence on our architecture. Uruguayan architectonical works reflect a fusion of modern styles, which represent the economic and social advances gone through. As a result, especial attention is paid to the esthetic and pragmatism, which is typical of big capitals, where time is limited and movement is constant.

Ciudad Vieja:

This is Montevideo historical area and the ancient city-harbor that was originally surrounded by a wall. It has beautiful historical buildings, like the Salvo Palace and the Solís Theatre. Ciudad Vieja (Old City) starts at the Independence Square, where you’ll find a mausoleum with the rests of the Uruguayan hero, José Gervasio Artigas.

Ciudad Vieja is organized around the Matriz Square. It is surrounded by Montevideo’s Cathedral and some of the most ancient buildings. On Saturdays morning, the Matriz Square becomes a traditional antique market, where you can find strange elements from remote times.

Towards the harbor you’ll find Mercado del Puerto (Harbor Market), an old fishermen market that was turned into a gallery with many little restaurants, displayed one next to another. The best “asados” are prepared there, and you can actually see them being prepared. People tend to drink “medio y medio” there, a fizzy wine typical of Uruguay. Each Saturday, candombe, tango and even Brazilian music surround Mercado del Puerto, creating a party atmosphere. Ciudad Vieja has also a wide variety of cultural spaces, as well as pubs for going out at night.

Centre:

18 de Julio Avenue crosses the City Centre. Along this avenue there’re many squares, ideal for drinking “mate” surrounded by nature and peace. In 18 de Julio you can find all kind of shops: cyber-cafes, cash dispensers, supermarkets, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and all sorts of stores.

The Mercado de los Artesanos (Craft Market) is ideal for buying souvenirs before returning home. Another special place with personality of its own is Tristán Narvaja Street, which leaves its usual peace aside on Sundays, and becomes one of the funniest antiques and second hand objects street market.

Palermo/Barrio Sur:

Those are the Montevideo older neighborhoods, where the black community used to live, most of them slaves or servants (gathered in the well-known conventillos (tenements). This is the place where Llamdas Parade was born: the first February Friday, hundreds of Uruguayans parade all along Isla de Flores Street, playing and dancing candombe.

Parque Rodó/ Punta Carretas:

One of the most beautiful things of Montevideo is the sea proximity. The seafront surrounds Parque Rodó and Punta Carretas, creating a “green peninsula”. The park consists of five hectares, with little hillocks that end in the seafront, a lake with pedal boats, and a mini amusement park for children. Next to the park, there’s the “Teatro de Verano Ramón Collazo” (Summer Theatre), where the national competition of Carnival takes place. This is an ideal place for sunny days, and a perfect spot to try “mate”, one of Uruguay’s most famous tradition. The seafront is great for jogging, riding a bike or skating. Also the proximity to the Architecture, Economics and Engineering Faculties gives a fresh and young vibe to these neighborhoods. Students gathering around the nearby bars can be seen the entire year.

Punta Carretas has the best pubs and restaurants of the city. There’s also the Golf Club of Uruguay, a municipal precinct that depends on the General Direction of Public Outing, which makes it more accessible. On Mondays, you can play there from 7 a.m. until sunset, and rent the equipment for only U$25. In this neighborhood you will also find one of the most beautiful shopping malls: the Punta Carretas Shopping, which turned out from the recycling of an old prison. A famous prisoner’s escape occurred in 1971, in which our current President, José Mujica, participated.

Pocitos:

In this neighborhood Montevideo’s middle and middle-high class people live. The beach is ideal for lying down under the sunlight or for playing beach-soccer. Towards East, in L.A de Herrera Street, there’s a great shopping mall, the Montevideo Shopping Centre. It was designed by a famous Uruguayan architect, Eladio Dieste.

During the night, it’s also one of the most visited areas by young people because of its great pubs and dance-clubs. Primata, Lotus, Barba Roja, are just some of the places where you can wait for the sunrise.

Mario Benedetti y Eduardo Galeano

Galeano and Benedetti are two of the most important Uruguayan literary exponents. Their works constitute an invaluable cultural legacy, and their names contain a great emotional meaning for most Uruguayans.

Mario Benedetti

Brief biography

Mario Benedetti was born on September 14, 1920 in Paso de los Toros, Tacuarembó, a department in northern Uruguay. He belonged to the literary generation of 1945, along with famous writers such as Idea Vilariño and Juan Carlos Onetti. He was a member of the editorial and writing team of the weekly Marcha, and later its director. Because of his political ideology, he exiled in Buenos Aires, Peru, Cuba and Madrid, during Uruguayan dictatorship that started in 1973. After ten years of exile, he returned to Uruguay and joined the editor board of the new magazine Brecha. Years later, he confessed in a radio interview that he was "not made for politics" and that if he had to define himself in one word, he would say “writer”. His extensive work included narrative, drama, lyric and essay. His voice reciting his own poems was recorded with the accompaniment of singer-songwriter and friend Daniel Viglietti. Joan Manuel Serrat added music to some of his poems in the album “El Sur también existe” (“The south also exists”).

His legacy

At the age of 88, Mario Benedetti died at his home after his hospitalization in Montevideo in April 2009. Pilar del Río, wife of the recently deceased writer and friend of Benedetti, José Saramago, began a worldwide "chain of Poetry" to support his recovery.

Eduardo Galeano

Open Veins of Latin America (“Las venas abiertas de América Latina”), his most famous book, was banned by military dictators. At the summit in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009, the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez gave the U.S. president, Barack Obama, a Spanish version of this book. It became a best-seller. With this book (1971) the writer and journalist did his most popular and cited work, in which he condemns the oppression of the continent through brutal images that illustrate the poverty of Latin America.
Eduardo Hughes Galeano was born in Montevideo on September 3, 1940. In his works journalism, essay and narrative coexist. But above all, he is a journalist that portrays a sharp look to contemporary society in his writing, and its ordinary and colorful characters.
In the beginning he was the main editor of the magazine Marcha (1960-64), and in 1973 during the dictatorship, he had to exile to Argentina, as Mario Benedetti did.
Eduardo Galeano, visited Red Hostel Montevideo to film a documentary about Uruguay.

La Vela Puerca

La Vela is one of the most prestigious bands in Uruguay, both nationally and internationally. It was born in 1995 as a result of the friendship of its members, who improvised their first concert on the Christmas Eve of 1995. From that moment, the band has never stopped its activities, which led them to visit many countries in Latin America and make European tours with great success. They have a five-album discography: Deskrado (1998); De Bichos y Flores (2001); A Contraluz (2004); El Impulso (2007) and the recent Normalmente Anormal (2009).
La vela Puerca has revived rock music in Uruguay and it’s considered one of Uruguay’s youth voices.

http://www.velapuerca.com

No Te Va Gustar

Every poster or graffiti you find in the city with the inscription “NTVG” refers to one of the most popular groups in the country: No Te Va Gustar. What began as a trio of teenage amateurs in 1994, is now an icon of Uruguayan music. Their curriculum has very important merits, from playing several times at the famous Luna Park in Buenos Aires to a tour of over 40 European cities. Their seven albums and three DVDs are the evidence of their potential. NTVG awakes fanaticism not for staying with just one genre, but for taking all the good things of Uruguay, a little of rock, reggae, ska, candombe, murga and salsa, creating high quality products that everyone wants to listen.

http://www.notevagustar.com