A Year in Uruguay

Here's a belated video from my last trip to Uruguay.

My earlier videos from the park are here and here. To me, the improvement in YouTube's definition is striking.

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay, video

While I intended to visit Uruguay's National Museum of Art shortly after I went to the Museo Torres-García, I never made it during the entire year I lived in Montevideo.

Partly because I didn't notice it.

My mental image of an art museum is a grand classical building like the Art Institute of Chicago or the west wing of the National Gallery of Art or else I imagine something impressively modern like the National Gallery's east wing or the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

The Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales is located in Parque Rodó and I'd parked right next to it dozens of times without knowing it. The architecture reminded me of an elementary school. The courtyard was usually full of kids in their school tunicas which reinforced the impression. I didn't realize it was a museum.




During our vacation in Uruguay this year, I made up for my past omission by making the museum a priority.

The museum is small, about the size of my local art museum, and all the exhibits can be seen in about an hour. When we visited in July, they had a visiting exhibit of works by Spanish artist Joan Miró and a large exhibit by a Uruguayan artist in the style of Torres-García, in addition to works from their permanent collection.


Admission: free.
Tuesday-Sunday 12:00-6:00 pm

Labels: art, Montevideo places, museums, Uruguay

I'd wanted to visit the Museo del Carnaval before we left Montevideo in mid-2007 but its opening date kept getting postponed, so I was happy when we were able to see it on this trip. It has a great location right next to the Mercado del Puerto, making it a very convenient stop for visitors.

Like many of Montevideo's museums, it's small and it doesn't take more than a few minutes to see all of the exhibits. While it certainly isn't the same as hearing a murga or candombe group live, it brought back great memories of carnival. The best part was the hall of colorful murga costumes.

The Museo del Carnaval blog is interesting (in Spanish with lots of photos) and on YouTube there's a comprehensive video showing the creation of the museum.

Open Tuesday-Sunday
Free admission

Labels: carnival, Montevideo places, museums, Uruguay

Living in Uruguay, it was easy to see traces of its past: architecture from previous centuries, colonial fortresses, and antique cars still in use. Some are a bit worn, others in states of decay, and others fully renovated. In any state, they were interesting reminders of Uruguay's history.












I made a video slideshow of photos of artifacts from Uruguay's past. You can see it here:

Labels: Colonia, interior, Montevideo places, rural, Uruguay, video

I made another video slideshow of everyday scenes from the streets of Montevideo.















You can see it here:

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay, video

Here's another video slideshow of photos from around Montevideo. This one shows scenes from everyday life without the landmarks featured in the previous video

















You can watch it here:

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay, video

In something of a follow-up to my earlier Montevideo videos I made a video slideshow of photos from Montevideo. The focus is on places a visitor is most likely to see-- Mercado del Puerto, Plaza Independencia, Estadio Centenario, Feria Tristan Narvaja and other familiar landmarks.














You can see it here:

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay, video

Descubrí Montevideo, a tourist guide published by the city, includes this list titled,
"You can't leave without..."

Walking along the Rambla
Watching the sunset from the coastline
Seeing Montevideo's bay and port from Capurro
Going to see a murga at the Teatro de Verano
Stopping by the traditional fishing stalls at Punta Carretas
Eating at a fish stall at the recreational port of Buceo.
Dining at the parrilla (barbecue) restaurants at the Mercado del Puerto.
Accompanying the grilled meats with a glass of Roldós Medio y Medio
Drinking an "uvita" at the bar Fun Fun
Dancing a tango or milonga
Visiting the Cerro fortress
Going to the Tristan Narvaja street market
Visiting the legendary Centenario stadium
Drinking grappa miel with lemon
Visiting the panoramic platform at the Telecommunications tower
Drinking a mate with a Montevidean
Eating the traditional Chajá and Massini pastries
Running into a parading string of drums playing candombe
Strolling around the Ciudad Vieja and the Sarandí pedestrian mall
Experiencing the night life (la movida) in the Ciudad Vieja
Seeing the National Theater company (la Comedia Nacional) perform at the Teatro Solís.
Buying garrapiñada (candied peanuts) on 18 de Julio avenue.
Eating roasted peanuts on the Sarandí pier (la Escollera Sarandí)

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay

Parque Lecocq is Montevideo's other zoo. It's much bigger than Zoologico Villa Dolores and has fewer types of animals, so the enclosures are very spacious and there's a lot of open space between exhibits.

They have a good collection of native Uruguayan species, including a large number of ñandues and carpinchos. The Paseo del Monte is a worthwhile guided tour through natural forest with cages for wildcats, coatis, mao pelado (a kind of raccoon), and coendú (a porcupine).

Animals from other continents include lions, zebras, and monkeys. The park also has large areas for picnicking and a snack stand selling churros and popcorn.

It's about 20 kilometers west of Montevideo just before Ruta 1 crosses the Rio Santa Lucia into the Departamento de San Jose. There's no sign from the highway but if you exit Ruta 1 at Santiago Vazquez there are signs directing you to turn right, then take the 1st left to the zoo.

Admission: 40 pesos per car (although no one was collecting it this afternoon).

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay

The Ciudad Vieja [Old City] is the site of the original Spanish fort, port, and colony of Montevideo. Surrounded by the Rio on three sides, it's full of interesting old buildings, mostly unrestored. The Mercado del Puerto and the Peatonal Sarandi are probably its best-known tourist areas. The Ciudad Vieja contains a mix of government offices, major banks, bars and restaurants, vacant buildings, art galleries, and cheap housing for immigrants.





Some earlier posts about the Ciudad Vieja:
Plaza Matriz
Plaza Zabala
Palacio Taranco
Almacén del Hacha
Museo Torres Garcia
Casa de Rivera
Primuseum
Gift giving
Port of Montevideo

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay

The Universidad de Montevideo is a highly-respected private university located on a quiet street in the Parque Batlle neighborhood. It's been my wife's academic home in Uruguay and she's been very happy there. Like the other private universities in Uruguay it's relatively new, since for decades only the Universidad de la Republica could grant degrees.

Labels: education, Montevideo places, Uruguay

Here's another entry in my series of videos of daily life in Montevideo. These scenes were recorded in the waterfront neighborhoods of Buceo, Pocitos and Parque Rodó.


Earlier videos in this series include Part I, Part II, and Part III.


See today's video:

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay, video

The Plaza de la Armada is quiet park on a bluff in Punta Gorda administered by the Uruguayan navy. It's one of the few elevated places along the Rio and it has fantastic views.

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay

The Palermo neighborhood (along with Barrio Sur) is the traditional home to candombe drum troupes. It's along the Rio between Parque Rodo and downtown Montevideo. It's one of the few places in Montevideo where I've seen wall murals.

The llamadas of carnival parade through Palermo.

Labels: candombe, Montevideo places, Uruguay

The Punta Gorda barrio is very similar to neighboring Carrasco with single family homes on landscaped lots. I particularly like the point itself where traffic diverts off the Rambla for a few blocks, allowing for a quiet walk along the Rio, past grand mansions. The architecture is more interesting than my neighborhood, Pocitos, where a wall of apartments define the waterfront.

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay

The Hipódromo de Maroñas is Montevideo's racetrack. The track is on the city's gritty northwest side, but the facilities are luxurious. We enjoyed a lunch of beef loin in Tannat sauce, in their fine dining restaurant looking over the track. (They also have a buffet restaurant and food stands.) The track is very family-friendly with free admission for kids under 12 and childcare for young ones. (Minors aren't allowed to bet.)

Today's races started at 2:15 in the afternoon. We left after the 8th race, as the sun set, but there were a half dozen races yet to be run.

You can see a few more photos or
watch a short video:

Labels: Montevideo places, sports, Uruguay

Patio Andaluz, in Parque Rodó, reminds me, on a smaller scale, of public parks in southern Spain. An allée of tall palms leads to the patio which overlooks the Río. It was built in 1930 and restored in 1995.

Montevideo's Museo del Azulejo features similar tiles.

Labels: art, Montevideo places, Uruguay

Here's my latest video in what seems to be something of a series. Like Part I and Part II, this video isn't about a specific thing but instead it presents scenes from everyday life in Uruguay's capital city.




Here's today's video:

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay, video

The Prado neighborhood was once one of Montevideo's most fashionable, but in recent decades it seems to have fallen out of favor. (Eclipsed pehaps by the rise of Carrasco and other waterfront barrios.) Prado still has a feeling of elegance & there are some impressive mansions there. Tabaré Vázquez, Uruguay's president lives in Prado. For us, its main draw has been the Parque Prado for Semana Criolla, Expo Rural, and other events.

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay

I had enough fun making last week's video about Montevideo that I decided to create another one. This isn't focused on any particular event, but it's a sampling of regular life in Uruguay's capital. If you've spent more than a couple days in the city, you'll likely be familiar with some of these places.











Watch today's video:



The old version (with Argentinian music) is available here.

Labels: Montevideo places, Uruguay, video