A Year in Uruguay

 

We are back in Montevideo for a few weeks and it's Carnaval season.  

20 years ago, we saw the llamadas from a balcony, those tickets were arranged by a friend weeks ahead of time.  This year, we bought tickets for seats on the street.  This was a little complicated.  Tickets went on sale on Monday at Abitab, so we went at 9 am but tickets weren't available yet.  We returned at 10, at their suggestion, but still no luck.  They didn't know when they'd be available, just sometime in the afternoon.  After a few more futile visits, tickets were on sale when we came back at 5 pm.  Friday night seats had sold out in 20 minutes, but we were able to get seats for Saturday.

Saturday's comparsas were lower ranked in the competition, but the parade was still spectacular.  We had seats in the front row, so the flags brushed our heads as they waved across the crowd and the closest drummers and dancers were about 2 feet away, since the parade fills the entire street and the audience fills the entire sidewalk.

Check out my video from this year's llamadas.

 

 It was a great event, well worth spending all of Monday searching for tickets.  The parade was still going after midnight when we headed home.  Highly recommended!

 

 

 

Labels: candombe, carnival, music

Last year, during carnaval season, one of my readers commented that I would miss it once I left Uruguay. That prediction was certainly accurate; I miss it all.








With nostalgia, I put together a video slideshow of photos from last year's carnaval.



See it here:

Labels: candombe, carnival, murga, Uruguay, video

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 Llamadas Otoñales, held yesterday in Montevideo's Malvin neighborhood, had candombe drum troupes like the llamadas of carnival, but the atmosphere was much more tranquilo. The parade started in the afternoon and lasted until after dark-- about 4 hours in all.

Like the earlier parades, there were big gaps between groups, but this time I found out why. After the first three groups passed, nothing happened. Since it wasn't crowded, I strolled to the beginning of the parade route. I expected to see other performers getting organized, but there was basically no one there. Eventually a few drummers appeared and made a little fire in the street to tune their drums. Gradually more and more people appeared until three entire troupes were gathered. Groups were scheduled to start every half hour or so, and there were gaps after each set. I guess it gave spectators a chance to drink mate and chat with their companions.

While it was pretty cold for costumes primarily consisting of beads and feathers, everyone seemed to be having fun.

Here's a video of the event:


And some photos

Labels: candombe, carnival, music, Uruguay, video

In many countries, carnival ends with a big blow-out celebration before Ash Wednesday (Mardi Gras, for example). Afterwards Lent begins. In Uruguay, that Monday and Tuesday are vacation days and many families travel to the beach. Afterwards Carnaval continues. I'm not sure when Carnaval ends but I have seen events scheduled in March. Uruguay Total and Observa show the day's carnaval schedule.

Last night,I went to a tablado at Monumental Tres Cruces featuring: Diablos Verdes (murga), Gurrumines (parodistas), Yambo Kenia (lubolos), Cyranos (humoristas), A Contramano (murga), La Mascarada (murga de mujeres argentina) y Curtidores de Hongos (murga).

Here's a video of Yambo Kenia:


And here's a short overview of all the groups:

Labels: candombe, carnival, murga, music, Uruguay, video

Las llamadas are the traditional carnaval parades of the candombe troupes. This year, for the first time, they split the parade over two days. We went yesterday night and watched it from a friend of a friend's balcony.

I'm not sure how many drum troupes we saw, but the first reached us around 9:30 and the last one passed after 2:00 a.m. The parade flowed more smoothly than the inaugural parade until the rain caused intermittent delays.

We could see the flags of each new group long before they reached us, when the drumbeats were just a faint throb. Dancers came next, costumed in feathers, sequins, and bright fabric. The 40-70 drummers followed, producing an enormous sound. Audience members joined behind the drummers dancing and clapping.

See my video.

Labels: candombe, carnival, Uruguay, video

Here's a short video from the opening parade of carnival in Montevideo, Uruguay:

Labels: candombe, carnival, customs, music, Uruguay, video

I'd read about candombe music in Uruguay and I'd heard a little at the Fiesta de la X but I hadn't seen it in its natural environment-- on the streets of Montevideo. Candombe season seems to be starting now and I've seen, or at least glimpsed, several troupes in various places.

This group was playing outside a parrilla about a week ago and the waitresses had joined in the dancing. See a video clip.






I also saw an informal group of drummers playing at midnight on New Year's Eve while their neighbors launched fireworks. See a short video of them.

Labels: candombe, carnival, customs, music, Uruguay, video