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

 

I enjoyed the carnaval show so much on Thursday night, that I went back on Saturday.  This time I bought my ticket at the Teatro de Verano just before show time.  Excellent seats were still available.

I brought a bigger camera to this show and made several videos. 

 Doña Bastarda

La Gran Muñeca

Carnaval a de Pie Saturday

 

Labels: carnival

Carnaval is one of my favorite parts of Uruguay.  The costumes, the music, the drumming, and the dancing are almost overwhelming.   When we lived here, many of my February nights were devoted to visiting the tablados.

This year, when we were making our travel arrangements for our trip, I was afraid we would miss carnaval since we wouldn't leave the US until after Ash Wednesday (the end of carnival season in most countries.)  I knew that Uruguay's carnaval continued, but it was difficult to find information about its actual end.  When we arrived in early March, the competition part of carnaval was over and the winners announced, but there was still a week of performances scheduled in the Teatro de Verano.

 

Tickets weren't available at Abitab until the evening before the show, but we were able to get front row seats.  Six different groups performed including two murgas.  I made a short video with clips from the show.

It was a really enjoyable night!

Labels: carnival

National Public Radio ran a short story this evening on Uruguay's carnaval, "Carnaval In Uruguay: Choir Competitions In The Streets"

The story focuses on murga which was my favorite part of carnaval.

"The tradition came to Uruguay via Cadíz, Spain, more than 100 years ago, where there is a similar choral music called chirigota. Today, a murga choir is made up of 13 voices singing complex harmonies, accompanied by three percussionists plus a choral director.

The performers wear elaborate, circus-like costumes and makeup, and compete every Carnaval. Now some choirs even have sponsors and CDs. But they still parody the talk of the town that year — be it corrupt politicians, a spike in violence or that annoying recording you get when you call for a taxi."

"Murga doesn't represent the masses; they are the masses."

You can listen to the whole story at: http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/02/28/147583213/carnaval-in-uruguay-choir-competitions-in-the-streets

Labels: carnival, Uruguay

I have an exhibit of photos from Montevideo's carnaval at my college's art gallery for the last two weeks in February. If you're in the area, please stop by.

We'll be having a reception on Saturday February 21 from 4-7.


Light Fine Arts Building
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo, MI
corner of Academy Street and Thompson Street
campus map
gallery hours Monday-Friday 9-5

Labels: carnival, travel US to Uruguay, 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

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 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

101 years ago, a group from Cádiz, España named "La Gaditana" spent a year performing in Uruguay because they didn't have enough money to return to Europe. The next year, a local group called "Murga La Gaditana que se va" ["La Gaditana That Went"] parodied them and Uruguay's tradition of murga was born.

The music diverged over the years but recently groups from Uruguay have performed in Cadiz and Spanish groups have performed in Montevideo. Araka la Kana won first place comparsa in this year's carnival in Cadiz.

We saw them at the Semana Criolla. Here's a video from Araka la Kana's performance:




On a somewhat related note: The Miami Herald recently ran an article on murga in Uruguay.

Labels: carnival, murga, music, Uruguay, video

I was wrong about the end of carnival. Monday was the end of the official competition but several performances followed. Saturday was the final night of shows. I saw two groups, Curtidores de Hongos and Agarrate Catalina at the last tablado at the velodromo.

Here's a short video from the tablado:

Labels: carnival, murga, music, Uruguay, video

The final performances of Carnaval were on Monday night. Yesterday was la noche de fallos when they determine the winners and losers. There was live TV coverage on two channels last night. It took hours to calculate all the points-- running into the early morning hours.

The winners were:

Murgas:Asaltantes con Patente
Parodistas: Jacquet's
Humoristas: Sociedad Anónima
Revistas: Carambola
Negros y Lubolos: Yambo Kenia

I'd seen each of these groups at various tablados Here's a video of the first prize groups:



I'd already posted videos featuring Asaltantes con Patente
and Yambo Kenia. And one or more winning group appears in each of these videos: March 2 tablado, Tablado Tres Cruces, Carnaval Defensor Sporting and Tablado Defensor Sporting

More info? The official guide to Carnaval is a 75 page pdf file (in Spanish).

Labels: carnival, murga, music, Uruguay, video

It's a rainy day, so I finally got around to editing my video from las llamadas.

And I have a photo album of various carnival events.

Labels: carnival, Uruguay, video

It's been interesting to see children at every carnaval event-- desfile inaugural, las llamadas, los tablados, teatro de verano. The events run late-- 2 or 3 am-- and often feature suggestive content (probably more suggestive than I know, since I don't understand most of the double entrendres) but these are definitely family affairs.




At Friday's tablado at Club Defensor Sporting the kids were having their faces painted during the pausa.


Here's a short video:

Labels: carnival, Uruguay, video

The weather didn't look promising Saturday and it was too cloudy to see the lunar eclipse, but I returned to Defensor Sporting Club hoping the rain would hold off long enough to see a few groups at the tablado. It did sprinkle a bit but the show went on.

I left around 1 am, after the fourth group, trying to make an early night of it. I got to my car just as it started to rain hard. I turned the key only to discover I had forgotten to turn off the headlights when I parked and the battery was dead.

I walked to a nearby gas station but they couldn't help, so I walked home in the rain, woke up my wife and she called an auxilio. Then I caught a cab back to Defensor Sporting and waited for the tow truck. The driver was friendly and helpful and my car started easily. 250 pesos seemed like a good deal.

The tablado featured La Margarita, Bafo y sus Mulatas, Sociedad Anonima, and Falta y Resto. Here's a short video:

Labels: carnival, murga, music, Uruguay

La Margarita was the opening group at Saturday's tablado at Defensor Sporting Club.













See this short video from their performance:

Labels: carnival, murga, music, Uruguay, video

Falta y Resto was the last group at my first tablado. I really liked their performance but I was so tired I couldn't stay to hear the end of it.

See the Falto y Resto website.

They were back at Defensor Sporting club on Saturday, so I had the opportunity to watch their whole set.


Here's a video of their despedido:

Labels: carnival, murga, music, Uruguay, video

Agarrate Catalina was the closing act at Friday's tablado at Defensor Sporting Club. I'd enjoyed seeing them at the Teatro de Verano and I also liked seeing them on the neighborhood stage. It's a different experience being close enough to see their expressions.

Here's my video of Agarrate Catalina.

Labels: carnival, murga, music, Uruguay, video

Montevideo's carnival continues for nearly two more weeks. Most of the tablados have reduced their schedules to weekend nights but the Teatro de Verano still has shows everyday.














Here's a video from Friday's tablado at Defensor Sporting club:

Labels: carnival, murga, music, Uruguay, video

I spent another pleasant evening at Defensor Sporting Club listening to murga. Momolandia had a clever show themed around Leonardo da Vinci. I only stayed for two groups, since I'd seen the others, so I made it home before midnight.









La Bohemia video:


And Momolandia video:

Labels: carnival, murga, 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