A Year in Uruguay

On August 25, 1825 Uruguay signed its declaration of independence from Brazil on a high rock (la Piedra Alta) overlooking the Santa Lucía Chico river at Florida. Years earlier Artigas had a led a successful independence fight from Spain but afterwards Portugal annexed the territory to Brazil. The 1825 struggle eventually led to Uruguay's independence.

Labels: Colonial, government, holidays, Uruguay

Last August when we were packing to come to Montevideo, my wife said, "be sure to bring a suit for when we're invited to tea with the Ambassador." I didn't think it would happen, but today we-- along with a few hundred other Americans living in Uruguay-- did visit the Ambassador at his official residence near Parque Batlle. I didn't drink tea or wear my suit, but I enjoyed fresh pineapple juice and bagels followed by a frothy beer. The occasion was an early Fourth of July celebration highlighted by the Marine color guard presenting the flag.

Labels: government, holidays, Uruguay

Today was a national holiday in Uruguay celebrating the birthday of José Gervasio Artigas. Artigas was born in Montevideo on June 19, 1764 and he led the 1811 fight for independence from Spain. His victory against Spanish troops in the battle of Las Piedras was an important first step towards nationhood for Uruguay. The path wasn't straightforward, since Portugal and then Brazil ruled the territory after Spain withdrew. At the time Uruguay became independent, Artigas was living in Paraguay, where he died in 1850. Despite never being president of Uruguay, Artigas is Uruguay's national hero.

Artigas is commemorated in Montevideo's Plaza Independencia. Statues of Artigas are common in buildings and plazas throughout Uruguay. [The statue in the photo is in Paysandu.]

School was out today and government offices were closed.

Labels: Colonial, holidays, Uruguay

Uruguay, like most of the rest of the world, celebrates Labor Day on the First of May.

In Montevideo, nearly everything is closed today-- shopping malls, grocery stores, bakeries, offices, and schools. Even the bus service is cancelled, which means most people celebrate the holiday in their own neighborhood.

Labels: holidays, Uruguay

April 19th commemorates the Desembarco de los 33 Orientales when Uruguay's independence fighters, led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, landed at the Playa de la Agraciada on the banks of the Río Uruguay. Uruguay, after successfully rebelling against Spanish rule, was invaded by Portugal and had been annexed to Brazil in 1821 so the struggle for independence continued.

This date marks an important point in Uruguay's history. It's still celebrated as a holiday, but the actual day of vacation is Monday so people can enjoy a long weekend.

Labels: Colonial, government, holidays, Uruguay

Happy Easter!

Labels: holidays, Uruguay

In most Spanish-speaking countries next week is Semana Santa [Holy Week] but here, reflecting Uruguay's strong tradition of separation of church and state, it's called Tourism Week.

School's out and apparently everyone travels. Buenos Aires is a popular destination (although the Argentine piqueteros plan to block all the bridges between the two countries). Others head to the beach; I've heard that it's the only week the campground at Santa Teresa National Park is completely full.

Various festivals compete to attract visitors:
Paysandu hosts the 42nd annual Semana de Cerveza.
Montevideo holds the 82nd Semana Criolla - at the Prado.
Durazno has their Semana de la Juventud and
Treinta y Tres has the Festival Mastro Ruben Lena .
Tacuarembo re-scheduled their 18th Fiesta de la Patricia Gaucha to be on Tourism Week.

Labels: holidays, seasons, Uruguay

To me, Saint Patrick's Day means a big pot of corned beef simmering on the stove accompanied by Guiness stout and Irish soda bread. Uruguay, despite being a big beef producer and having at least some Irish immigrants, doesn't seem to celebrate this way.

Historically, Uruguay was a big exporter of corned beef to the British Isles with a major processing plant at Fray Bentos, but the only corned beef I've seen in Montevideo is in cans.

Happy St. Paddy's!

Labels: holidays, Uruguay

We enjoyed the opening parade of Montevideo's carnaval last night. It started around nine and lasted longer than we did. We left after midnight, but our cabdriver said the parade would go until 2 am, or so. It looked like most of the crowd was staying for the whole show.

The parade started with the queens of carnaval and the queens of the llamadas riding on floats. Trucks advertizing Coke and Antel (the national phone company) followed. Marchers carried large horizontal banners featuring various sponsors and kids from the audience would lay down in the street so the banners would pass over them. It was fun seeing the murga groups in their elaborate costumes but the parade wasn't really the best forum for their singing. Some rock bands played amplified music from the top of trucks. The candombe drum troupes were the most exciting.

During the long spaces between groups, kids sprayed each other with foam from aerosol cans and threw confetti. The kids also sprayed foam on the floats and on the scantily-clad dancers. Performers later in the night fared better since the kids had depleted most of their ammunition.

See my video of the Desfile Inaugural.

From Uruguay has a nice post on last year's opening parade.

Labels: carnival, customs, holidays, music, Uruguay

Tres Reyes, or Three Kings Day, is an important part of Christmas for kids in Uruguay. This is the day they get their presents! Santa doesn't deliver presents Christmas morning (probably because it's too hot for reindeer) but the Three Kings bring gifts today. In Uruguay it's also called Día de los niños [Day of the Children]. In English, Three Kings Day is sometimes called Twelfth Night. I only know the Twelve days of Christmas from the carol, so this holiday is new to me.

I took this picture yesterday in Plaza Zabala in Montevideo's Cuidad Vieja. The kids were quite excited and explained that they were gathering grass to leave for the Kings' camels.

Labels: customs, holidays, Uruguay

Happy New Year!

Labels: holidays, Uruguay

The Asociación Cultural y Casa de los Inmigrantes César Vallejo collected Christmas wishes from poor childern in Montevideo and looked for donors to help. El Pais ran an article on the unmet requests a few days before Christmas.

We called the agency and read a few of the kids' letters. One note said,"Mr. Papa Noel, This year I have been good. Would it be possible to bring me a doll?" And another said, "Dear Papa Noel: I would like a soccer ball because I like sports very much and a pair of sneakers." We did a little shopping and delivered gifts directly to a few kids on Christmas eve. They were delighted.

Living in the US, I've been fortunate to have never been in the situation where I couldn't buy a gift for my own children. (Our problem tends to be the opposite: we have so many things we can't store them all.) Economists may argue that direct gift-giving is inefficient & that a cash transfer would be more efficient, but writing a check doesn't make the same emotional connection. I was really touched seeing these kids.

It's made me think differently about the holiday season. For instance, while I love electronic gadgets, after visiting these poor children I can't read this high-tech wish list without a touch of queasiness.

Labels: economics, holidays, Uruguay

Merry Christmas everyone!

Labels: holidays, Uruguay

Christmas eve, or Nochebuena, is the main event of the holiday season in Uruguay. Families and friends get together for big dinners late in the evening. Kids can open their gifts after midnight. (If they open them early, the presents turn to ashes!) The shopping malls were open late the night before, for last-minute shopping. Punta Carretas Shopping was still crowded when we left at 1:00 in the morning.

update: At midnight on Christmas eve, it seemed like everyone in Montevideo set off fireworks. We went out to the street to watch and then went back to eat our dinner. We ate a delicious lechón. Firecrackers continued to explode throughout the night and groups of young people were still drinking on the Rambla at 8 the next morning.

Labels: customs, holidays, Uruguay

For those of us in the southern hemisphere, we're enjoying the longest day of the year and the start of summer. In the northern hemisphere, of course, it's the winter solstice with the longest night of the year. In either case, a good season to celebrate.

Labels: holidays, seasons, Uruguay

Real Christmas trees don't seem to be part of the holiday tradition in Montevideo. I haven't seen any real trees for sale, but artificial Christmas trees are available in all the big stores. They range from little Charlie Brown trees to nice six-footers. We bought a mid-sized one (maybe 4 feet tall) for our apartment. The first tree I put in the cart had an odd note handwritten on the box label: otoñal. Autumn-something? That seemed a little strange. I poked a hole in the box to peek inside-- it had brown plastic needles. I had almost bought an artificial dead tree! Anyway, I traded it for a green version and we picked out a few decorations and brought it home.

Labels: holidays, Uruguay

Today was the last day of class at my daughter's school. Instead of signing yearbooks, the kids signed each other's t-shirts. The private schools all have formal uniforms-- sweater, tie, dress shirt, skirt or trousers-- but most days the kids just wear the gym uniform-- t-shirt and shorts with the school logo, or sweats with the school logo in the winter. These t-shirts, like the kids, are done for the year.

Labels: holidays, seasons, Uruguay

La Noche de las Luces kicks off the holiday season in Montevideo. They'd been preparing for days: burn the grass on the point, set up the mortars, bring in the food stands, and fence off the launch area. People started gathering mid-afternoon for the fireworks at 10 pm. A policeman estimated 400,000 people would come. That's nearly a third of the city or more than 10% of Uruguay's population. People drank mate and beer, bought peanuts, chips, and cotton candy from street vendors, waded in the Rio, played soccer, and listened to music from speakers all along the beach. By dark, it was really crowded. The fireworks were great-- one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Here's a short video:

Labels: holidays, Uruguay, video

Today is the traditional start of holiday shopping in the US. A Chicago Tribune story estimates 137 million Americans will go shopping this weekend. Some dissenters promote "Buy Nothing Day" and even "Buy Nothing Christmas". I don't think today is a big shopping day in Montevideo, since Thanksgiving isn't normally celebrated in Uruguay. (We had a true Thanksgiving feast, complete with turkey, thanks to the Southron.)

Christmas items appeared in the local stores around Halloween and the big retailers have elaborate displays. If it weren't for the hot weather, it'd feel like Christmas. I know this shows my northern upbringing, but the weather makes me feel like it's almost the Fourth of July. I've heard the fireworks on Christmas are outstanding, so perhaps I'm not that far off base.

Labels: holidays, Uruguay

No, we won't be eating ñandú for Thanksgiving, but I didn't have any turkey photos. Enjoy.

Labels: holidays, Uruguay