This past Saturday was a gorgeous 75 degrees or so with little humidity. Too nice to stay inside, I called a friend and we headed downtown. Originally, the intent was to get some good coffee and masas at Oro del Rhin, but like so many other businesses downtown, they were closed for the weekend. We opted for ice cream in Plaza Matriz, and stumbled upon a great show. Flamenco dancers, formed by a local Uruguayan dance troupe, had flooded the Plaza.
Having lived in Spain, and having tripped over a few Sevillanas, I can't help but be entranced by the dramatic music, the layers of skirts swirling and turning, the crisp clapping, and of course the dance steps. We put our ice cream craving temporarily on back burner, and instead digested all the sights, sounds, and emotions of the dancers. Between performances, they invited the crowd to get up and dance with them. Annie I needed you there as a partner!
Check this out!
Fortunately for us, our Spanish immersion did not stop there. Still craving a good caffeine buzz, we traced our steps back to El Centro Cultural de España, Montevideo, which we had passed on our way to the Plaza. Our curiosity of the second floor café, which we could see from street, lured us in, and we were extremely content with our find. Stepping into large, air conditioned room, the bottom floor houses the current exposition of the Cultural Center. Though many of the surrounding buildings are still not renovated, this location has been modernly restored. We took the stairs to the second floor. Glancing to the right, I noticed a children´s library, an adult library complete with computers, and a help desk. From above you could see the exhibit with a bird´s eye view.
But we were looking for coffee. To the left of the steps we entered the café, and made our way to a little table on the balcony. Perfect. On the wall next to us a crafty bookshelf stored dozens of Spanish magazines on dance, architecture, design, and politics, giving coffee goers an extra reason to linger. I enjoyed a bit of "people watching" from the small pool of visitors.
I will let the rest of the pictures and the website link do the talking. But as a final note, we enjoyed our café con leche and cortado, and vowed to visit the café again.
-GG
El Centro Cultural de España, Montevideo
Rincón 629
9152250
26 February 2007
Las Cosas de España en Montevideo
23 February 2007
La Moda
Last night I met two lovely girls, both named Veronica and both hair stylists here in Montevideo. I am sure I overwhelmed them - as soon as their professions were revealed I started my plea to them to fix my hair.
It's not BAD, but it ain't good either. Uruguayans seem to like a certain style of hair cut for women which leaves long layers on the bottom and lots of hair on the top, cutting right in at the ear line. Yes, I know what you are thinking...MULLET! Or, with shorter hair (ehem, like mine) I like to refer to it as a helmet.
"Can you fix this?" I pleaded as I forced one of the Veronicas to get a sense of my thick hair.
"Yes, yes. We have to thin some of your hair off. "
Yikes that sounds dangerous....
"We have special scissors. We make the volume less."
Ok....I can give that a try. I'll let you all know how it goes...next week.
As for another fashion statement that I can't quite figure out - the tapered sweat pants.
Here is a visual.
Sure it looks good on her. But not all of use can carry this look well. I have a sneaking suspicion that these pantalones derived from Bombachas, which are Gaucho pants worn in the pampas (the plains) of Uruguay and other parts of South America. Who would have thought they would have caught on as "la moda?"
For a look at some fashion trends, hand made clothes, shoes and art, check out the small stretch of 25 de Mayo near the Puerto del Mercado. Local designers are starting to open shops making and selling their creations. I'm an actually on the search for a "modista" or seamstress, so if any locals can recommend one, please pass their number my way.
19 February 2007
Uruguay "The Location for Vacation"
Once I asked an Uruguayo if he made up for "lost time" starting in March once the vacations had come to a close. He laughed at me, and sincerely replied, "Lost time? Vacation? That is the most important time! We would say that working is "lost time!"
I have come to observe that this is a very common mentality. Uruguay is unlike any other country I have visited when it come to enjoying the summer, taking vacation, and getting off work for holidays. Sure the Spaniards and the Italians enjoy their siesta during the year, and usually take a month off in August, but they have nothing on the Uruguayans.
It all starts in December....
First school ends for the year, which brings with it all the end of the year parties and goodbyes.
Then comes Christmas Eve, followed of course by Christmas
NEXT is New Year's Eve and of course New Year's Day
....followed by Three King's Day.
Now we are in January. Everyone is off school (there is no summer school in Montevideo, by the way) many stores close down, and businesses limit their hours. Anyone who can afford to leaves Montevideo for the beach for the month.
So that is where I thought it ended.
I was wrong.
At the end of January Montevideanos start slowly getting back in to their work schedule. February comes around and we are in full swing for "Carnival." Evenings are filled with Tablados, Las Llamadas, and other desfiles.
Then comes the OFFICIAL Carnival week. More parades? More murgas? Nope. Businesses close again, stores limit their hours, and everyone is off to the beach AGAIN from Feb 19th to the 21st, (or to 25th...depending on your means and work limitations.)
Over yet?
No.
We may have not mentioned it until now, but Uruguay is a very secular, non religious country. That does not mean they do not have their own way of recognizing Easter. "Semana del Tursimo" (aka Semana Santa) starts April 2, and makes for another week of vacations.
Whew. That is nearly four months of limited or no work!
There of course are positives and negatives to all of this. For someone who works hard during the whole year, and has a job which will give them paid time off, the months are enjoyed with pleasure. For others who work independently, the months are painfully long, and they must budget to pay their bills from their earnings during the other months of the year.
Among us foreigners I think I can safely say that we have had our share of frustrations with getting things accomplished around this time, getting involved in different activities, or even frequenting our favorite cafes and restaurants. I guess those of us that feel this way have not completely become "Uruguayo." If so, we would all be at Punta del Este right now, rather than writing or reading this blog!!!!
=)
15 February 2007
Ta-da! Introducing...
A new blog by Gaucha Guapa strictly on food in Uruguay. It's called Amargo y Dulce, or Bitter and Sweet in honor of two of Uruguay's most classic "palate pleasers"... Mate-a bitter tea that happens to be green- and Dulce de Leche.
Enjoy the new offering from Gaucha Guapa!
14 February 2007
Happy Valentine's Day!!
We wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. Tell someone close to you that you love them, and eat some good chocolate.
Hearts in my favourite plaza in Buenos Aires. Enjoy!!!
12 February 2007
Suprise! We're In Our Second Trimester!!
Gotcha!
No, no ....you will definitely not see any posts about babies on this blog!
However, the analogy is to some extent appropriate. We have decided to stay in Montevideo exactly 9 months, putting us not only in our "second trimester" but also half-way home.
Yippee! Party time June 8th! And if you don't know another reason to celebrate around that date, I suggest you ask E.T. and clear your schedule for the following weekend!
11 February 2007
Las Llamadas Part Two
GG did a fantastic job describing the Llamadas! And to compliment the priceless pictures and scrumptious summary, we thought we would share some video footage of the evening...
The videos speak for themselves...
10 February 2007
Las Llamadas
Fantastic! Great fun! Excellent night! So glad we went!
...were just a few of the comments ET and I exchanged as we got out of the cab at 3:00am Saturday night. We attended Las Llamadas, a yearly event as important to Carnival in Montevideo as is Mardi Gras is to New Orleans.*
This year Las Llamadas, was split into two nights, the 8th and the 9th of February. On both nights groups of registered Candombe groups performed in barrio Sur and barrio Palmero on the block of Isla de Flores. Recall that Candome players are groups of drummers, playing afro-brazilian rythms accompanied by both female and male dancers as well as other performers. (described below)
We had the fortune of viewing the whole parade (yes, we did make it until the last group at 2:00am) from the comfort of an apartment on Isla de Flores. The locale had a outdoor balcony one flight up and a roof top two flights up where we could view the parade of dancers, drummers, etc. while we nibbled on picadas and pizza. We were especially grateful for our location, which was offered to us by my former Spanish tutor, when at 11:00pm it started to rain !!! It was questionable whether the performers would continue, and indeed several dozen people in the streets left the show to find shelter and warmth. Lucky for us the rain died down, and though there were a few soggy looking feathers, the groups continued for a few more hours.
Each group has the same type of performers, but demonstrate variety in their colors and costumes.
Each candombe always has a few large stars and a moon at the front of the parade.
The next traditional role is the Escobero, whole carries a broom without the brush part and uses it as a sort of juggling baton.
Each group also has a "Mamavieja" and a "Gramillero" or herblist. I was told they represent the culture at the colonial times when Carnival started. Some of the females will carry parasols, while some of the medicine men will carry suitcases with "yo-yos" (herbs) and/or a cane.
Of course one of the most beautiful and showy parts of the performance are the female dancers, dressed in elaborate feathered and sequenced costumes, paint, and high heels. Their hips do the majority of the moving, as their feet keep up and their arms dance along. Again, all the members in the group keep the same color theme. So everyone coordinates together. I loved seeing the costumes!!
The drums follow. The rhythmic drumming honors the "calling" of the spirits of the ancestors by the African slaves in colonial times.
This picture captures the movement of the drummers as the crowed stood back and watched.
Speaking of the last set of characters....the crowd!! The narrow streets were packed, both with people sitting on rented seats and those standing. These little girls were dancing all night! Candombe dancers in training!!
I hope you enjoyed this little recap of the Las Llamadas! ET should be putting up a U Tube video shortly.
*every year since 1956 has the contest between the drumming groups been institutionalized. There are judges scattered in the crowds, and winners will be picked from both nights. The second night is said to host the better performers.
Tablados
Another notable part of the Carnival celebrations are the various tablados, or public performances which happen around Montevideo in different open air theatres. They start about 9:00pm and run until about 1:00am. The entrance fee is very affordable - about $3.00 U.S.
Each night in various neighborhoods (as well as barrios outside the city center) various groups of Murgas and Parodistas will perform. What the aforementioned groups, you ask?
We start with my preference of the two - Murgas - which are large groups of men and women dressed in brilliant costumes who sing, dance, drum, and act. The group may include about 20 people, three or four being background drummers or tambourine players while the majority sing and dance. The theme is usually political, and often comical. I love watching the expressions of the murgas. Their painted faces emphasize the exaggerated movements they make with their mouths and eyebrows as they sing. I have included some pictures below. You can see that the costumes are very "court jesterish" in nature and the dancing tends to remind me of movements one would make with a puppet on a string. (Think Pinocchio. Hey, do kids even know who that is anymore??? ;)
The second type of group at the tablados are Parodistas, which are composed solely of men. They perform synchronized dance routines (think Back Street Boys or Nsync) with pauses in the midst of their performances for skits. Again, usually political in nature.
I should mention there is a third group called Humoristas, though one of these types did not perform when I attended the tablado in Parque Rodó last week. Alas, for now I have no description for you.
The tablados are less formal then the performances at the Teatro de Verano, which is a large open air theatre seating thousands, also located in Parque Rodó. We have not made it there yet, but the standards are set higher for the performers there, so the best groups are bound to perform. I´ll keep you posted if we attend one.
06 February 2007
Yemanja
Feb 2 marked the celebration of Yemanja, the sea goddess of a afro-american mythology of the Yoruba people, which has found its way into Brazilian and Cuban culture. In Uruguay the celebration and veneration started on Feb 1st, just before midnight.
We went both nights to the celebrations on the beach. Hundreds of people (mostly from the interior of Uruguay, outside of Montevideo) came to shore with boats. In the boats, which ranged anywhere from one foot long to 3 feet long, they filled all sorts of gifts - food, jewelry, perfume, photos, etc - that would be launched off into the water as an offering to the goddess. Some offerings were more extreme....we saw some chickens carried out into the water. I commented "OH, I feel bad for the chickens...they can't swim!" Our friend mentioned....I don't think the chicken will make it to the point of having to try to swim."
I'm sure you get the point!
Shrine in the sand
Dancing circle around shrine, complete with wailing.
Candles at night in the sand.
All in all an interesting night!
