Thought I'd bring this one up again as it's carnival time here in Uruguay, and I shall be going to see the comparsas tomorrow...

First published by International Living, February 2007
www.internationalliving,com
February 2007

The Uruguayans certainly enjoy their holidays: from early December to Easter, the whole country seems to be in holiday mode. The highlight of summer is Carnival: Montevideo doesn’t attempt to compare with Rio, but lasting forty days, this must be the longest Carnival on earth.

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In December, each neighbourhood elects a carnival queen. Carnival is launched with great pomp a few days later. From then on the streets of Montevideo are awash with colour and rhythm.

The two main features of Carnival are the Comparsas and Murgas. The Comparsas are groups of Afrodescendents whose carnival highlight is a parade called the Llamada. Each Comparsa consists of about twenty flamboyantly-dressed people dancing rhythmically to a three-man drum band. Their music is Candombe, combining African, European and Tango rhythms. Each group has stock characters, the Mama Vieja, (matriarch), the Gramillero (doctor) and the Escobero with his divining stick.

The Murgas are a form of musical entertainment reminiscent of the Commedia dell’Arte. Each group, comprising about twenty people in Harlequin-type costumes, spends months choreographing their songs, commentaries and dance. Their focus is political satire. During the 70s dictatorship, they became known as left-wing subversives, using humour to spread their message through coded songs.

Both Murgas and Comparsas perform throughout the season on tablados, which are informal stages on street corners. For forty nights, the Teatro del Verano, an open air theatre in the centre of Montevideo welcomes the fortunate groups who have reached the stage of the prestigious official competition. Every night, a selection of three groups play to audiences of up to five thousand.

Cash prizes are small, but competition is fierce and prestige high. Montevideans follow the event with excited anticipation, up to the last night when the judges announce their decision.

Last night I paid my first visit to the Teatro del Verano with my friend Rosa. Outside, stalls sold hamburgers, popcorn, and hot water for the Uruguayan national drink, maté. People milled about with their thermos flasks and calabashes. Kiosks rented out cushions for the hard seats. Children sat clapping atop their fathers’ shoulders. As nine o’clock approached the theatre started filling up, and soon there was not an empty seat. I didn’t mind not picking up all the banter: the colourful, lively show was enough to keep me happy.

I spoke to Milagros, a teacher. We were waiting for the highly acclaimed Murga, Las Margaritas, to appear. It was midnight.

“I don’t think they’ll win, this year,” she said. “It’ll be Agarrate Catalina again. They’re just that bit tighter.”

“Do you follow all the groups?”

“Oh yes: we’ve have had season tickets for twenty years. In summer we don’t go to the seaside; we come here. Every night.”

“Why?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything. It’s like a forty–day movie: the characters, the costumes, the music…it encompasses everything: politics, comedy, passion, suspense…who would want to laze on a beach when you can get all this?”