Art, Music and Culture in Uruguay

I found this great page listing arts and cultural events in Uruguay.

Stealing from their website, they say "even though (Uruguay) it is one of the smallest country in the Americas, (slightly smaller in size than Washington State), Uruguay has its own cinema, its own poetry, its own literature, its own culture, its own unique food, and in its way, its very own architecture. It is said that the Tango originated in Uruguay, not Argentina. Uruguay is unique in many ways. There is no nation in the world of similar size that is so culturally rich, and certainly no state. Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, and high levels of social spending; hence it is not a very rich nation, but a highly educated nation. Its experiments with socialism have produced a decent society of wonderful people, but not a very productive society, except in the field of art. Sadly, the lack of sufficient industry pushes many young people abroad in search of jobs. They go abroad with excellent educations, which drains Uruguay of brains. The problems created by socialism, and the benefits created by socialism are clear for all to see. Many people in Uruguay turn to art; probably because they are intelligent, and there are no opportunties to use that intelligence in commerce. The bottom line is, that Uruguay is rich in art; perhaps, per capita, one of the richest in the world."

23 de Marzo 2011

Just a general update.

I forgot to mention that a few days back Mari finally went to the hospital to have all her cyst bandages and etc. removed. She is now on the mend. She still has a little bump on her chest, similar to how it was before it got all infected and inflamed, with a scab from where the incision was. The doctors told her to wait a few months to see what happens. There is a chance the entire thing may just go away, and there is also the chance that it may come back. But for now, she is just happy to have regained a pain free life and the freedom to sleep in or take off for a few days without the necesity of a hospital visit.

As for me, I am reading and practicing my spanish bit by bit, slowly but surely, chipping away at it day by day. I am still hitting the gym and have seen the visible changes that accompany a well rounded gym routine. I am almost at the point where I can go to the gym and fully exert myself without the following days pain of being sore and tender. I say almost, because I can tell right now that I will be slightly sore tomorrow after todays routine. But after being here a month, I am definately on the right track.

I have been flirting with the idea of getting a job. Mari is pressing me to do it even though I feel totally incapable of having a normal conversation in spanish. But....even so, today I emailed out two resumes to see what I can turn up. Mari is hoping that while we are here I can gain a little experience to throw on the resume if and when I really do start my career hunt.

Just a second ago a loud, rouring thunder pierced the quiet night sky. Summer is over, and fall is en route.

T

An example of the Tristán Narvaja Feria

I did not create this video, I found it on You Tube. Thanks to the person that created this and I hope there is no offense to me placing it within my blog.

New Art

This past sunday Ruy, Lucy, Mari and I visited the Tristan Nervaja feria. It is hosted every sunday in the Tristan Nervaja neighborhood. It is quite large, spanning 7 or 8 blocks in both length and width, perhaps more. I am unsure, we walked a lot of it and still missed quite a bit of it as well.

The feria has a bit of everything, pets, books, fruits and veggies, clothes, pirated movies, music and software, antiques, junk, tools and much much more. It was quite incredible to see the amount of stuff thats set up in the street for sale.

I found this beautiful object among the brick a brack, and fell in love. As you may know, I am an art lover. This jewel stood out like a diamond in the rough and I knew I had to have it.

As you can see, it is a hand carved face on a natural block of wood, spanning roughly 8 or 9 inches in diameter. The face is of José Batlle y Ordóñez - an old Uruguayan President.

I love the deep, dark honey color glow of the wood.

I love the relief work of the face and the suit, all set on the thick natural block of wood.

And I love the fact that this only cost me 180 Uruguayan pesos.

$1 USD = 20 Uruguayan pesos.

Thus this wonderfully hand carved antique piece of art cost me a whopping $9 USD.

This feria is the place to be to find great deals on miscelaneous objects. If I had a home here, this is where I would furnish it with furniture, windows, knick knacks and more. It is a wonderful street fair and I can tell where I will be every sunday for the next few weeks.

La Feria

There are many interesting things about Uruguayan culture that stand out against my United States upbring. Because the US is so large, this reference more directly reflects my Western Washington upbringing in and around the Seattle area. Even though I have traveled quite a bit around the world, I have never lived long term in another location. So I use Seattle as my frame of reference for these comparisons.

In Seattle, there are several neighborhoods that host organic farmers markets. For instance, on wedenesday the farmers market is located in Columbia City, while on saturday it may be located in Capital hill. In my opinion, the farmers markets in Seattle are geared towards individuals concerned with personal and global health, and perhaps a few foodies thrown into the mix. I cant say I know a ton of people that use them, but I do know a handful that are dedicated organic shoppers.

Personally, during my last year in Seattle I lived in the middle of downtown. I had the Pike Place Market nearby, but I chose to do the majority of my food and produce shopping at the Whole Foods supermarket - which only sells (expensive) organic produce. And when I say expensive, I mean expensive. Wholefoods is unlike other supermarkets like QFC or Safeway, who sell both produce and organic produce. Whole Foods concentrates on selling only natural and organic products.

Here, in Montevideo there are farmers markets as well. These local markets are referred to as a feria (pronounced Ferry-uh) in spanish. Like Seattle, these ferias change location depending on the day of the week as well. Yet unlike Seattle, these ferias have a different feel to them. First of all, the feria sets up shop on a neighborhood street, with tables and stands on both sides of the street stretching the entire length of the block. It has a very rustic feel to it. They use old wooden crates to move and display the options. And they use slate and chalk to diplay the prices.

These photos illustrate the more elaborate setups on the block, but there are several stands that dont have the display skills that these produce stands have.

The produce here is all locally grown. Thus, there are no blueberries from Venezuela, strawberries from Mexico, or Mangos from Guatemala. If its in season, then its on the plate.

Although they sell produce in the supermarkets here, most people visit the ferias when they are in their area of town during the week. Walking the produce stands you can see the spectrum of individuals that live nearby, young to old. The ferias here are traditional, and do not stem from a food movement that encourages organic produce over other produce. Organic produce is what they grow here, and have grown most likely since farming practices were introduced here. Its wonderful to see an old neighborhood tradition that brings the block together over fresh food.

I would guess that 85% of the stands sell produce, yet there are a handful of other stands that sell non-produce items as well. I think there is a fish stand or two. Plus there are two or three stands like this one below. They sell cheese, milks, yogurts, butters, nuts, granola, beans, jams, honey and misc. items like that. This is the place to purchase the delicious locally made cheeses of the region.

Needless to say, the prices in the feria are a great deal. Perhaps that is how they have been able to persevere over time in the battles against chain supermarkets.

Not all ferias are alike either. This one that I took photos of is supposed to be relatively small in comparison to a few others they have around town. I cant wait to pay a visit to a few others in order to size up the competition.

Take note as well -There is also another type of feria here that sells non-food items. Mari and I have been hitting those ferias as well. after I signed up for my gym membership, we hit the feria for reduced prices on gym shorts, socks, t-shirts, underwear, and related items.

T

Roadtrip Video

I shot this footage on our roadtrip from Montevideo to Santa´Ana Do Livramento. This footage compresses the 5 hour car ride into a heartfelt 3.5 minutes.

Thanks to Band of Horses for making such incredible music and helping to increase the quality of my life over the past several years and thousands of hours spent listening to their music.

11 de Marzo 2011

In a general update, Mari is still draining her cyst. She visited the hospital again this morning and they chose to keep the wound open to allow it to cleanse. But, I must say, the cyst has reduced once again to its normal size, isnt red and infected any more, and doesnt have the biting pain it once inflicted. I believe on Monday, they will remove all the bandages for good to allow it to heal up before they operate the total removal.

Unfortunately, Mari is beset with another ailment. She caught the flu I believe, as opposed to food poisoning, as she was up most of last night vomiting and taken with fever. Poor Mari, she cant seem to catch a break healthwise.

Its now 10:42 am on Friday, I am watching the news about the horrific earthquake in Japan, and Mari has crawled back in bed to get some rest.

I want to wish my Mom a happy 61st Birthday today, March 11th 2011. I love her and wish her the best from down here in the southern hemisphere.

That new movie about space invaders comes out today here, in spanish its called "Invasion del Mundo - Batalla Los Angeles". It looks like a good, shoot em up action movie to see to help celebrate my moms bday.

T

Locks Fountain

The other day Mari and I headed into the downtown area of Montevideo to walk around and visit some of the old city.

Near La Ciudad Vieja (the old city) there is a beautiful old fountain, covered in lovers locks. In spanish its adequately named "The Fountain of the Locks", but the english translation clumsily refers to it as "Locks Fountain".

When I visited Montevideo over the winter vacation two years ago, Mari and I bought a lock for this fountain. We used red finger nail polish to paint on our intials, possibly with a big red heart in the middle. Then made a special trip downtown to lock it onto the fountain, participating in the downtown ritual.

Unfortunatley, we cannot quite remember where we placed our initial lock. We had a rough guess, but were unable to locate it. I think this is due to two problems. The first is our lack of an exact memory as to the precise location of the lock. I could guess in a general area, but I wasnt exactly sure. The second problem is that this time around, two years later, there are many more locks than there were before. I cant remember exactly what it looked like two years ago, but I can tell there are a lot more lovers locks on the gates than there were before.

I know we took photos of the lock and its placement two years ago, but all my photos are sitting on my computer back in Seattle, which is now safely packed away in a packing box and locked in storage. Guess we will have to wait a bit to try and solve the mystery.

If you are heading to Montevideo, be sure to buy a lock and place it on the fountain. The best ones on the fountain prepared ahead of time, having their locks engraved in fine lettering with names, dates, what city they were traveling from, and possibly a little message of love. To me, its truely a unique fountain that stands out in my travels around the world. It helps ingratiate travelers to this city, and makes me wonder why Seattle doesnt have anything like it.

I think its a wonderful idea to construct something within a city that both locals and travelers can participate in. The more people participate, the more interesting it becomes. This fountain is really a sight to behold.

Now, if anyone is looking for a great business opportunity during their stay in Montevideo, I say build a stand next to the fountain that sells different types and styles of locks, colors of finger nail polish, and possibly, on the upper end, personalized engravings. I cant believe there isnt one already.

T

Uruguayan Road Trip

We packed up Ruy and Lucy´s little white compact and headed out of Montevideo. We were heading due north, straight through the heart of Uruguay.


We made a quick gas stop in a town named Pasos del Toro. This giant bull stands guard near the entrance to the town.


As for Central Uruguay, as you can see it contains lots and lots of fields. Green fields, brown fields, corn fields, cows, horses, ostriches, sheep, goats, watermelons, squash farms and more.




As you can see, the interior is filled with bright blue skies and fertile soils. It reminded me a lot of what the interior of the United States looks like as well. Except here, instead of farmers, they have Gauchos. Who keep the old school traditions alive in the Uruguayan heartlands.

Carnaval Night in Santana Do Livramento

The parade starts late in these parts, maybe around 10:30 pm or so. It wasnt too much different than a parade in the states except for a few minor details. The most striking difference to me was the amount of beer being bought, sold and consumed on the street. There were bottles and cups in the hands of adults and teenagers everywhere - and, I must admit, it was a welcome addition to a foreign steet fair.

The second difference was the amount of kids playing and rough housing in the street between processions. They would run and play and push and shove, kicking anything in sight as if it were a soccer ball. They played one on one with an empty beer cup, or perhaps two on three with a bottle cap. Plus, they all had bottles of white silly spray that they sprayed on anyone close enough to spray, which typically ended up being the people within the processions themselves.

The third major difference actually took place within the parade. Some of the processions came with singers, who walk with the procession belting out their tune. I am adding a video to illustrate this example, and will hopefully give you a little insight into the types of parades they have in Brazil, in the small towns, to celebrate Carnaval.

On TV we watched the major Carnaval taking place in Rio de Janeiro - which is 1000 times more spectacular than the little small town parade we watched. Perhaps its the same difference between watching the Macys Day Parade in New York City in contrast to the Strawberry Festival Parade in Marysville. Both have their purpose, but if you want to see the big dogs play the game, you gotta go to Rio.

Durazno Zoo

We returned from our short roadtrip to Brazil yesterday and I was finally able to grab some photos to throw up here.

We headed out of Montevideo heading north. We made our way through a few departments and stopped for lunch in Durazno at their free, local zoo. Durazno is the spanish word for peach.


All these pictures are of birds even though the zoo had a bit of everything. Lions, Tigers, a bear, goats, deer, turtles, warthogs, monkeys, rabbits and more. But these are just the standout photos. The lions were amazing to see, but they were just lounging around trying to cool themselves in the summer heat.

I love the bright, tropical colors exhibited by these birds - well all excep this last one that just looks comical in its serious tone.

5 de Marzo 2011

Mari, Ruy, Lucy and I are staying in a border town on the frontera between Uruguay and Brazil. We arrived yesterday to spend 5 days and 4 nights here to celebrate Carnaval - Brazilian style. Ruy and Lucy come to visit family every year, as did their parents before them. This tradition has been going on for quite a while and the ties were sewn long ago.



We arrived yesterday in the early evening. We unpacked, relaxed and said our hellos and chatted. And then as evening rolled around they threw a big welcome party with family members visiting to say hi and meat on the grill. We drank beer and scotch all night, and I had to overcome not only my spanish barrier with Mari and her parents, but now I have to overcome the portuguese barrier that these Brazilians are speaking.



Portuguese is a strange language, it sounds like a mixture of German and Spanish to me. And sometimes it sounds so foreign it could be Croatian, or some other language I have never heard but wouldnt understand. Yet then, I am listening to the conversation and fully understand everything thats being said. Its funny how it alternates back and forth.



We are here visiting a man named Beto, but there are also two others that live in the house as well - Plinio and Diva. Diva cooks the most amazing food. No joke, the food I ate last night for dinner and the food I had today for lunch was the best tasting, scrumptious meals I have eaten in the last 6 months. Totally and utterly amazing. I left to walk around the city today and returned to the fabulously prepared lunch, and vowed that I can no longer waste my time traveling through Brazil any more. I have work to do, and it involves me sitting in the kitchen taking notes on how to prepare a tiny portion of the food I have been eating. From the stories I have heard, everyone knows about the quality of her cooking - so when there is a party thrown in this house the guest count doubles and there are uninvited guest arrivals. From what I have tasted so far, I can see why.

We are heading out soon to partake in the Carnaval festivities and watch the parade. Cheers.

T