Traditional music
In Uruguay, there are dances common to the entire region such as El cielito, an evolution of the contredanse introduced in the 18th century in Argentina by the British, or the pericón, a kind of seguedilla danced in groups with handkerchiefs, also present in Argentina, Chile and Paraguay. Common to Argentina and Uruguay, there are also the vidalitas, songs that are (distant) cousins of flamenco.
But the traditional aesthetic that is authentically Uruguayan is the candombe. It's impossible to miss it if you spend more than one night in Uruguay, especially if you stroll through Montevideo at night. There, the thick sound of percussion should reach you, performed by a large group of drummers. The rhythm you hear is candombe. With origins dating back to the time when Montevideo was an important slave trading port, candombe probably has Bantu roots.
Candombe rhythms are produced by sets of drums, divided into three size families: tambor repique, tambor chico and tambor piano. The latter, the piano, is the largest and lowest of the three drums and forms the rhythmic foundation of candombe. The chico is, as its name implies, the smallest and therefore the sharpest, while the repique ("ricochet") embellishes the candombe rhythm with improvised phrases. Each drum is played with an open hand and a stick called "palo". In addition to this Sunday meeting, candombe is also present during the carnival played by the comparsas, a troupe of musicians and dancers marching in the street.
Recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, candombe has never really been institutionalized and remains the spontaneous musical expression of the Afro-descendant community of Montevideo. It can be heard unmistakably on Sundays and holidays, when the candombe llamadas de tambores ("drum calls") are heard in the districts of Sur, Palermo, and Cordón, in the south of Montevideo, with each neighborhood having its own variation, its own rhythmic identity.
Some candombe musicians became very popular, especially in the 1960s when they mixed the genre with the sound of British rock'n'roll, such as Hugo Fattoruso, Rubén Rada, Eduardo Mateo and Jaime Roos. The latter is undoubtedly one of the most iconic artists of the country today, with his mixture of rock, candombe, milonga, tango and murga, offering a sound very faithful to Montevideo.
Another great Uruguayan tradition (that can be found in Argentina), the murga is a musical-theatrical form - often drawing on social and political satire - also dating from the time of slavery. The musical part is reminiscent of candombe in its polyrhythm - except that here the rhythms are played with a bass drum, a snare drum and cymbals. The songs, on the other hand, are often polyphonic and mostly take a choral form. Today, Falta y Resto is widely considered one of the most popular murgas in the country.
Far from being shy, Uruguayan folklore shows itself at every opportunity, especially at major events such as the Festival de Olimar, which takes place every year in the town of Treinta y Tres in honor of local maestro Rubén Lena, the occasion for folk singing competitions. Among other events where folklore is very present, the Fiesta de La Patria Gaucha pays homage to the traditions of the gauchos with folkloric concerts and dances, while the Fiesta Del Mate celebrates the country's drink, with three days of singing, dancing and rodeo competitions. Finally, the Festival Minas Y Abril is a traditional festival that also celebrates gaucho art.
The other cradle of tango
Originating in the poor neighborhoods along the banks of the River Plate, tango was, in its early days, the music of all uprooted people, who found in it an echo of their solitude and melancholy. In its purely instrumental beginnings, tango was a genre where ephemeral melodies were improvised on a simple tone and that emblematic slow two-beat rhythm.
Although the musical genre is much more associated with Argentina - primarily Buenos Aires - the Uruguayan capital has also been a buzzing hive of activity where many of the great names in tango have emerged, starting with Carlos Gardel, of Uruguayan origin (this is actually controversial) who later lived in Buenos Aires. Montevideo is also the city of one of the greatest and most famous tangos, La Cumparsita, composed by Uruguayan Gerardo Matos Rodriguez in 1917. Nicknamed "the tango of tangos", this extremely popular Latin love song in Uruguay (and Argentina) became the popular and cultural anthem of Uruguay by presidential decree in 1998.
Among the other great names of Uruguayan tango, the most important were Francisco Canaro, known as Pirincho (1888-1964), violinist and conductor, with a precocious talent that changed the tango by introducing the double bass; the singer Julio Sosa (1926-1964) who was the most popular tango singer of his time; Horacio Ferrer (1933-2014), the author of some of the most important tangos, especially for Piazzolla(La Ultima Grela, Tanguera, Balada para un Loco); or Miguel del Aguila, who played tango like classical music - most notably on his Grammy-nominated 2015 album Concierto en Tango.
In the late 1950s, responding to a certain decline in tango, another form of expression was added, elaborated from dance elements influenced by Afro-Cuban music and of which Pedrito Ferreira and his orchestra Cubanacan were proud representatives.
In Montevideo, El Tartamudo is the meeting place for tango lovers. Otherwise, the Plaza De Cagancha is one of the privileged places of the seniors wishing to dance the tango..
Popular music
Some names are very dear to the hearts of Uruguayans and it is always good to know them, starting with Alfredo Zitarrosa (1936-1989), a great voice whose work was largely inspired by milongas and folk tunes. Santiago Chalar (1938-1994), poet, composer and musician, is also very inspired by folklore, Tabaré Etcheverry (1945-1978), who was rediscovered by the general public and Amalia de la Vega, who cultivated a very personal style through milongas, cifras, estilos and vidalitas.
Classical music
If Uruguay cultivates a rather discreet presence in the history of classical music, some interesting personalities are to be noted. First, Eduardo Fabini (1883-1951), a great Uruguayan musician, violinist and composer. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and founded the Asociación Uruguaya de Música de Cámara and the Montevideo Conservatory upon his return to Uruguay. A lover of folklore, he attempted to fuse Uruguayan popular elements with a post-impressionist language, establishing him as the great representative of Uruguayan musical nationalism (alongside Luis Cluzeau Mortet). Among his most famous works is the symphonic poem Campo (1911), an international success inspired by the sounds of nature and the garden of his childhood, as well as other of his works, which earned him the title of musician and singer of the "land" of Uruguay. Other memorable names in Uruguayan classical composition are Pedro Ipuche Riva (1924-1996), who tried to integrate popular music with classical music, and Nydia Pereyra-Lizaso, whose works are performed throughout the world.
The country has a great conductor, Gisele Ben-Dor, who is very well known in her field. With a flamboyant style, charisma and vitality noticed early on by the likes of Leonard Bernstein, she was Kurt Masur's assistant at the New York Philharmonic for ten years and has conducted the Boston Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra since 1991 and the Santa Barbara Symphony since 1994. Wherever she performs in the world, Gisele Ben-Dor never strays from her roots and plays a lot of South American music (Ginastera, Revueltas, Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos among others). The other big name in Uruguayan conducting is Carlos Kalmar, long-time conductor of the Oregon Symphony.
In terms of performers, the country has produced some great guitar virtuosos, such as Abel Carlevaro (1916-2001), who revolutionized the technique of his instrument and won the admiration of musicians such as Heitor Villa-Lobos; Óscar Cáceres (1928-2021), the "Rubinstein of the guitar"; and Álvaro Pierri, one of the most revered living guitarists. Also worth mentioning is the pianist Dinorah Varsi (1939-2013) and her generous interpretations of a repertoire ranging from Bach to Ginastera through Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Chopin and Brahms..
Current music
Apart from being a hyper-invested actor in the world electronic scene, there are few chances to know it: Uruguay has a very healthy techno scene. And a particularly identifiable sound as well as a singular, syncopated rhythm, which perhaps comes from candombe. An identity that can be found in Latress' new wave techno, Vagi's twisted acid, Juan Dairecshion's interstellar electronics or Stonem's staggering tech-house. All in their own way deeply resemble Montevideo. Also worth mentioning is the work of Lila Tirando a Violeta and the SALVIATEK label, each of which in its own way takes the candombe sound in exciting new directions.
La Phonotheca - for many the best electro club in Montevideo - is also an important player that has helped the local scene to consolidate. The place hosts few international guests, but offers long and beautiful sets by local DJs.
