Tablados, Murgas, etc...

<<previous

next>>

Murgas are popular musical theater performed during carnival (in February) at different places in Montevideo. You can see them at different tablados, or at the Teatro de Verano (summer theater), which is a big open-air amphitheater where the murgas contest is held.



Both the theater and all the tablados are always crowded with people who want to see the best murgas, parodistas and comparsas. Pictures shown here were taken at a tablado called Club Malvín and the participating murgas are La gran siete, Agarrate Catalina and El Gran Tuleque.



Tablados are usually basketball courts where different murgas perform during the carnival season. Families gather at about 10 pm on weekdays and leave around 1:30 in the morning. How they manage to keep the kids awake or to get up the next day remains a mystery but so much fun makes the fewer hours of sleep certainly worth it.

The show consists of a group of people (mostly men) who dress in various costumes and sing about different contemporary topics such as politics or funny events that took place during the previous year. They sometimes make up their own melodies but more often than not familiar songs are played with new, hilarious lyrics. The singers are usually very good but that is not the only reason people like this. Their costumes, make up and above all the expression in their faces definitely add up to the show.



Some of the performers are only singers and there are many songs sang a capella but sometimes drums, guitars or some other instruments are present as well. They change their costumes more than once during the performance and they keep you interested all the time.



In between shows it’s possible to eat hamburgers, pizza, popcorn, churros and cotton candy. They are all prepared on the sides of the court and you can get them there but there are some people going around and selling them to the audience as well.





It is hard to describe the kind of music because I’m sure there is nothing similar to it elsewhere, and especially the feeling that it produces in the audience. The best way to know is to go, so if you are here any February don’t miss it.