Beliefs Of The People Of Uruguay

     Cultural assets reflect the nature of countries. This is the reason for this general overview of some of the items which comprise the cultural wealth of Uruguay, whose warp was interwoven by the association of its Christian and European historical traditions and the indigenist roots deriving from the very depth of its native soil.

From its very beginning, the young Uruguayan nation was concerned about intellectual and spiritual matters, and its profile was outlined through its many sons who reached an outstanding position in the field of ideas, literature, arts, and sciences. When coming to mentioning them, a large number of people deserve such ranking among the very well-known personalities of the country, yet the restricted and tyrannical summary we are forced to make only allows us to remember some highly representative and unavoidable names whose work has long survived and who are recognized not only within our borders but also abroad.

Folklore

     Uruguayan folklore shows differents expresions which derive from their various origins and which, in our native land, took up their own characteristics. On the other hand, we may quote native songs and dances which were born and raised in our rural environment, mainly Vidalita, Milonga, Payada, Peric�n, etc, which are encompassed by guitar music which, once introduced by Spain in colonial times, became a typical instrument that was never replaced in folk songs and gaucho music. Later, the accordion was incorporated to rural folklore, and dances were embellished with a charming rhythm. On the other hand, ritual African dances brought to our country by blacks under slavery condition, in colonial times under Spanish rule, have given way to a rich Afro-Uruguayan folklore where "Candombe" dominates the stage, the most widespread dance in Montevideo, which was engraved in his canvases by Figari, and which as of today is present at the "llamadas", large "comparsas" and "murgas' who get together under the rhythm of drums and, during the Uruguayan Mardi Gras, parade along the Southern Neighbourhood of Montevideo while such insistent and obsessional rhythm is kept by handfuls of young dancers wearing the typical garments of ancient characters: "bastoneros","
gramilleros","escobilleros","mamas viejas", etc. This colourful and enthusiastic show is joined by the crowds who were supposed to be only observers, among them
thousands of tourists who every year especially visit Uruguay in the summer to witness such celebrations.

Languages

     One of the most important aspects of a countries heritage is the language spoken throughout history. Without this identity, I propose one question, shall the country live on, or perish into the cesspool of old broken down, crumbled countries?  Spanish, being the main language of Uruguay as of today and over 200 years ago, is joined by a variety of different languages; two of them being Portunol and Brazilero.  Not knowing any of these languages could bring a well-awaited field trip to Uruguay to a saddening failure.

Religion

     Religion is another heritage that a country has to keep to survive. For Uruguay, the Roman Catholic religion dominates the others at a staggering 66 percent of the church-going public. Jews and Protestants follow with 2 percent. One figure that shocked me was that only one-half of the living population attend church on a regular basis. With a country like Uruguay, this could be deffening.