Murga

As you Murga is a form of South American carnival, which is mainly organized in the Río de la Plata region of Uruguay and Argentina.

Murga in Uruguay

The Murgas are composed of a (mostly male ) choir and a musical accompaniment. The classic accompaniment instruments are the

• Bombo ( bass drum),
• The Platillos (pelvis ) and
• The Redoblante ( snare drum ).

Traditionally Murgas occur in the district on stages, the so-called Tablados. Her performance, called cuple, covers a wide range of social issues and is a sweet and sour years chronicle of the events that move the society. The satirical texts are often accompanied by music classics.

In recent years, the genre has grown considerably. Due to their enormous political relevance hear more and more young people to the Murgas, in the pop music of the characteristic Murgasound has long since been incorporated. Bands like La Vela Puerca from Uruguay or Bersuit Vergarabat take very strong Murgaimpulse in their work on. The Murga has long since left the Tablados. Antimurga BCG is one of these groups, which goes beyond the traditional boundaries between the Murga and the carnival as a site of action and the classical theater.

Murga Argentina

A very special variant is the Murga as Carnival in Buenos Aires and across the estuary of the Río de la Plata. Here, " Murga " not only the groups of dancers, singers and drummers, but also the carnival itself, which continues throughout the summer and intended for weeks before all the streets of the poorer quarters in the Argentine capital. More than 150 years brought European immigrants from the Rhineland traditions of folk Cologne carnival with the Río de la Plata, where they merged with the music of former black slaves to an independent folk culture. With sticks on cans and bucket -closing and "armed" with flour, eggs and color carnival roamed the streets, singing loudly and dancing and with salacious sayings government and high society through the mud pulling. Under dictatorial rule, the rebellious Murgas were banned, so in 1840 the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas and last under the military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla from 1976 to 1983. Full suppress it never could be, however.

Today, there are alone in the Argentine capital over a hundred Murgas, now also in the more affluent neighborhoods; Murga each maintains its own traditions, has specific colors and mascot. Typical outfit of a " Murgueros " are silk dress coat, gloves and hat - a reminder of the time when black slaves in the absence of their "masters " secretly attracted their clothes and made ​​grimaces cutting in comic contortions fun of them. For the Argentine Murgas imaginatively decorated, self -sewn dress suits are almost more important than dance and music. The stage performances are always followed by a strictly defined choreography of songs, change songs and dances, which are rather grotesque contortions; in the texts of political and social issues are to be sarcastic on the grain. Modern Murgas experiment with current musical trends and take loans from the experimental theater. They also act at political demonstrations and work in the slums with children in order wegzuholen of the road. The highlight of each Murga show is a huge spray can battle with Christmas tree: a sentimental reminder of the real snow during the Carnival season in Cologne.

Origins of Murga

There is a discussion about the origins of the Murga. It is clear that it makes use of elements of carnival in Cádiz, southern Spain, and the Carnival of the Canary Islands. The first mention of Murga as such there are already around the year 1876 mentions the montevideanische newspaper El Ferrocarril the concept of Murga. Crucially, in addition to the classic elements of the Spanish Carnival permeated the afrouruguayische element of these groups. Thus the origin of the Murga is seen in the transformation and the entangled individual influences; and although the name is derived from Spanish, the Murga is a new genre, the music of a multicultural society in Montevideo in the late 19th century.