Semana Criolla; Gauchos.

This is Semana Santa, officially dubbed Semana de Turismo by the government and also, Semana Criolla.
Semana Criolla is (among other things I suppose) where people from the Interior (everywhere outside Montevideo) come in to show their lifestyle to the city folk, sell their wares, cook meat and rodeo. It’s a great event.
Gauchos are Uruguay’s cowboys [...]

Phone Etiquette in Uruguay

Answering the phone here is simple:
Hola.
Putting someone hold is a little different, but simple:
¿Me esperas un momento? No me cortes por favor. (Will you wait a moment, don’t hang up please!)
It’s at the time to say goodbye when things get interesting. Rather than the typical “bye bye” (adios) you try to sneak in a few [...]

Carnaval is great, especially the Murgas

Carnaval in Uruguay is long. I’m not sure how long but more than a month. Basically it consists of groups of (mostly men) performing short (aprox 45 minutes) plays on stages in neighborhoods throughout the city and ending in a final competition in the main theater – Teatro de Verano.
The plays fall into [...]