Uruguayan Popular Song - Aquiles Fabregat / Antonio Dabezies

The Mystery of Uruguayan Popular Song

Try to analyze that true phenomenon called 'Uruguayan Popular Song',

it is complicated and perhaps useless. It is, paraphrasing Jardiel Poncela, like
to pretend to stab a butterfly with a telephone pole. There is something miraculous about it.
that no scholar will be able to code without feeling assaulted by doubts.
What is that thing they call 'Uruguayan Popular Singing', a definition already imposed and
accepted? A movement? A current? A simple label?
Let's try to take it step by step.
Starting in 1976, a strange event begins to be recorded in Montevideo.
Fact: certain theater halls announce recitals by singers and singer-songwriters.
little-known nationals, who talk about their own issues or problems
universals referred to one's own humanity.
A group from the central department of Tacuarembó, established in
the Capital, comes to be known under the baton of the poet, inspirer, and instigator
Washington Benavides, with the organizing drive of the younger poet as well.
Víctor Cunha. Another group, up to that moment confined to 'serious music',
decide to venture into the popular and national without renouncing its own; it is the people of
Nueva Music Core
Paraskevaidis. And other artists, who until then had been working without
pauses and darkly, they begin to attract greater attention from an audience still
little, who is in search of his identity; Santiago Chalar is the great example.
Provincials and city dwellers are merging; the urban and the rural share.
scenarios, supporting each other.
Instead of extinguishing, this spark ignites a bonfire. Between 1977 and 1980,
the phenomenon grows, explodes and consolidates. From theaters, it moves to clubs,
the open spaces, the stadiums; from recitals to giant festivals. The audience
Uruguayan, inattentive to the national since the ostracism of Zitarrosa, Viglietti, The
Olimareños and other emigrants, are once again interested in their own. Support is being given.
massive and unconditional. The venues where singing takes place fill up with an audience
enthusiastic, fervent, knowledgeable and growing larger, creating a movement
unique in the history of Charrúa music.
At the same time, local record companies, such as Sondor and
Tacuabé suddenly finds that recording Uruguayan music is a
business and no longer a quixotic endeavor. And even the big press, surrendered before the
evidence, access to allocate spaces for comments on the CPU.
By 1981, the phenomenon reaches a peak that even its own promoters
they had dreamed. At that time, the evasion of borders began. Argentina and
Brazil is interested in that unusual cultural explosion, of an almost artistic level.
incomprehensible in a small country with less than three million inhabitants.
Poets, musicians, singers or all three together, they fit into the movement to
despite deep and irreversible divergences in some cases. And new ones arise
values, some of extreme youth. And many return who had abandoned the
Uruguay in search of clearer horizons.
The years 1981 and 1982 stand witness to the total triumph of the CPU, despite the
repeated prohibitions issued by a government that is not very inclined towards the
popular demonstrations. Uruguayan records start sharing windows
centrals with consumer products like Julio Iglesias, María Martha Serra Lima or

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"Menudo," and they compete on equal footing in the sale of plates. And even television,
although partially, it opens its doors to the new trend.
Now then: why 'Uruguayan Popular Song'?
Such denomination is apparently generic, unlike others.
such as "Bossa Nova" or "Nueva Trova Cubana". However, the thing about "Canto
"Popular Uruguayo" becomes firm through reiteration, and it remains to be defined.
this event emerged in 1976. There are still those who debate which person used it for
first time, and those who take such merit with childish pride. The truth is that the
The 'title' caught on and remained.
What does it encompass? Everything. Traditional airs, the milonga, the chamarrita, the
darling, the polka or the very Uruguayan serranera; the candombe in all its forms; the
murga, definitively integrated into Uruguayan popular music; the music
Latin American and even jazz, merged with the Charrúa feeling. It is Popular Song that
of Darnauchans, Leo Maslíah, Santiago Chalar and 'Universe', so dissimilar from each other
like wine, gin, brandy, and bitters can be. It's Popular Song what it is.
Larbanois-Carrero, Dino, Vera Sienra and "Songs to Not Sleep the Nap", so
different like mate, coffee, tea, and chocolate. And this is indisputable, although
the movement, within itself, harbors discrepancies.

ORIGINS AND MANAGERS

Detecting the exact origins of the CPU is not easy at all. One would have to mention the
inescapable Bartolomé Hidalgo for the umpteenth time, as the first singer of opinion
that the Banda Oriental had. But that was a long time ago. There is a void.
posterior that cuts the thread well into the Twentieth Century.
The starting point of the current 'Uruguayan Popular Song' can coincide
with the dazzling appearance of Osiris Rodríguez Castillos, who at the beginning of the
the sixties opposed its distinctly Eastern, intelligent, and profound themes to
the one coming from Argentina, and even reversed the situation: her poems were
sung by Cafrune, Larralde and other greats from the neighboring country.
Victor Lima -the eldest of the group- and the immense Rubén appeared immediately.
Lena, poets of the Uruguayan who wrote things to be sung by themselves
or their friends. And singer-songwriters like Marcos Velázquez, Aníbal Sampayo appeared,
Santos Inzaurralde, the poet Carlos Molina, and Anselmo Grau, who came to have his
own program in the emerging Uruguayan television. The traditionalist Amalia of the
Vega also contributed his share, and part of the gauchesca poetry was revalued.
Wenceslao Varela, Romildo Risso. In Tacuarembó, Washington Benavides
he scandalized the most conservative with his songs and writings.
In the 1960s, the first bloom of popular singing occurs,
foreteller of what would happen in the second half of the seventies. A born.
top-notch layer of interpreters, most labeled as 'singers of
protest.
The most important is, without a doubt, Alfredo Zitarrosa. His voice manages to break
all ideological barriers and reach everyone. Their records are purchased
by people who know nothing about socio-political messages, but shed tears upon hearing them
"Milonga for a little girl." Zitarrosa avoids, perhaps despite himself, his condition of
singer of the people, to be enjoyed even by those whom he attacks with his
verb. Born in Montevideo in 1936, former announcer and journalist, achieves the point.
just between the urban and the rural, which it knows equally. It triumphs meteoric and opens
the gap for other national artists. Exiled since 1975, he continues to make music
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purely Uruguayan and continues to influence part of the new generation of

singers.
At the same time, in the department of Treinta y Tres, a duo emerges that
will exert decisive influences on the future CPU. It is called 'Los Olimareños' and is
integrated by José Luis Guerra and Braulio López. With their particular way of approaching the
duet singing will be consciously or unconsciously imitated by those who come
behind, until long after exiled.
Also, in Montevideo, the name of Daniel Viglietti is starting to sound strong.
Born into a family of musicians in 1939, raised in the Sayago neighborhood, Viglietti
becomes the flag bearer of political commitment, but his strong voice and his expertise
guitar goes beyond that. Like their artistic generation peers,
he embarked on exile. Subsequently, his creative vein seemed to have stagnated.
José Carbajal, "El Sabalero", is another of the fundamental names of
sixty. Born in 1943 in Juan Lacaze, Colonia department, he amazes with
entry with its theme 'Chiquillada', which was collected by artists from all over America. Its
"To my people" is one of the current anthems of the CPU. And since its exile.
European, Carbajal continues to contribute masterpieces such as 'Drunk but with Flowers',
of its eastern roots.
Marcos Velázquez does not reach the same heights; but he wins festivals.
and leaves early, to become a very important figure in Europe. There is
more names that have weighed and weigh. Santiago Chalar, today one of the pillars of the CPU,
starts to be heard and to record in this bright period. Also
Washington Carrasco, very young. And other voices are known, such as those of Roberto.
Darvin, Numa Moraes, Alan Gómez, Víctor Pedemonte, and Eustaquio Sosa, the majority
from which he will later embark on exile. And a great singer debuts.
personality, coming from the northeast: his name is Tabaré Etcheverry and he will pass away at
33 years old, cancer victim. Four long-duration tracks and an album with two.
"extended-play" that contains an epic of Artigas written by Martin Ardúa, author
also from a current classic like 'El Mulitero'.
It is also the time of the beginnings of Ricardo Comba, the teenage Vera.
Sienra, the young Lucio Muñíz, the enthusiasts 'The Solitarios'...
But in that luminous decade, not only the singing with guitars flourishes.
There is another aspect that, over the years, will also lead to
the tumultuous flow of the CPU. These are Uruguayans who love the rhythms of
black roots, the music of the Caribbean, the one that comes down from Brazil and also jazz. The
Moreno Rubén Rada is one of them. And Eduardo Mateo, whose influence they recognize.
Today openly many eastern musicians. And the Fattoruso brothers, children.
prodigy, about to embark on the adventure of imitating 'The Beatles'. And
Horacio Buscaglia, who in his free time is on the hunt for musical discoveries.
And Urbano Moraes, Kano Alonso, Dino, Chiquito Cabral and others, who create groups almost
legendary such as "The Syndicate", "The Kinto" and "Totem".
These are the seeds that probably germinated to bear fruit in the
CPU, fertilized by the social and political conditions of Uruguay.
And before moving forward, it is necessary to establish that in no case
At the moment we talk about 'Uruguayan Folklore', because in terms of music, such a thing does not exist.
The indigenous tribes, ruthlessly extinguished by the colonizing forces and their
accomplices, left no testimony. The roots of Eastern popular music
they are in Europe and in Africa. However, the identity of the Uruguayan Popular Song
It is total and astonishes the interpreters or creators from other Latin American countries.
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Once I heard an Argentine musician exclaim, after listening to a recording of the

duo Larbanois-Carrero, the following words: “But how do they do it?!… One listens
three beats and he already knows they are Uruguayans!

Meaning and Location of the CPU

Beyond the musical meaning of this new movement called 'Popular Song'
"Uruguayan" -behind the lights, the sound effects, and the impressive frames of
audiences who bark at each recital-, there is a whole phenomenon of masses that astonishes the
audience member approaching a show for the first time. A phenomenon that does not
it could, of course, go unnoticed by the coldest observer of the current reality
Uruguayan.
The CPU is atypical in every way: it does not fit a certain and constant
musical current; lacks idols, in the mystical sense that such a word implies for
other similar phenomena; and although it attracts crowds, it does not fit into the
the same parameters that such communication outbursts usually entail.
Arising within particular sociopolitical coordinates, at a moment
very special of a country that -at least in this century- did not know of difficult times,
he overcame all the obstacles that were attempted to be placed before him. He marginalized the
professionalism slipped out of the hands of the great drivers and makers
of musical events. And he ended up identifying himself, while
identified, beyond borders, a Uruguay that had never achieved a
own and defined musical personality.
Paradoxically, perhaps the key to their unstoppable success lies in all of this:
a form of elite expression, closed and cornered despite itself, has gone.
becoming a mass phenomenon that no one can dispute anymore.
To understand its true meaning, it is essential to delve into the
special circumstances of an atypical Uruguay since the early years of
the seventies. It would be easy to attribute a confrontational sense to the CPU, merely
political. But this cultural event obeys something more than just the simple political ban
that has been governing in the republic since June 1973. Analyzing the lyrics, it clearly emerges
that only a small percentage takes a declared stance in that regard
(explainable situation, also due to the strict prior censorship that forces the presentation of the
letters to a special police department, before each action). Discounting
that it is a movement that can be clearly defined as 'text song' -where
the musical structure holds, without depriving itself of its values, the importance of the lyrics-
we find in its theme a faithful reflection of a reality that is more experiential than political.
The man appears above all things. His daily life, his dramas and
joys, the things surrounding him, the illusions, the ideals. In short, it appears
reflected a new generation, even when to reflect itself it needs to resort to a
the past that is dear and longed for through the vision of their elders.
Much has been said about its politicization, especially on the side of the
critics of the current. It is true that it grew, yes, at a particularly moment.
difficult, and perhaps its initial audience was the one that had the most curtailed
political aspirations. But the greatest politicization of Uruguayan Popular Song has
sprouted, precisely, from outside: the prohibitions politicize it, mythologizing certain
names and surnames beyond what their letters express. Those who politicize them
they close their doors, turning it, much to their regret, into a musical trend

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"against". And the usual mediocre people politicize it, resorting to the classic expedient.
to box in the valuable opponent to clear a path that they cannot make on their own.
The real motivations behind the CPU phenomenon must be sought in the
Cultural connotations of Uruguay in the early seventies. The Charrúa public.
was always considered "difficult" by the foreign artist. The result of a root
extremely widespread culture - for many the largest in Latin America and superior to
of several European countries - the sensitivity of the average Uruguayan transformed into
a real demand for every expression, popular music included. Perhaps the fact that
not possessing an authentically personal musical legacy always tilted the scale more
towards the text as towards the music. And within the lyrics, the demand grew in
the extent to which things were improved. Even of the murgas - the genre
more popular and indigenous - the people began to wait, more and more, for better texts. And
when in the course of the sixties the interpreter was chosen for his lyrics, in front of the
imported vacuum product imposed by commercial firms, the option was
defined. Uruguayans had found, in their own way, their musical identity.
Then came stormy times, in which not only did they collapse
political structures. The economic booms were also left behind along the way.
access to culture, the threads that kept the country connected to the entire cultural world,
the classic values that equated culture with good living. And although
Paradoxically, the crisis arrived at the same time as the consumer society, a
A good part of Uruguayans resisted losing that traditional aspect of their
way of being: cultural identity.
With the flow of the CPU, an entire generation of Orientals is identified that
they refuse to give up what they drank from their parents and grandparents. Something they feel
as yours as the mate and the thermos, the carnival or freedom of expression.
For the majority of the thousands of participants - it is not appropriate to talk about
"attendees" - to a folk singing show, that is the main motivation:
finding something of yours, personal, identifying. It is probably why the
the interpreter does not acquire dimensions of an idol. The singer arrives at the recital as just another one,
he mingles with the audience, discusses topics with them, and when he goes on stage he is not
an unattainable myth for which teenagers howl, but simply
acquire the exact dimension of the mentor of what everyone feels and shares. There
a rare symbiosis is born, almost unique in a mass communication phenomenon,
where authors, interpreters, and the public can only be distinguished because each one,
According to its conditions, it has chosen different paths for the same purpose.
Another of the fundamental differences that separate Uruguayan Popular Song
from other similar events, is the little importance they have had in their development
the mass media, or the classic commercial circuits that
they govern these movements to their convenience. Both the radios and the channels
of television, framed within the rules of self-censorship that govern Uruguay
since 1973, and subject to the regrettable Latin American custom of overvaluing what
From the outside and to underestimate the national, they hermetically closed their doors to the CPU.
There were exceptions, especially in radiotelephony, but of little significance in the
general panorama. And while an attempt was being made to impose music on an entire people
foreign that invariably proposed easy melodies and lyrics of no value, not
It was not only a cultural but also a vital one, developing parallelly an almost
underground where unknown performers went without any promotion
gaining a respect and a valuation that were not achieved by the 'taxes'. Everything was put
the machinery at the service of foreigners, while the national artist is not only
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it was not unprotected, but it was being heavily burdened with demands that would have
disheartened even the most persistent, like prior censorship and prohibitions
arbitrary. However, the CPU won the uneven battle.
The audience also won, the true protagonist of the miracle.

POPULAR SONG AND POETRY

One of the great characteristics of the CPU is its connection with poetry.
the majority of interpreters draws from the work of current and past poets, without
distinction of themes. And just like Serrat with Machado or Hernández, the artists
Orientals have managed to make the works of appreciated creators widely known.
only by elites, through books or literary publications.
This is how the names of Idea Vilariño, Circe appear in the usual repertoires.
Maia, Amanda Berenguer, Humberto Megget, Líber Falco, Carlos Maggi, Mario
Benedetti, Juan Cunha, Ortiz and Ayala, Enrique Estrázulas and many others. Also
sacred monsters like Juana de Ibarbourou have been set to music. And the
gauchescos like Serafín J. García, Wenceslao Varela, Romildo Risso, Santos
Inzaurralde and even the Old Pancho. And the foreigners like García Lorca, Alberti,
León Felipe, González Tuñón, Nicolás Guillén and a quite large list.
In many cases, from the rise of the CPU, Uruguayan poets
they began to create texts to be sung. Perhaps Enrique Estrázulas or Walter
Ortiz and Ayala are the most valid examples, but there are others. And the poets more...
young people found a gap to transcend more quickly.
In any case, we will refer separately to those who, in our opinion,
more have done -voluntarily or not- for the current level of Popular Song
Uruguayan.

The Poets for the Song

OSIRIS RODRÍGUEZ CASTILLOS

Osiris Rodríguez Castillos was born in Montevideo in 1925, but he grew up in
Peach, in the town of Sarandí del Yí. At six years old, he started studying piano, but
soon he changed it for the guitar; his teachers were Rapat and Pereira Arias. From his
Childhood experiences testify to many of its lyrics. It is said that he was a child.
sad and nature lover, and with adolescence came -his first
versus, erased since the age of eight or nine.
His books began to be published in 1955. "Grillo Nochero," a milestone in the
Uruguayan poetry with a rural theme makes its name known and
respected throughout the country. In 1962, his first album is released; but despite his
impeccable guitar technique and well-modulated voice, it is evident that his pen
surpasses its interpretation.
After a series of recitals in their country and abroad, Osiris is
he becomes a kind of patriarch. His themes are recorded by notable artists
Argentinians; in Argentina, they become events in the voices of José Larralde.
Jorge Cafrune and others. It is said that Atahualpa Yupanqui feels a particular affection for him.
estimate, data confirmed in a report from 1982.
His influence on Uruguayan Popular Song is undeniable. And curiously enough,
Many agree that the poet lacks the usual humility found in the greats.
Charrúan creators.

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RUBÉN LENA
Rubén Lena was born in Treinta y Tres in 1925. He is, for many, the greatest figure.
of Uruguayan Popular Singing created outside the stages, and it is -together with
Washington Benavides - an example of productivity that feeds a large part of the
current.
As a child, despite the fact that a lot of music was played at home, he did not take
contact with solfeggio nor the guitar, leaning towards the letters. Only in the
adolescence, he dedicated himself to extracting, on his own, the secrets of the Creole instrument.
The first verses appeared in student publications such as the magazine
Elevation, by Treinta y Tres. And its first song - The Nail, with music by
Rosendo Vega - is from 1953. The acquaintance with Víctor Lima and the emergence of 'Los'
"Olimareños" were fundamental incentives. The teacher, who until that moment was on a scholarship.
In Venezuela in 1959, it begins to compete with its goods with what comes from the
Argentina. 'A Don José', 'De Cojinillo', 'Del Templao' emerge. The mountain range emerges and
the mountain media, sprouted from its need for an identifying rhythm that was not
neither the traditional nor the Argentine, and the topics that will be 'battlehorses' follow one another
of many singers.
In 1979, already known and respected, he came to settle in Montevideo. There he
maintains close contact with the practitioners of Folk Singing, while their
works continue to be published, including those he signed with the pseudonym Zenobio
Roses.

WASHINGTON BENAVIDES
Washington Benavides was born in Tacuarembó in 1930. He is, along with Rubén Lena, the
most frequented poet by the practitioners of Popular Song.
His childhood and adolescence took place in his hometown apartment, where
he grew up surrounded by singing and guitar. His father was a guitarist and
investigator of Uruguayan musical roots and encouraged early inclinations
of the future creator.
Also interested in letters, he pursued a degree in literature and
received in 1954, practicing in Paso de los Libres and in Tacuarembó until 1976. In
that date he moved to Montevideo, where he settled. And a year later, he began his
radio activities and others related to the CPU.
His first publications date back to 1949, in the literary magazine "Asir". It is
author of several poetry books, and eventually also practices journalism.
He is considered the leader of the so-called 'Tacuarembó Group', which had such an impact
in the phenomenon of Popular Song that brought together artists like Eduardo Darnauchans,
Eduardo Larbanois or his own nephew Carlos Benavides. His theme flows easily.
from urban to rural, and it is difficult for their name not to appear in the repertoire of
any singer.
"El Bocha," as he is affectionately called, works at the publishing house 'Banda.'
"Oriental". He is also, according to his own words, "an occasional painter and singer".

VICTOR LIMA
Víctor Lima was born in Salto in 1921. From a very young age, he allowed himself to be carried away by his

wanderlust vocation. He knew all the corners of Uruguay and traveled great
extensions of Argentina and Bolivia. They say he sang 'a cappella', disregarding the
instrumental accompaniment and that people listened to it with almost complete attention
mystique.
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He started composing zambas and chacareras, but little by little he went

integrating the comments that would lead to the Uruguayan Popular Song. Its polkas,
waltzes, milongas, border airs, and candombes are featured in the repertoires of great.
number of interpreters. And for many, more than a poet, Víctor was a brilliant
songwriter.
He died in Treinta y Tres, his second hometown, drowned in the Olimar River.

CARLOS MOLINA
Carlos Molina was born in Cerro Largo in 1927. He is the genuine representative - and
perhaps the last great one - from the lineage of the eastern troubadours. But his art makes
a rat that surpassed the poetry, and its texts are sung both inside and outside the country.
Son of peasants, much of his childhood was spent in ranches and
rural establishments, where he awakened his passion for verses. At 15 years old
he arrived in Montevideo, where he met the Argentine payador Evaristo Barrios, with whom
made his radio debut. He then traveled through cafés, small shops, and 'recreos', where he gained fame.
quickly for the perfection of their rhymes, the clarity of their concepts, and their accuracy
from its replicas in the counterpoint. In 1950 he made his first trip to Argentina, country
that he later visited frequently. He also visited Europe several times: Spain,
Italy, Australia, the Soviet Union, in 1959, 65 and 76. In 1983 he traveled to Australia.
specially invited. His verses have been compiled in several books, the majority
inhalables.

MARCOS VELÁZQUEZ
Marcos Velázquez was born in Montevideo in 1939. In his childhood, he had a close
contact with the criollo singing, of which his father was a fanatic lover. In his
Adolescence and her early youth were dedicated to investigating musical traditions.
from all over the country, and in 1964 his name suddenly became known after winning the
Official television channel Interpreter Contest. A year later, their song
"La rastrojera" won the award for best song at the Salto Festival and its poems.
they obtained the first and third prizes in the competition of the 'El Cielito' Association.
He recorded his first album and starting in 1969 he began to travel abroad. He lived
Three years in Chile. And when Pinochet's coup occurred, he moved to Europe.
He established his residence in France and up to the present has undertaken numerous tours, which
they included almost all European countries. He has sung at the Olympia and has provided
recitals in famous companies, such as that of Joan Manuel Serrat. Their
The texts are sung by various artists of the CPU; the "Tero-tero" is a kind of
classic.

LUCIO MUÑIZ
Lucio Muñíz was born in Treinta y Tres, in May 1939. He grew up in Montevideo,
where his passion for literature, singing, and the guitar soon led to
a prolific creative activity. She wrote stories and poems, composed and performed the
music for a documentary film, conceived lyrics and music for countless themes.
Starting from 1977, his solo recordings followed, and other artists
-mainly "Los Zucará"- create different versions of their creations. Critics and
fans have always defined him as one of the great current creators and
his books have already crossed borders. The long play 'Entre todos' (1982) is
dedicated entirely to his work, in interpretation by various practitioners of the Song
Popular.
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...AND TWO OF '51:

CUNHA AND DA CUNHA

The two poets that follow, young and enterprising, have a double value: a
the blessings of your pen unite your efforts so that the Uruguayan Popular Song continues
growing. One does it as an organizer, the other as a diffuser.

MACUNAÍMA
Atilio Duncan Pérez Da Cunha, alias 'Macunaíma' was born in Montevideo in
1951 the day of Maracanã: July 16. He studied diligently and graduated as a teacher.
of History in 1974. In 1977, his first book "Nightly Collapse" was published.
attic / "In front of the burner gas", and in 1980 "The Lost Horses", which gave
origin in 1982 with the self-titled album, performed by various musicians and
actors.
He has organized, conducted, and accompanied various CPU shows, and since
a radio station carries out the daily task of promoting it. It is one of those
characters that are not found around any corner.

Victor Cunha
Víctor Cunha was born in Tacuarembó in June 1951. He was part of the
movement emerged in the Mediterranean department, intruding into several
artistic disciplines: drawing, design, photography, poetry.
In 1973, his first book of poems was published, followed by two more.
Although his work as a lyricist has not been very fruitful, Víctor Cunha has been a
a very important name for Uruguayan Popular Song. His work as a promoter,
coordinator and disseminator of the new current, since his arrival in Montevideo, no
has had pauses. As a photographer and designer, his signature appeared in a dozen of
long-lasting discs. And several unforgettable shows are due to him. He is not the son of
poet Juan Cunha, as many believe. And one of his particularities, the one that
the difference of almost all the poets of the Uruguayan Popular Song is their inability
to sing. He prefers to make others sing.