Illusions of Palermo

Last night I witnessed a murga. I did not know what it was at the time, but I went running with one of my Argentinean colleagues this morning, and got the low down. My attention was drawn last night by the infectious sound coming from around the corner from my apartment. I wandered down to have a look, and found the street closed, with a small parade going on.

It turns out it was a murga, and the one I saw was the Illusions of Palermo. The murga was originally brought to Uruguay and Argentina by African arrivals. Apparently these days they are more popular in Uruguay, and generally linked to Carnivale. The fact that they are less developed in Argentina seems to be because they were banned by the military government, and have only re-established in recent years.

In Uruguay particularly, they are a form of political expression, often considered to represent the voice of the people in their lyrics. Wikipedia has a more detailed story on it, although it makes it sound rather more formal that what I saw last night.

Anyway, it was pretty colourful and energetic, and certainly brought some life to the sleepy little neighbourhood I am staying in!

Shane