Carnival of Uruguay

This Carnival is famous because of the length and their 2 traditional celebrations - one celebration that just lasts for some hours and the other one that lasts more than 40 days.

Carnival Week is considered the annual national festival of the nation. While the Carnival extends to all the country with important events in several cities, the main activities are made in the capital of Montevideo.


Although this ‘fiesta’ is officially only given two days of public holiday for the Carnival Monday and Tuesday preceding as Wednesday, most shops and businesses close for the entire week. Homes and streets are grandly decorated, humorous shows are staged at open-air theaters, "tablados" or popular scenes (fixed and movable) are erected in the commercial districts. There are many competitions for ‘murgas’, ‘black societies’ and ‘lubolos’, humorists, parodists and magazines.

A great highlight of the Montevideo Carnival is the Parade of the Calls in the old districts Sur and Palermo. The Calls evoke the encounter of the "enslaved black" of the colonial days and in the freedom of the Candombe, which has made a fundamental contribution to Uruguayan culture.

See more pictures from Carnival in Uruguay: Click here and here