Arrived in Montevideo

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1-20-12 Friday

Montevideo is a very intriguing city; I am not sure exactly how to gauge it. The streets are filled with young energetic people engulfed in the antiquity of old buildings slowly dying into the background as posh modern buildings are erected through the shadows. The old buildings are quickly forgotten, they are shrouded by graffiti that floods the city. Government gangs and hoodlums alike canvas these beautiful ghosts as backgrounds for a new era. A new era is much needed. The people of Uruguay are a mix of European decent, to which no one is for certain where they should pledge their allegiance to Spain, France, Italy, Germany, it is a melting pot of all the countries. It seems as though no one really takes pride in maintaining the country they occupying now.



As I walk down the street there is a chaotic murmur of cars, mopeds, buses and horse drawn carriages going every which way. A class system is very recognizable here, the rich drive Mercedes, vintage VW's flood the suburban cityscape , and the poor operate horse drawn carriages. These paupers live on the outskirts of the city in shacks made of metal and cardboard. Each day they venture into the middle of the city to collect recycling; cans, cardboard, plastic, and sell it back to the government, this is how they make their means. When I ask why aren’t they just hired to collect the recycling it is explained to me that they were hired by the government at one point in time. They do not want to be told when and where to work, so they stopped the program and went to collecting for themselves. So instead they mount their horses that are just skin and bone, to large wooden crates and drive them around town collecting the various materials that are “worth something”. While this sounds like it could work, they are emptying the large garbage containers into the streets to grabbing what they need, leaving the rest of the trash laying on the road, collecting in corners and sewers. To the untrained eye, the city is in ruins.



Throughout the city you can feel the energy of carnival, the month long celebration in just around the corner. The rhythm of the drums are beating through every neighborhood. This is the heartbeat of the city when each year February rolls around. Ask any Uruguayan and they will tell you that the Carnival in Uruguay is the best. Although I found out that if you ask a Brazilian they will contest that the carnival in Brazil reins supreme. The same goes with Argentinians. Yet since I am in Uruguay this will be the best carnival. The only Carnival.

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