On Wednesday, October 28, the seminar "Roots of Uruguayan Candombe" took place in the Auditorium of the School of Communication and Design, led by Odair Tabárez, a professor in the school’s Sound Design Technician program. The event was organized by the Academic Coordination of Sound.
More than 180 years ago, Artigas’s Black Guard began its life in Paraguay. Artigas’s army fought its final battles in Corrientes before settling on Paraguayan soil in 1821. The Argentine town of Empedrado, the Pearl of the Paraná, has celebrated Saint Baltasar every January 6 since the early 19th century. At the end of the 19th century, Montevideo witnessed the last Candombes de Reyes. Understanding these sociocultural expressions with common roots, their historical development, and their current state allows us to trace the origins of Uruguayan Candombe.
The seminar featured a slideshow of photographs and a video, a live performance, a theoretical and practical explanation of the rhythms that characterize these celebrations, and an interpretation of the songs along with an analysis of their lyrics.