Murga

The shouts of children rang over the crowd and the banging of the drums. Women sat in the grass under the shade of the summer trees painting the faces of the Murga dancers. Bright covered costumes which appeared to be remnants of whatever could be salvaged created a backdrop of color. Street venders moved their stands to the park center in hopes of profiting off the event. I sat in a circle in the grass with a group of friends and tried to take it all in. Murga a dance form originating from Uruguay has historic connections to movements of popular resistance. Originating from Uruguay’s dictatorship in the 1970’s groups such as the Araca de Cana used the dance as a form of protest. Now it is communally found during carnival a South American celebration.