A Very Brief History Of Uruguay

Although Uruguay is the second smallest country in South America; it has a very interesting background based on its religion, literature, sports, arts, music/dance, architecture, and food. Uruguay happens to be very unique when referring to its religious beliefs because in 1919, Uruguay was able to separate church and state. In 1966, the constitution was revised and added religious freedom. This made it possible for the separation of church and state to not interfere with one another. Things such as abortion and same-sex marriage were able to happen without a lot of backlash. “Uruguay is the only Latin American nation that approaches religious pluralism” (Nations Encyclopedia).

As of 2017, 47.1% are Roman Catholic, 11.1% non-Catholic Christians,
One of the most famous Uruguayan literary figures was Jose Enrique Rodo. His 1910 book, Ariel, poses the importance of maintaining spiritual and moral values over materialistic values. Also, it stresses how Europe and the United States are taking over Uruguayan culture and how Uruguay should resist this cultural dominance. Another literary figure is Florencio Sanchez, who happens to be an important playwright among Latin America. His work mainly focuses on dealing with social problems and his work is still being performed today.
There isn’t a lot of information on the art scene in Uruguay. However, street art is very popular in Montevideo. This is something that is normal in large urban areas. Many of the barrios in Montevideo are covered or occupied by murals to statues. Sadly, several of the artistic pieces are not signed due to street art being illegal and frowned upon. However, it gives Montevideo an edgy and rebellious atmosphere. A few of the most popular murals often depict Candombe drummers. This shows that Uruguay has not lost its traditional practices and that its still apart of the
A lot of classical music from Uruguay were influenced by the Spanish and Italian. This is not surprising since majority of the population are descendants from Spain and Italy. Music in Uruguay is very interesting and diverse because its folk and popular music shares roots with Argentina. Mainly, the gaucho and tango genres. Although, other genres of music can be heard around Uruguay but mainly on radio stations. Rock music has gained a popular following. However, this genre of music is often imported from other countries such as Europe and the United States. Also, musica tropical also known as tropical music can be heard around town and during festivals. A popular dance called The Candombe is often performed during festivals; mainly carnival season. The candombe is a dance that is apart of African ancestry.

Pre-Columbian Uruguay has little to none original architecture because its people were nomadic and would never have a permanent unlike other Latin American countries. Afterwards, the arrival of the Europeans brought new designs and styles that the people of Uruguay were not familiar with. However, Montevideo is a perfect example of modern and the different influences of every time period. Uruguay’s architecture is very interesting because majority of the designs are influences from other countries; mainly European. This is due a large flow of immigrants during the 18th and 19th