The Uruguay´s countryside is full in varied landscapes, Sierras, small hills, deep ravines, hot spring paradises, the most exclusive beaches and cities where culture blends perfectly with tourism.
Ranchs, farms and small villas and towns in Uruguay carefully keep knowledge, cultural heritage and traditions and are ideal spots for those looking to run away from urban life stress.
Those places are an excellent opportunity for tasting unique recipes, to listen old tales and to rediscover beautiful everyday´s practices, that, due to the turmoil of big cities, were left in oblivion.
In villages like San Gregorio de Polanco (Tacuarembó), one can discover a great artistic heritage and the first museum to open sky in Latin America. Or as in Valle Eden, where Carlos Gardel composed and sang his first songs.
Tango is one of the most genuine and original cultural expressions of the Rio de la Plata.
Born from the fusion of traditional music from Africa and Europe and Creole rhythms and instruments, he is a faithful witness to the cultural history of the region.
Gestation and evolution of tango happened both in Montevideo and Buenos Aires and a tangible example is the work "La Morocha", composed in Buenos Aires in 1905 by Uruguayan Enrique Saborido and the tango "Mi Noche Triste", written in Montevideo by the Argentinean Pascual Contursi in 1916.
The "anthem" of all tango, "La Cumparsita" was written by the Uruguayan Gerardo Matos Rodriguez in 1915; Similarly, Carlos Gardel, the international renowned singer, is considered the biggest Uruguayan interpreter of the history of tango.
Milonga is a typical River Plate folk genre of Uruguay, Argentina and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). The genus comes from the gaucho culture through two branches: the milonga campera, pampeana or "surera" (stand for the so-called southern music), which is the original form of the milonga. On the other hand, there is also the urban milonga, belated music genre created in 1931 by Sebastián Piana. An example is "Milonga sentimental".
The origin of the milonga campera is still under discussion. It is evident, however, that it was influenced by African rhythmic elements as well as contributions of Creole and European dances which arrived to Montevideo and Buenos Aires from several places.
Milonga ciudadana appeared as a late subgenre of milonga, a lighter variant of the milonga campera.
Differences with the tango: Although both the milonga and the tango are in 2/4 or 4/4, the 8 musical figures of the milonga are distributed in 3 + 3 + 2, while the tango has a more "square" rhythm. The lyrics of the milonga are often picaresque, as it was with the tango in its beginning.
​In the universal tango slang, Milonga is also the place where the fans meet to dance and enjoy ... the tango and milonga!
