Montevideo Highlights & Uruguayan Carnival
-
Port
Montevideo, Uruguay
-
Activity Level
Moderate
-
Excursion Type
All
-
Wheelchair Accessible
No
-
Starting At
$119.95
-
Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
-
Duration
Approximately 4¾ Hours
-
Meals Included
Meals included
Carnival in South America is primarily associated with Rio de Janeiro, but did you know that Uruguay, the second-smallest country in South America, actually celebrates the longest Carnival competition in the world?
A comprehensive city tour (approximately 3.5 hours) is followed by a visit to the Carnival Museum, located adjacent to the port. Enjoy an interactive guided tour and learn about the Uruguayan Carnival from local experts. Carnival in Uruguay is a mix of European and African traditions. Drummers and dancers play and perform to a drum-based rhythm called Candombé, originally from Angola and Congo. After Uruguay's Declaration of Independence in 1825, slavery was abolished, but Candombé remained essential to Uruguay's culture, and today, it links many different ethnicities.
Murga is a mixture of song, theatre and comedy and has its origins in Cádiz, Spain. Local Uruguayan Murga ensembles, decked out with colorful painted faces and bright creative costumes, make political and social statements through opera-inspired songs—goosebumps guaranteed!
Enjoy an interactive guided tour and learn about the Uruguayan Carnival from local experts. At the end of the tour, watch a demonstration of Murga and join in, if you wish.
Afterwards, walk back to the pier and the ship.