Caracol!

About a week ago, Sonia told us she'd heard about a concert in town featuring our favorite Uruguayan band, Caracol. We borrowed some of her CD's during our field season last time, and listened to them so much in the field truck, that we knew a lot of them by heart. Well, not necessarily all the words, but we knew the music very well. :)

On Saturday, after a long but productive day in the field, and after dinner at the house, we ventured into town with the family to the concert. We got there as an earlier act was performing (Caracol was closing the show that night).

The concert was set up at a local park beside a lake, and it fit perfectly with the randomness that we've come to love about rural Uruguay. It was like a huge tailgate party - people parking cars, scooters, and motorcycles where they felt like it, some people sitting in their vehicles, others in lawn chairs, and others standing near the stage. Around the perimeter, people were selling hot dogs or their wares (jewelry, leather goods, plants, you name it). Some people even set up their own grills and were cooking chorizo over coals.

Some people were having a REALLY good time, including this guy. He was really drunk, and would stagger when he tried to walk. But when the music was playing, he was dancing with extreme rhythm and creativity. Most of the time, he slowly galloped in a circle with his arm out like he was riding a horse. His smile never left his face.

To close out the show, Caracol appeared on stage. They have mostly fun, peppy music, and it was pretty cool to hear it live. They played a couple songs we recognized right away, and a couple I hadn't heard before.

When the show was done, we started heading back to the truck, but Sonia gestured us to follow her. We went to the side of the stage where the Caracol van was parked, and she snagged them before they had all their gear loaded to take off by saying in rapid Spanish, "These girls want a photo! THEY ARE FROM THE UNITED STATES!" I really forget sometimes what a novelty that can be here - two white chicks from America are wandering around Tacuarembo.



Well, I think this makes us official groupies now. :)