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Music of Uruguay
Samba, choro, forró and bossa nova, Argentine tango and chamamé, Colombian cumbia and vallenato, Venezuelan joropo, Paraguayan harp.
Sung and searched in Spanish. The YouTube button above can run your search in that language.
Roots and traditions
Folk music
Charrúa people used wooden drums, hornpipes, flutes, seashells to play music. Other folk musical instruments are marimba and musical bow. Since colonial times, Uruguay has had its own folk music. Among the most notable countryside musicians are Bartolomé Hidalgo, Santiago Chalar, Osiris Rodríguez Castillos, Tabaré Etcheverry, Juan José de Mello, Cacho Labandera, Anselmo Grau, Amalia de la Vega, Marcos Velásquez, Los Cantaclaro, Abel Soria, Julio Gallego, Teresita Minetti, Oscar Ramírez, Luis Arrúa, Carlos Malo, among others.
Tango has been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The modern field of tango music and dance arose in Buenos Aires, Argentina as well as Montevideo. Carlos Gardel, the great tango singer, was born in France and raised in Buenos Aires, but in 1920 after becoming famous he registered his birthplace as being in Tacuarembó, Uruguay, probably to avoid problems with French authorities during an upcoming tour of France.
Popular music
Popular music
Canto popular (popular song), which arose around 1975, eschewed contemporary instrumentation, including electric instruments, allowing only native styles and rhythms. This can be compared to Spanish-language singer-songwriter developments like nueva canción, nueva trova and tropicalismo. Daniel Viglietti was by far the most important Uruguayan exponent of canto popular; his song "A Desalambrar" became an international popular classic. Canto popular peaked in about 1977. Uruguayan artists involved in canto popular include Alfredo Zitarrosa, El Sabalero and Los Olimareños.
Candombe beat began in the late 1960s with El Kinto, a band featuring Ruben Rada and Eduardo Mateo. Emerging at the same time as Los Shakers they forged their own identity with very little Western influence. The beat of candombe formed the rhythm, bossa nova played a large role in its chords and structure, as did traditional Uruguayan folk music. Mateo and Rada would both go on to have successful solo careers, and the music's influence would play a large role in Popular Music and Uruguayan rock.
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Live radio
Radio from Uruguay
Music only, no news or talk. Stations that play the local tradition come first, then the most listened. They play in the corner of the page.
Station directory by Radio Browser Streams come from each station's own server.