love, ani xo

everything you ever wanted to know about uruguay. right here. right now.


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Saturday, January 07, 2006

info on uruguay

check the very bottom of this map and that's where i'll be going. to montevideo.

the second smallest country in south america with a population of 3.2 million. almost half of the population of uruguay is in the capital, montevideo.

The name Uruguay is an indigenous term for "River of Birds".



leaving vancouver on february 3rd at 2:12pm. arriving in chicago at 9:25pm then taking a flight to buenos aires. arriving there at 11:40am the next day! leaving buenos aires at 12:20pm and finally arriving in montevideo at 2:10pm. this is why i've only gone back 3 times since we moved to canada when i was 5.

here's the lonely planet info on uruguay. and here's another more detailed site from the library of congress.

Description of the flag of Uruguay : "nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May and 16 rays alternately triangular and wavy"



a few things that are unique about uruguay and argentina:

- the spanish language is spoken differently. pollo (chicken) is pronounced Pojo instead of poyo (the way every other spanish speaking person pronounces it)

- the mate



mate is a caffeinated tea that most people drink. it's more common in uruguay to see people walking down the street with a thermos of hot water than it is in argentina. you fill the mate with green tea leaves then just pour some hot water. i don't really like the taste of it but i'll be bringing some for souvenirs!

what does mate do?

it's a traditional herbal medicine
it provides mental clarity
it sustains physical energy
it improves digestion
it promotes balance in the body
it contains antioxidants

- the birth of tango music and dancing.
and the tango icon is carlos gardel. i grew up hearing his music. that's all my dad listened to! it drove me crazy. i would always turn it off. you can watch his videos here those are the early music videos of the 20's.



- the european descent

unlike most latin american countries, over 80% of the population of argentina and uruguay are of european in descent due to massive immigration as well as the eradication of the native population. the government promoted immigration from europe and the dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas exterminated indigenous people to clear land for European settlement. immigration from europe peaked in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, primarily Spain and Italy.

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