"Amor profundo" by Jaime Roos is officially the theme for my Uruguayan semester.
I'll have you know that it's on repeat as I write this.* You would do well to do the same as you read. Just a suggestion.
You know those songs that will forever be connected with a certain period of your life because every time you turned on the radio, went to the grocery store, used the ladies dressing room, or went to sing karaoke with your friends, IT was there? [For example, this song will always remind me of my freshman fall of high school.] "Amor profundo" is a bit like that, but not. I don't necessarily hear the song everywhere I go, but it does seem to keep popping up. Not to mention it's a hellofalot classier than "my humps."
My second or third weekend here I went to this huge summer concert on the beach with what I swear was about half of Montevideo (the younger half, mostly). It was excellent because it was free and because the lineup essentially consisted of Uruguay's most famous music artists, like "cuarteto de nos" and Mr. Jaime Roos himself accompanied by a number of famous murga singers.
The problem with going to an event like that so early in your abroad experience, by the way, is that you have ZERO appreciation for how great it is. Your only indication is the fact that everybody around you knows every word to every song. Basically, it was 50,000 people crammed onto one tiny beach, and every time those first few bars played, they simultaneously had the "oh-hot-damn-this-is-my-jammm" face--it's a powerful sight, ladies and gents. I took videos, but blogger won't let me upload them; it's a shame because I just happened to take a video of the first part of "amor profundo", and the pure joy (and tone-deafness) of the crowd in that moment is impressive.
It's also my host nephew's favorite song to sing/dance to, and he demands that I play it for him on my computer every time he sees me. Their family comes to dinner at least a couple times a week, so it happens quite a lot. So much, in fact, that Francisco has started calling me "amor" instead of "Angela."I can't say I mind that too much. Just look at that faaace...
And now I'm writing a paper on murga as an artform of the Río de la Plata. Murga is a mix of theatre, music, comedy, and sociopolitical commentary. It's a bit difficult to appreciate it fully as a non-Uruguayan and/or non-native Spanish speaker, but every once in a while a song will "click" for me. "Amor profundo" is an example of one such murga song; it popped up in my suggested youtube videos after watching so many stage performances as "research" for my paper.
The lyrics describe the "profound love" that the artists have for their music--a sort of anthem for murga performers. For the most part, they are not professional artists full time, but rather the bankers, construction workers, shopkeepers, and bus drivers of Montevideo who love the artform and become murga artists to compete in the Uruguayan Carnaval during the summer months (December-February here).
I'm super bummed my semester didn't have any overlap with Carnaval, but I guess that's just another reason to make it back here someday. For now, I will peruse youtube for the best performances and listen to AMOR PROFUNDOOOOO with Francisco. I think the kid has a future as a singer; he already knows more of the lyrics by heart than I do.
If you're still reading this, I just want you to know that I love you. And I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. I might post pictures from my trip to Argentina and my birthday later. Definitely I will post some pictures of the Peñarol vs. Nacional action and about learning how to prepare a mate, so stick around for that.
*Actually, I'm going back and forth with a little wiggle wiggle; great combo, I know. The man has a free downloadable version up now, in case you're as obsessed with his version as I am.
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