Las Llamadas, or Throwing Elbows

Las Llamadas is the Uruguayan equivalant of a Mardi Gras parade, just without the beads, boobs and excessive booze. There's the same reoccuring theme that comes throughout all Carnaval celebrations. It seems the slaves and masters are equal, people party and bang drums. Good times! We went to Martin and Cecilias house in Montevideo where we got ready with a warning from Martin to not keep anything in our pockets. Fun! When we get there we see what he meant. There is one street that is blocked off for about 6 blocks with people PACKED onto the sidewalks watching the dancers in full gear shimmy up the street followed by groups of Candombe drummers providing the beat. Now when I say packed I mean literally packed. If there was a spot where you could breathe, there was already some one standing there. There where balconies rented out for $500 bucks and people hanging off of windows (they had bars on them) It was a perfect spot for a pickpocket. Half the time I didn't know if the person grabing my hand was Dani or the dude next to me. I decided not to look and just roll with it. Let me tell you about the kids there. Street Urchins. That's it. That describes them. And nothing will deprive them from procuring a good spot for the parade. I had kids squeze through my legs into a Hobbit size hole in the crowd Frodo would think twice about. The kids would yell Vamos! and stick threre elbows out like tiny porcupines and start walking. The problem was that there was no where for them to go there were that many people. My favorite was when they picked up a baby and used it as a battering ram to get through the crowd. And to be honest with you, it probably worked the best :) All in all, Llamadas was cool. Martin was a great guide, telling us about the parade, getting us beer and chorizos and only getting slightly lost on the way home. But he did let us crash for a few days which was cool. Did I mention his house rocks? Hasta!