The murga: voice and popular feeling

• Main Author: Franca Roibal Fernández
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata 2016-03-01
• Series: Estudios de Teoría Literaria
• Subjects: carnaval; teatro popular; cultura popular; música; uruguay; teatro; murga
• Online Access: http://fh.mdp.edu.ar/revistas/index.php/etl/article/view/1200

Murga is, in its simplest terms, popular musical theater of Uruguayan Carnival, but in reality it is much more than this. It is theater, music, identity, myth, political criticism; it is the voice of the people. The murga is a group of popular musical theater whose members sing and act on various tablados –neighborhood makeshift stages– and it is the most political component of Uruguayan Carnival. The murga criticizes, satirizes and questions society, politicians and situations constantly, but it never defines itself as political nor theoretical. It is simply a form of popular art. It is a way to take the issues, which affect everyone, to the masses, to the tablados which are filled every night of Carnaval. During the dictatorship, which brought with it censorship of every sort, murgas were censored just like all artistic endeavors. However, murgas were able to subvert the censorship of their lyrics, permitting them to criticize the outrages and crimes of the government with the music itself. Although the political situation has now changed dramatically, the murga is still a necessary element of Uruguayan socio-political discourse. This article aims to summarize the history of Carnival in Uruguay and specifically the murga, as well as to analyze song lyrics from historically important shows from two different eras.