June 18, 2026 · 5 min read
Murga, candombe, tablado and Llamadas: how the longest carnival in the world works and what to see each week.
The Uruguayan carnival lasts forty days and is a competition: the groups perform night after night at the Teatro de Verano and on neighbourhood stages, and a jury decides the ranking.
Murga is choral singing with political satire; candombe is drums. They are different traditions sharing the same calendar — and the Desfile de Llamadas is the moment candombe takes the street.
If you are only going once: pick a neighbourhood tablado on a weeknight and the Desfile de Llamadas the following weekend.
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