Cafe Lifestyle: The Perfect Weekend In Montevideo

I am a BIG fan of activity-filled days that somehow also feel lazy and relaxed. Today was one such day :)

Montevideo is a great place for understated taste and culture - ie. where it exists it hasn't been monopolized by arrogant posers. Unfortunately people foolishly tend to associate kitsch cafes, funky bars, unique venues and memorable music with modern metropolitan cities - Montevideo may be small, but under its greyish outer layer there exists a colourful array of places to be found and treasures to be sampled.



Today I finally made it to one such treasure - La Pasionaria, a little place of many titles! Choose from cafe, restaurant, boutique, art store, design studio, bookshop, art exposition and more - either way, it all equals good fun (and a million colourful corners to feast your eyes on!).

Whether you peruse the eclectic array of intriguing coffee table books in the libreria (plenty of nudity in the name of art, always good), gawk at the collection of fantastic Uruguayan photos and artworks in the design studio, or simply chow down on some of the great (and reasonably priced!) food in their cafe "El Beso", you're sure to enjoy yourself.



La Pasionaria is in La Ciudad Vieja, on Reqonquista no.587, on the corner with Juan Carlos Gomez. They're open Monday-Friday 10am - 7pm and Saturdays 12 - 6pm. And if you like La Pasionaria you're such to get a kick out of Cafe La Pausa just around the corner. These two spots are sure to become my favourite weekend morning hangouts.

Cafe La Pausa is fantastic....one of those places that is both hidden and yet right in front of your eyes. It is also located in La Ciudad Vieja, along Peatonal Sarandi just after Plaza Matriz (walking away from the city). It is an ordinary looking front door, sometimes with a sign, sometimes without....but if you head up to the first floor you will find the lovely Alicia offering a gorgeous little cafe filled with fantastic books and magazines to rummage through, a menu of home-made goodies to feast on, and the wonderful soothing sounds of soft jazz and classic tango wafting casually through the air.



The tall windows not only allow you to curl up in the afternoon sunlight with a coffee, tea or freshly squeezed juice of your choice, but it also makes it a perfect spot for a little bit of people watching along the bustling Sarandi....and the owner Alicia really strikes me as a person with some great life stories to tell...if you're looking to practice your español! :)



Afterwards take a stroll through the feria that takes place in Plaza Matriz...there are so many old photos, records, keys, postcards, jewellery and intriguing snippets of other peoples lives to help you piece together an elaborate history of how Montevideo once was. Don't actually buy anything though - the prices are massively inflated and Sunday holds something even better - The Tristan Narvaja Market (I'll get around to writing a post on that one someday!).

Until next time....go out and find Montevideo's secret treasures (and let me know about them!)

Street Art & Graffiti in Montevideo

Uruguay is definitely a land of artists. For its small size it produces a large number of writers, poets, painters, musicians and more. There are regular cultural activities - theatres to visit, concerts to attend and shows to be seen...but best of all there's art in the streets.

I've already spoken about the candombe culture here - it's probably one of my favourite aspects of Uruguayan society - but more and more I've been seeing some fantastic street art dotted throughout the city.

Recently I've discovered some really fantastic murals and graffiti along the small streets throughout Pocitos, Palermo and Barrio Sur. This one below is on the corner of San Salvador and Requena and there's plenty more to be found at the stairs at the end of Requena.

This one is especially impressive, its on a building site opposite The Hermitage Hotel on Juan Benito Blanco in Pocitos so it will no doubt the covered up during construction of whatever is built there in the future.


But all throughout the different barrios there are many gems to be found, its just about appreciating what this little city has to offer.

There's been a number of outdoor photo exhibits popping up all over the city too. There was a great display of paintings from The Louvre Gallery along the Rambla in Pocitos during the summer, and now there is a long running (maybe even permanent!) photo exhibit in Parque Rodo (opposite the casino). This exhibit has already been renewed many times in the past few months covering subjects such as Unique World Cultures and The Reconstruction of Beirut.

So make sure to get out there and see what Montevideo has to offer!

Things to see and do in Montevideo

Don't get me wrong, I love Uruguay and love Montevideo (otherwise why would I be living here?!) but this little city can feel a bit limiting sometimes. As such I have decided that from now on I will be making a more conscious effort to unearth the hidden gems and see what Montevideo really has to offer. I intend to fill my next few months with culture, art, music, history, events, food, and whatever other activities I can get my hands on...so stay tuned!

So far I've happened upon a few locations that have quickly become my favourites so we'll start with those.

CANDOMBE: This is a sure fire way to lift the spirit! Candombe is the traditional drumming music of Uruguay and during the weekend you can find local drum groups called comparsas practicing throughout the Barrio Sur and Palermo districts.

These groups march the streets playing infectious rhythms which literally draw people out of their apartments on to their balconies, rooves and door ways. Women (and some men) join the dancers which lead the way as they move through the streets and whole families just join the crowd - it creates a wonderful sense of community .

The pictures above were taken in Barrio Sur district, somewhere along Carlos Gardel Street I think. However now I'm living in Parque Rodo and one of the greatest comparsas (the all female one, I think they're called La Milasa?) practice right outside my house at the bottom of Juan Manuel Blanes - I could watch them for hours!

SUBTE: This little contemporary gallery always has something unique and original to offer the passerby. I've seen a powerful photo exhibit documenting the unexplained disappearances during the dictatorships and a fun modern and interpretive art collection so there's sure to be a good range.

It's located underground at Plaza Fabini along 18 de Julio and you can check out what they have planned at their blog (its in Spanish but very easy to navigate). They're open Tuesdays through Sundays from 3.30pm until 9pm.

I think next on my list will be Montevideo Zoo, The Municipal Photography Centre and The Visual Arts Museum (which I passed the other day and it looks really cool so that one might come first!)