URUGUAY: FROM GAUCHOS AND MATE, THROUGH PORTUNOL CARNIVAL, TO PUNTA DEL ESTE CHIC
What does a South American “safe haven” look like? Seek no further than Uruguay, a tiny nation comprising slightly over three million people, sheltered by a temperate climate, and ensconced in the protective hold of a stable democracy and a solid economy. The Eastern Republic of Uruguay was named after the river that runs along its western border with Argentina, and until two hundred years ago, the two countries had indeed formed part of the unified Eastern Province. In the Guarani language – spoken by the indigenous peoples that used to dwell across the better part of South America – the name Uruguay translates as “the river of painted birds.”
Since the first moments of its discovery by the Europeans, Uruguay had been subject to competing claims by Portugal and Spain over settlements and cities developed over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Likewise, in the decades of the wars of independence in the early nineteenth century, Brazil and Argentina both sought to add Uruguay to their territories. Uruguay was recognized as an independent and sovereign state in 1828. With the proclamation of its first constitution in 1830, the new state was officially named as the Eastern State of Uruguay. Its capital, Montevideo, distinguishes itself as the second city in the world by the number of Art Deco buildings, right behind Paris. In 1930, Uruguay played host for the Soccer World Cup and snagged away the title of the first winner of that celebrated championship. Montevideo and Uruguay also excel as the biggest world consumers of whiskey and mate. Another interesting oddity from Montevideo’s lively history: the Punta Carretas shopping center was a prison transformed into a leisure hall.
Montevideo stands out as one of the few world cities that has a low degree of air pollution. This fortunate distinction can be attributed to its particular geographic location as well as to the visionary pioneers who designed the city’s green areas over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Uruguayan capital gets fresh air from the winds coming from the coast and sweeping over its streets, but its lungs are in fact made of over eight square miles of parks and gardens, strategically distributed all over the city and its environs, in addition to thousands of trees planted along the sidewalks of its streets and avenues. Likewise, the city’s main artery is the quayside, stretching all along its southern shore, where people go to work out, meditate, meet with friends, or just contemplate the sea. Extending over more than 12 miles, the quayside not only frames but also defines the city. One of the architectural landmarks of Montevideo and a hub for social encounters and economic activity is the Mercado Agricola, the produce and food market enclosed within a majestic temple of Uruguayan agricultural production and food industry.
The other facet of Uruguayan economy is best represented by the beach resort of Punta del Este, better known as the St Tropez of South America, Uruguay’s Riviera, or Amalfi and Monte Carlo combined. Situated at the spot where the Rio de la Plata joins the Atlantic Ocean, the city of Punta del Este ranks as a major destination in South America for its sunny beaches, summer houses, posh retreats, or permanent relocation. The earliest historical records about Punta del Este go back to the maps that Amerigo Vespucci dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici charting out his passage in 1502. Commanding a Portuguese fleet that was exploring Brazilian lands, he reached the coast of present-day Punta del Este and continued farther south. The real colonizer of the Rio de la Plata was Juan Díaz Solís, who sailed into its waters naming them Mar Dulce (Sweet Sea) and on 20 January 1516 reached the Island of Lobos, which he baptized as the Island of San Sebastián de Cádiz. On 2 February 1516, Solis discovered the bay of Punta del Este, and named it Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (Our Lady of Candelaria). After his death and upon the 