Carnival
The country of Uruguay in South America is a fun place to be during Carnival. In Uruguay, Carnival has its own special musical performance. During February and March, it is summer in Uruguay. Everybody goes into the streets, from old people to children. There are people dancing, singing, and playing a special kind of music. This kind of dance and music is called murga. People do murga performances in groups. The biggest groups have 17 people. They wear funny clothes with lots of colors. They play the drums and sing. The members of the groups are not professional singers or dancers. They are people with other jobs. Each group prepares and practices their own dance and songs for months. Then, they try to be the best group at the festival. Each group's dance and songs last about 45 minutes. The songs are stories about important people or events in the news, so people think watching murga is like watching a play at the theater.