Meet the characters in my documentary: three young, unknown (for now) songwriters living in Montevideo, Uruguay. All find themselves at musical crossroads, moments of creative ferment and renewed dedication to their emerging careers. All have been shaped by experiences of migration leading them to this modestly cosmopolitan city, straight from the borders of neighboring Argentina and Brazil or through a circuitious route of return via New York City. Without claiming to speak for all Uruguayan musics or musicians, their distinctive voices and stories illuminate a range of perspectives on what it means to dedicate yourself to popular music in this country.

Bios, stills, and musical excerpts below. Trailer still coming soon.

ernesto diaz: los momentos

ernesto diaz: los momentos

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excerpt from song "los momentos," words and music by ernesto diaz. ed: voice and guitar.

ERNESTO DIAZ is 32-year-old songwriter from Artigas, located on the border of Uruguay and Brazil. Tri-lingual in Spanish, Portuguese, and the dialect Portuñol, Ernesto links his music strongly to his birthplace and to the Brazilian popular music he grew up listening to. His experience as a bilingual migrant has made him committed to questioning and diversifying mainstream notions of what Uruguayan music is. During the 10 years he has lived in Montevideo, he has studied literature and published two books on the oral culture of Artigas. Currently he works as the coordinator of a residence for students from the interior, and also repairs PC's. With his current band, Bombeia, he is for the first time in his life using electric rock instrumentation. Bombeia is composed entirely of Artiguenses, and rehearses sporadically in member’s houses since they cant afford to rent a rehearsal space as most rock bands do. They are hoping to start playing live soon, and have applied for a grant to record an album.

yisela sosa: eva

yisela sosa: eva

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recording from a live performance in paysandu, april 2006. song "eva," words and music by yisela sosa. ys: voice; caco pauletti: guitar; pablo pauletti: drums

YISELA SOSA is a 30-year-old vocalist and songwriter from Paysandú, a city located on the Argentine border. She has lived in Montevideo for 12 years, studying chemistry initially, then beginning to pursue music. After finishing her university coursework in December, she is focusing more than ever on music, especially her original material. She is recording an album with a band of session musicians from Paysandú (which requires frequent travel), and had her first gig with her original music there in April. Also, she's dealing with a vocal node that she acquired from yelling to keep order in her kindergarden music class. Doctors recommend she operate soon, but she is trying to avoid this with alternative medicine.

victoria gutierrez: gotas

victoria gutierrez: gotas

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excerpt from a recording made in new york city, song "gotas" ("droplets"), words and music by victoria gutierrez. vg: voice and guitar.

VICTORIA GUTIERREZ is 24-year-old Montevidean who in March returned from spending 5 years living in New York City. (Through her I first started travelling to Uruguay in 2002.) At 19 she chose to extend a family visit and overstay a tourist visa in order to become independent and see the world. For over 4 years she lived as an illegal immigrant, working odd jobs and playing music as much as she could. In March she returned to Montevideo to be able to study formally. Now she is living with her family and going to college after 5 years away from both, and struggling to readapt to Montevideo’s slower rhythm, the laxness of the public university system, and its lack of resources. She worries that these obstacles will interfere with her musical projects (releasing a cd, making new connections, continuing to expand her compositional palatte), and that her enthusiasm will wane in the face of widespread pessimism about young people’s economic future in Uruguay.

bombeia: 4 mujeres

bombeia: 4 mujeres

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1m24s. extracto de un ensayo de la banda bombeia, interpretando la cancin "4 mujeres" de ernesto diaz; mayo 2006. ernesto diaz: guitarra y voz; federico baptista: guitarra; julio montero: bajo; rachel lears: flauta traversa. excerpt from a rehersal of the band bombeia, playing the song "4 mujeres" by ernesto daz; may 2006.

cheap and easy

cheap and easy

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song words and music by rachel lears. a very rough recording. rl: voice, guitar, melodica, & dinky beat that (hopefully) soon will be replaced by a live percussionist. photo: what's that in the sky in sao paolo? pop music is cheap, easy, and fun to make, comparatively. especially when you are hopped up on yerba mate in the middle of the night.