Ever-so-bright, Washington had proposed a deal to Chola. He would go to the market for her every day in exchange for some coins (and the crusty end of the baguette, which was always missing, without fail, but never mentioned). Chola was getting old, her knees couldn’t support her for long hours, and her joints were becoming painful, so, whenever she had a few extra coins, she would ask Cabeza to help her around the house. She enjoyed the kid’s company, and she was very much aware of how discipline and responsibility would be beneficial for him. Almost every afternoon, for one reason or another, he would go to Chola’s house, and tango would always be playing in the background. After a few attempts to teach him how to dance, she had quit, as his feet didn’t seem to be able to follow simple choreography. However, he had loved the music – the percussion, the melody and the background noise inspired by rebellion. Even though tango had become popular and classy over the years, on both shores of the Rio de la Plata, Chola had explained to him that this hadn’t been the case originally. It had emerged in the late 19th century, in the working-class slums, as a fusion of lower-class European immigrants, African traditions, and local dances. Washington was too young to understand the nostalgia and lost-love themes of tango; what resonated with him the most was the percussion, the beat that, whenever he heard it, would feel like a calling of his African ancestors. Chola had perceived this, and something had stirred inside her as well, something she hadn’t felt in a long time. To be able to inspire and cultivate such passion in someone else, especially a kid, had touched a fiber she had thought long lost. One afternoon, she had decided it was time for Washington to connect with his roots. As in much of Latin America, most Africans had been brought as slaves, dispersing over the years to different parts of the continent. Uruguay was no exception to this, and similarly, most of them didn’t have any information about their origins. Maybe that is why they had started candombe, as a way to connect and preserve their heritage through the beating sound of the chico, repique, and piano drums.
Finally, it was February in Uruguay. This was Washington’s favorite time of the year. The first half of summer was over, and that meant that the capital was slowly getting its rhythm back, but most importantly, carnival was imminent. Most of the people in Barrio Sur and Palermo had started preparing in January. The Llamadas Parade, let’s say the Calls, where the comparsas displayed their talent with the drummers, the dancers, the Mama Vieja and the Gramillero, had always been the life of the neighborhood. The neighbors would prepare homemade meals to sell, rent their balconies for a better view, and help out with the makeup, the dresses and preparation of the drums. They did not only take advantage of the financial push the carnival provided, but it was also a chance to share with the society a part of their own culture, their music, the aroma, and the streets that for a few days a year were the epicenter of joy.
Like most Montevideanos, especially those from certain neighborhoods and social classes, Washington had grown up listening to the comparsas practicing all throughout the year. Although he enjoyed it and could not conceive of a late winter night or summer afternoon without the background beating of the drums, he never felt the urge to be part of one. They were a part of him, but his hands didn’t ache for the rhythm.
He never felt guilty, less afro, or less Montevidean because of that. It was a part of him, but not his whole.
(…to be continued…)
Transadaptation Volume 7 – Via Ellipsis – Continuation of Uncertainty, Instability and Extremes Transadapted
January: An Unexpected Trip Down Memory Lane – Sarah-Leah Pimentel (South Africa)
February: Blow-up – Veronika Groke (Austria)
March: Futuros Murguistas – Alejandra Baccino Uberti (Uruguay)
April: The Nomenclature Man – Paulius Limantas (Lithuania)
May: Amanecerá y veremos – Adriana Uribe (Columbia)
June: Finding Light in Yerevan – Armine Asryan (Armenia)
July: The Last Judgement – Nadia Silva Castro (Brazil)
August: Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Worm? – Narantsogt (Natso) Baatarkhuu (Mongolia)
September: Second Steps – Jonay Quintero Hernandez (Spain)
October: New Normality – Svetlana Molchanova (Russia)
November: Pandemic Love – Li Xiakun (China)
December: Beyond Comprehension – Rahaf Konbaz (Syria)
Background – Context
Transadaptation Volume 6: Meaning? – Uncertainty, Instability and Extremes Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2025)
Transadaptation Volume 5: Of Flowing Vicissitudes – Life Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2024)
Transadaptation Volume 4: Material Dissent – Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2023)
Transadaptation Volume 3: Evanescent – Young Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2022)
Transadaptation Volume 2: Conceived – Childhood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2021)
Transadaptation Volume 1: In the Middle – Prelude to a Contemporary Transadaptation, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2020)
Peripatetic Alterity: A Philosophical Treatise on the Spectrum of Being – Romantics and Pragmatists by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
La Syncrétion of Polarization and Extremes Transposée, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2018)
L’anthologie of Global Instability Transpuesta, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2017)
From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories Transposed to Modern-day America, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2013)
Emblems and stories on the international community
Perception by country – Transposing emblems, articles, short stories and reports from around the world
Credits
Top left to top right: 1. Montevideo, Uruguay – Street art – Nikolai Kolosov (Unsplash); 2. Montevideo, Uruguay – Ramirez Beach – DFLC Multimedia Designer (Shutterstock); 3. Montevideo, Uruguay – The street view – Nikolai Kolosov (Unsplash)
Middle left to middle right: 1. Montevideo, Uruguay – Housing – Nikolai Kolosov (Unsplash); 2. Montevideo, Uruguay – La Josefina – Nikolai Kolosov (Unsplash); 3. Montevideo, Uruguay – Apartment buildings in Barrio Sur – DFLC Multimedia Designer (Shutterstock)
Bottom left to bottom right: 1. Montevideo, Uruguay – Barrio Sur – DFLC – Multimedia Designer (Shutterstock); 2. Montevideo, Uruguay – Lunch – DFLC Multimedia Designer (Shutterstock); 3. Montevideo, Uruguay – Streetscape – Nikolai Kolosov (Unsplash)