“Murga Fever That Takes Your Breath Away”: A View of the Revival of Porteño Murgas from the Perspective of Folklore Studies

Abstract

Murgas, one of the forms of carnival artists’ groups in the city of Buenos Aires, have multiplied over the last ten years, creating spaces for gathering, participation, and creative expression, especially among young people and adolescents. This phenomenon has brought about a reappraisal of practices and knowledge related to the “festive life of the people” and to the playful and aesthetic aspects of social interactions.

This paper seeks to account for the “small history” of a murga group formed almost seven years ago in a neighborhood in the southern part of the city, where I had the opportunity to carry out fieldwork. Through dancing to the rhythm of the bass drum with cymbal, humorous and critical songs, colorful costumes, and banners, the group creates and displays an image of itself constructed through references to its neighborhood of origin, local historical figures, and the porteño carnival tradition.

The trajectory followed by this murga group, in the process of its initial formation and consolidation as a group, allows it to be presented in relation to the broader development of this cultural expression in the urban sphere. To this end, the analysis draws on the methodological and conceptual tools of folklore studies, applying them to the understanding of this contemporary form of social and cultural expression.