In
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, Nostalgia Night (Spanish: ''Noche de la Nostalgia'') is an annual celebration of music from the past. It is celebrated every 24 August. All dance clubs, radio stations, and many other events play "golden oldies" (
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
).
Overview
Its origins are somewhat disputed. It started on 24 August 1978. According to José Fernández, owner of the Disco Ton Ton Metek, as 24 August is the day before Uruguayan Independence Day, a national holiday, he once proposed to Pablo Lecueder (director of the broadcast program Old Hits, then at
CX32 Radiomundo) to do something on the night that could be commercially profitable.
On the night of 24 August 1978, the first Nostalgia Night was held in Ton Ton; this is disputed. The idea caught on and became part of Uruguayan folklore.
Uruguayans are said to be typically nostalgic. It may be for this reason that Nostalgia Night is such a success that it was made an official celebration by the Ministry of Tourism.
History
On August 24, 1978, Pablo Lecueder, owner of CX-32 Radiomundo, organized a party with "old music hits", which was the theme of his radio show "Old Hits". Starting in 1978, every year Lecueder used the eve of the holiday August 25 (Uruguayan Declaration of Independence), a holiday in
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, to make the party remember and dance to "
golden oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...
" with the original denomination, registered trademark, and National holiday called "The Night of Nostalgia".
The idea of these first parties was to dance with the music of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The tunes of
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
,
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...
,
Supertramp
Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending pro ...
,
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...
,
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...
, and
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...
are common—disco music, the ''new romantics'', etc. From the first days of August, the radios broadcast those successes and spread the "old music". Over the years, themes from the 1980s of artists such as Mikko Mission, David Lime, Baltimora,
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, Tony Peret, Mike Platinas, etc., and music from the 1990s, such as Technotronic, Snap, 2unlimited, etc were added. In the words of Lecueder, nostalgia begins 10 years after a song is published.
Over the years, businessmen of the entertainment sector, friends, family, began to host nostalgia parties. Different parties for different audiences, with a wide range of prices, reunion parties, show dinners and even anti-nostalgia parties for those who want to go out that day and don't identify with the theme.
Today, this event is an important commercial focus in the entertainment field, promoting restaurants,
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
s,
DJ's
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
, waiters, companies of gastronomy, rental of infrastructure for parties, security services, lighting, amplification, transport, promoters and even lingerie houses and high-turnover hotels, with special promotions.
Together with the Christmas and New Year's Eve parties, the night of Nostalgia Night brings more people to parties. It is even considered that people at the end of the year parties are surpassed in movement, since on that day they usually leave both older and young, married and single, to remember "the good old days", depending on their age.
This party is held throughout Uruguay and in each department or city there are between 15 and 30 parties.
References
Events in Uruguay
Uruguayan culture
August observances
Nostalgia
Winter events in Uruguay
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