Los Olimareños was a Uruguayan musical group, formed by Pepe Guerra and Braulio López in 1962. The group enjoyed international success and a prolific musical career recording around 44 records.

History

The group's name refers to the birth city of Guerra and López,

Treinta y Tres Treinta y Tres () is the capital city of the Treinta y Tres Department in eastern Uruguay. It is known for its role in the development of folk music. History Its name means "Thirty Three" and refers to the 19th-century national heroes, the Thirty ...

, Uruguay, on the banks of the Olimar Grande River. In the 1960s, they were part of the first movement of singing popular Uruguayan songs alongside Alfredo Zitarrosa,

Daniel Viglietti Daniel Alberto Viglietti Indart (24 July 1939 – 30 October 2017) was an Uruguayan folk singer, guitarist, composer, and political activist. He was one of the main exponents of Uruguayan popular song and also of the ''Nueva Canción'' or "New ...

, José Carbajal,

Numa Moraes Numa or NUMA may refer to: * Non-uniform memory access (NUMA), in computing Places * Numa Falls, a waterfall in Kootenay National Park, Canada * 15854 Numa, a main-belt asteroid United States * Numa, Indiana * Numa, Iowa * Numa, Oklahoma * ...

, among others. The lyrics of their songs, written mostly by Ruben Lena and Victor Lima, reflected local issues and reflected the concerns and feelings of ordinary people, as well as everyday life in rural areas. Despite having a great attachment to their country, they were not alien to social, cultural and political movements then taking place across

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. This led them to participate in various international calls, for example, "Encounter with the protest song" convened by La Casa de las Américas of Cuba, and conducted between 9 July and 10 August 1967. As social unrest increased in Uruguay during the 1960s and the early 1970s, Los Olimareños, being consistent in their grassroots support, gradually began to include criticism of the repressive government in their songs. The Uruguayan ''coup d'état'' on 27 June 1973, resulted in a ban on their songs. In 1974, they began an exile that would last ten years, during which they toured five continents, and settled for long periods in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. They returned to Uruguay on 18 May 1984 and sang at the

Estadio Centenario Centenario Stadium (, ; , named after the Constitution of Uruguay of 1830, centenary of Constitution of Uruguay, Uruguay's Constitution) is an association football stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. Located in the Parque Batlle, Parque Battle neig ...

, in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, under heavy rain to 50,000 people. In 1990, the duo decided to disband, starting careers as solo performers. A reunion concert was planned for 8 May 2009 at the Estadio Centenario, on the 25th anniversary of their 1984 concert. Pepe Guerra died from cancer on 13 June 2024, at the age of 80.

Discography

Albums

*'' Los Olimareños'' (1962) *'' Los Olimareños en París'' (1964) *'' De cojinillo'' (1965) *'' Quiero a la sombra de un ala'' (1966) *'' Canciones con contenido'' (1967) *'' Estrofas de amor'' (1968) *'' Nuestra razón'' (1969) *'' Cielo del 69'' (1969) *'' Todos detrás de Momo'' (1971) *'' ¡Que pena!'' (1971) *'' Del templao'' (1972) *'' Rumbo'' (1973) *'' Los Olimareños'' (1973) *'' ¿No lo conoce a Juan?'' (1973) *'' Cantar opinando'' (1973) *'' Cantando por el mundo'' (1974) *'' Tierra negra'' (1975) *'' La niña de Guatemala'' (1976) *'' Junto al Jagüey'' (1976) *'' Los Olimareños de Uruguay'' (1977) *'' Donde arde el fuego nuestro (Mexico)'' (1978) *'' Donde arde el fuego nuestro (España)'' (1979) *'' Yacumenza'' (1981) *'' 20 años (Mexico)'' (1982) *'' 20 años (Ecuador)'' (1983) *'' Los Olimareños (Serie inolvidable vol. I)'' (1983) *'' Los Olimareños (Serie inolvidable vol. II)'' (1983) *'' Donde arde el fuego nuestro'' (1984) *'' Araca'' (1984) *'' Sembrador de abecedario'' (1984) *'' Cielito del Olimar'' (1984) *'' Si éste no es el pueblo'' (1984) *'' Los orientales'' (1984) *'' Los Olimareños en Nueva York'' (1984) *'' Orejano'' (1985) *'' Los Olimareños en Ecuador'' (1985) *'' 25 años'' (1987) *'' Los Olimareños no Brasil'' (1988) *'' Canciones ciudadanas'' (1988)

EPs and samples

*'' Los Olimareños'' (1962) *'' Presentando a Los Olimareños'' (1962) *'' Simple (Hasta siempre / Guantanamera)'' (1968) *'' Simple (Sembrador de abecedario / Lejos de Treinta y Tres)'' (1969) *'' Simple (A Don José / A orillas del Olimar)'' (1970) *'' Simple (Hasta siempre / Ya me voy pa' la guerrilla)'' (1971) *'' Simple (Mujer querida / El beso que te di)'' (1971) *'' Los olimareños'' (1973) *'' Simple (La partida / Tierra negra)'' (1975)

Compilations

*'' I Encuentro de la canción protesta'' (1967) *'' Che vive'' (1968) *'' Hasta siempre / Diga no!'' (1968) *'' Protest song of Latin America'' (1970) *'' Encuentro de música latinoamericana'' (1972) *'' ¿Dónde están?'' (1979) *'' Juntos vol. II'' (1984) *'' El Canto Popular junto al PIT-CNT'' (1987)

Free catalog

*'' Antología'' (19??) *'' El hombre del mameluco'' (19??) *'' Los Olimareños en México'' (19??)

References

External links

* * *
Page with information about Braulio Lopez (Spanish)

Official Web Site of Pepe Guerra (Spanish)

Los olimarenos reencuentro para una despedida
(in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Olimarenos 1962 establishments in Uruguay 20th-century disestablishments in Uruguay Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups established in 1962 Male musical duos People from Treinta y Tres Department Uruguayan musical groups Uruguayan folk singers Uruguayan exiles Uruguayan expatriates in Mexico Uruguayan expatriates in Spain