Music of Uruguay

To outsiders, Uruguayan music is synonymous with candombe, a percussion-based form that orginated in Montevideo as a mixture of European, Bantu African and native forms, as well as Argentinian Tango (which was also developed in Uruguay, but is more often considered Argentinian). Candombe is usually played by three drums called the piano, repique and chico. It is also related to Caribbean musical forms like son and tumba. Candombe had evolved by the beginning of the 19th century and was immediately seen as a threat to the elites, who sought to ban the music and its dance in 1808.