‘A whisky for the fallen’

The post-dictatorship (1985–2000) Uruguayan culture placed the issue of historical and political memory at the center of its collective imaginary. In this context, musical humor emerged as a tool for musicians to assimilate, criticize, and navigate the period. With that in mind, this research aims to analyze the (de)construction and reinterpretation of Uruguayan historical narratives through musical humor in the post-dictatorship period. It examines three songs from the rock band Cuarteto de Nos: ‘El Día que Artigas se Emborrachó’, ‘Tabaré, That’s Right’ and ‘No Somos Latinos’. The analysis focuses mainly on musical elements that refer to ideas, discourses, and stereotypes about Uruguayan culture and other places in Latin America, which interact with the musical elements to generate humor. The inquiry follows three key axes of Uruguayan national identity based on different areas and ideas about uruguayidad, the de-sacralization of relevant characters in the history of Uruguay, and the play with their masculinity/hypermasculinity/femininity. Together, these aspects speak of a society where national myths are no longer enough to sustain the country’s identity.