Minstrel Day in Argentina and Uruguay

The date has its origin in the historic payada carried out between the Argentine Gabino Ezeiza and the Uruguayan Juan Nava in Paysandú in 1884.

Gabino Ezeiza, known as Negro Ezeiza, was born in Buenos Aires on February 3, 1858. He was one of the pioneers in the narrated genre, introducing the so-called counterpoint, which represents the duet payada or the sung duel.

The particularity of the payada lies in the improvisation capacity of the person who sings it. It consists of expressing thoughts and reflections in the form of an improvised song, but with such skill that the story is woven into a coherent story with music and rhyme. Generally, the verses are accompanied by a guitar and, in the case of counterpoint, a dialogue is produced in which each of the payadores responds to the questions of his opponent, hence the name sung duel. The payada ends when one of the two cannot answer his opponent's question.

The origin of the word payada is unknown for sure, some maintain that it comes from Spain, while others consider that it comes from France, from the area of Provence. The genus had a wide development in South America, being found in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil.

Payador's Day has existed since 1992 but was celebrated for the first time in 1996.