MONTEVIDEO tor and poet Horacio Cavallo (Montevideo, 1977), author of award-winning works like El silencio de los pájaros, Fabril, Oso de trapo and Invención tardía and a man who loves his city so much he’s taken the bold step of making it the setting of his fictions. It turns out that “the bond is so strong that it’s just like when you want to write about someone you love: it comes out cheesy”. Despite this, Horacio has dedicated chronicles to it in the book La tacita de plata, a stroll (togeth-er with architect Mariano Arana) through various neigh-bourhoods connected by memories: “My places are the Rambla in the Barrio Sur neighbourhood, with the top of the Palacio Salvo peeking out; the shade under the trees in the Prado, and the Botanical Garden”. On the topic of Montevideo’s literary tradition, literary critic and essayist Alicia Torres, author of books like Humor a la uruguaya and La Gazeta de Montevideo (1810-1814), is convinced that “Onetti is the paradigm, but there’s more: the legendary Benedetti stories in Montevideanos, which portray the middle class with a realism that turns readers into accomplices, plus La ciudad de todos los vientos by Carlos Liscano, which reflects on exile and mocks the impossibili-ty of writing a European-style Latin American novel”. As an expert in the field, she also includes titles like Mugre rosa, the dystopian novel by Fernanda Trías that tells the story of a woman who “survives a deadly plague in a city that’s uncan-nily like Montevideo”. Thinking about links between artwork and the city, sing-er and film-maker Joaquín Peñagaricano believes the one thing that sets it apart is Montevideo’s ability to bring peo-ple closer together: “Here, there are no barriers between the most acclaimed artists and those that aren’t so famous. That intergenerational communion leads to mutual cultur-al enrichment”. Both his album Coplas del mar (a beautiful second look at folklore) and his film Mateína have a deep-ly Montevideo gaze, posing an apocalyptic future in which mate is banned, a Uruguayan’s worst nightmare. Fingers crossed... MONTEVIDEO Escultura Idea en un papel homenaje a la poeta Idea Vilariño. // The sculpture Idea en un papel that pays tribute to the poet Idea Vilariño. MONTEVIDEO Vuelos // Flights: Air Europa nos lleva hasta Montevideo, desde Madrid, con cuatro frecuencias a la semana. Es tiempo de celebrar el 300 aniversario de la ciudad uruguaya. // Air Europa takes you to Montevideo from Madrid, with four frequencies a week. It’s time to celebrate the Uruguayan city’s 300th anniversary. www.aireuropa.com