Editing Montevideo (section)

==== Festivals ====
[[File:Las Llamadas - Carnaval 2011 - 110203-0690-jikatu.jpg|left|thumb|228x228px|Carnival drummers.]]
[[File:La Gozadera Montevideo Llamadas Carnaval 2012 17.jpg|thumb|232x232px|Carnival dancer and drummers.]]
{{see also|Uruguayan Carnival}}
As the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is home to a number of festivals and carnivals including a Gaucho festival when people ride through the streets on horseback in traditional gaucho gear. The major annual festival is the annual [[Uruguayan Carnival|Montevideo Carnival]] which is part of the national festival of Carnival Week, celebrated throughout Uruguay, with central activities in the capital, Montevideo. Officially, the public holiday lasts for two days on Carnival Monday and [[Shrove Tuesday]] preceding [[Ash Wednesday]], but due to the prominence of the festival, most shops and businesses close for the entire week.<ref name="Carnaval">{{Cite web |title=Montevideo Carnaval |url=http://www.carnaval.com/uruguay/ |access-date=19 November 2010 |publisher=Carnaval.com |archive-date=9 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409180257/http://www.carnaval.com/uruguay/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
During carnival there are many open-air stage performances and competitions and the streets and houses are vibrantly decorated. "Tablados" or popular scenes, both fixed and movable, are erected in the whole city.<ref name="Carnaval" /> Notable displays include "Desfile de las Llamadas" ("Parade of the Calls"), which is a grand united parade held on the south part of downtown, where it used to be a common ritual back in the early 20th century.<ref name="Carnaval" /> Due to the scale of the festival, preparation begins as early as December with an election of the "zonal beauty queens" to appear in the carnival.<ref name="Carnaval" />