Cantegril

Cantegril is the name given in Uruguay to a shanty town, such as those surrounding its cities including the capital Montevideo.^[1] It is equivalent to Brazil's favela and Peru's pueblos jóvenes.^[1][2]

Many of the settlements in Uruguay are on land subject to industrial contamination, such as in La Teja and around waterways like the Cańada Alaska in Montevideo. ^[3]

According to 2007 census data, about 6% of the total Uruguayan population (174,393 people) lived in cantegriles.^[4] A documentary about the phenomenon was produced in 1958, called Cantegriles. Whilst cantegril first referred to all squatter settlements, now it only denotes shanty towns; other informal settlements are known as asentamientos irregulares.^[1]: 33

The term is an ironic reference to Cantegril, one of the most expensive neighbourhoods of the seaside resort Punta del Este.^[5] The word cantegril originates from cante gril in Provençal dialect, meaning cricket sings. Its modern use might derive from the 1921 novel of the same name by Raymond Escholier.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Squatting in Uruguay
• Padre Cacho

References

1. Alvarez-Rivadulla, María José (2017). Squatters and the politics of marginality in Uruguay. Cham, Switzerland. ISBN 9783319545332.
2. Lloyd, Peter (23 October 1980). The 'young Towns' of Lima: Aspects of Urbanization in Peru. CUP Archive. ISBN 978-0-521-29688-5.
3. Renfrew, Daniel (2019). "Chapter 2: This is Not a Game". Life without lead : contamination, crisis, and hope in Uruguay. Oakland, California. pp. 51–82. ISBN 978-0-520-96824-0. OCLC 1102765674.
4. INE - Censo Fase 1 2004: Población en asentamientos irregulares por sexo, según departamento. Archived June 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
5. "A painful face of Montevideo". EL PAIS. 2013-06-28. (in Spanish)