"La cumparsita" takes just a few highly artful minutes to play out the historical development of Uruguay from the colonisation to the present. It offers not a complete overview, but rather a naming of people and events who were, and are, important for the identity of the country. Facts and feelings mingle on two levels of imagery: the history of a small nation that is nonetheless representative for many Latin American countries. Naturally the tango doesn't go unmentioned. There will probably never be an end to the argument between Montevideo and Buenos Aires over which of the cities can rightfully claim to be the tango's birthplace.