In the Spotlight - Uruguay
Hazukashii
In the Spotlight – Uruguay
By Ed “Hazukashii” Howell
5 May 2023
Uruguay holds a unique position in the world of the Hash House Harriers, which I will get into below. First, let’s look into some of the characteristics of this interesting country. Located on the southeastern coast of South America, Uruguay is the second smallest country on the continent, with Argentina to the west (separated by the Uruguay River), and Brazil to the northeast. The capital city is Montevideo, with a population of about 1.3 million (about 40% of total 3.5 million population of the country), and is located on the southern coast, at the mouth of the Río de la Plata. Some geographers classify the Río de la Plata as the world’s widest river (the Paraná River), others consider it an estuary. This body of water varies between a width of 31 miles at the northern end, and 136 miles at the southern end where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
How Uruguay became independent is quite a story, involving Spain, Argentina, and Brazil. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the land that now makes up Uruguay was part of Argentina, a Spanish stronghold, in the early 19th century. Argentina began a push for independence from Spain in 1810, eventually becoming an independent state in 1816. Through a series of conflicts, Uruguay eventually became an independent state to act as a buffer between the newly independent Argentina, and Brazil, on 18 July 1830.
Although Uruguay is one of the smallest countries on the continent, it has one of the highest gross national products per capita, throughout Latin America. The government incentivizes self-sufficiency, so most all consumables are manufactured within its own borders. Its major exports are agricultural products (beef, fish, wood, soybeans) and electricity, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, with Brazil being its largest trading partner.
As previously mentioned, Uruguay has a unique characteristic with respect to the Hash House Harriers. Four new countries have become sovereign in the 21st century, and at least three of them had hashing before they existed. In chronological order, they would be:
- Timor-leste – split from Indonesia in 2002, had hashing in Dili in 2000.
- Montenegro – split with Serbia (Yugoslavia) in 2006, possibly had hashing events, but the actual first hash club to form is still being researched. What I know at this point, the Podgorica Lunartic H3 formed in 2014. At that time, the Montenegro H3 and/or the Boka Bay H3 (possibly the same club) already existed, start date as yet unknown.
- Kosovo – split from Montenegro in 2008, had the Pristina H3 in 1999.
- South Sudan – split from Sudan in 2011, had the Juba H3 in 2006.
Getting to the point, as an independent country since 1830, Uruguay would be the last country that existed in the 20th century, to have a hash club. The Hash House Harriers arrived in Uruguay when the Montevideo H3 ran their first trail on 1 November 2010, initiated by a group of expats from Japan, USA, Austria, and Costa Rica.
One week later, unaware of the efforts of the Montevideo H3, the Uruguay H3 had their first trail, and was founded by Kariné ‘La Del Millón’, assisted by Ruben ‘Extra Chorizo’ and Guillermo ‘Late Check In’. They all had previously ran with the Panama H3, and brought hashing with them. Upon arrival, and finding no hash club, they decided to create the Uruguay H3 on 8 November 2010. Interestingly, the first trail for the Uruguay H3 was overshadowed by a large storm . . . but they proudly ran the trail anyway, with a solid pack of 10 hashers.
I spoke to La Del Millón, founder of the Uruguay H3, and she explained to me that after a couple months, these two clubs founded one week apart, eventually met. It was agreed that the Uruguay H3 was more established, and the members of the Montevideo hash were absorbed by the Uruguay H3 on the second or third trail. The Uruguay H3 has prospered over the past decade and more, and have completed over 280 hash trails. The pandemic has had a toll on their activity, but they have begun running again sporadically, and plan to get back into a more regular schedule in the coming weeks, on Sunday afternoons.
Back in December of 2022 during a lull in the local hashing activity, a stalwart group of 40 hashers were on their way to visit and hash on Antarctica. Having some extra time on their hands, they made the 75-minute ferry ride across the Río de la Plata from Buenos Aries, Argentina over to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay for a prelube hash. It was a roasting 90 degrees F at hares away on trail from the Reina Café on the coast, scouted and hared by Hazukashii. The Uruguay H3 had been invited to join us, but a group of 5 or so that had planned to join us were unable to in the end. Trail for the prelube pack looped its way along the shoreline and made a long loop out through Parque Ferrando, dashing between all the trees on sandy tracks. It eventually made its way back along the grassy banks of the river, ending up back at the café. Upon completion, the pack wasted little time finding some cold drinks. Follow the runners trail at . . . https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/10094180645
For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html