Uruguayan food, Tango spotlighted at fete

Uruguayan Ambassador Alba Rosa Florio Legnani showcased her country’s passion for music and food in Seoul on Tuesday as a way of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uruguay and South Korea this year.

The South American country’s love of grilled steaks was evident Tuesday as Uruguayan ambassador, 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and a broad swath of the diplomatic community here celebrated a half century of ties between the two countries with a special “Dinner Tango Show” during a reception at the Grand Hyatt Hotel nestled in Mount Namsan.

“In these days it is said that we need not only great projects or large amounts of money to make a great business or investment, but also a great deal of confidence. And the confidence is built on the basis of knowledge and friendship relations between the parties concerned,” Legnani said.

Tango aficionado Monica Navarro, accompanied by pianist Horacio Di Yorio, immersed more than 200 guests in jazzed up renditions of Latin America’s signature Tango music.

The night highlighted Uruguay’s delicious grilled steaks and Tango music, for which the country is so well known, as part of efforts to celebrate the friendly bilateral relations between South Korea and Uruguay, the ambassador said.

Although Uruguayan Tango is well appreciated around the globe, from South America to Northeast Asia, less known is the fact that more than 75 percent of Uruguayan beef production is exported to more than 120 countries, some two-thirds of the countries in the world.

Guests enjoyed carefully prepared Uruguayan rib eye and tenderloin steaks and other gastronomical specialties of the South American country at the event in which over 50 foreign envoys took part.

South Korea established diplomatic ties with Uruguay on Oct. 7, 1964. Total trade between the two nations was about $500 million in 2013.