Have you firmed your plans for New Year´s Eve yet?

Sounds a bit early, doesn´t it? And yet... With Punta del Este becoming an increasingly Brazilian town, and with Brazilians concentrating their visits during the famous Reveillon period, from Dec. 26 to Jan 5, all the better to enjoy their New Year´s Eve in style, the local way of life has been gradually changing, some might say for the merrier.

However, waiting till Dec. 31 at 5 pm to make dinner reservations at the harborside spots may not be an option anymore. And the strategy of driving down on January 1st with a car loaded with luggage and family but without a rental, hoping for a good last minute deal from unrented property may not be so smart either, depending on your requirements.

You see, the Brazilians start thinking about Reveillon in September, and go into a frenzy of planning and reservations in October. By November it´s only the procrastinators who are still scrambling to confirm their lodging, dining or partying venues for the biggest night of the year.

Locally, the rental market has been turned upside down by this famous Reveillon (pron. ray-vay-yon) that no realtor can spell right (my favorite spelling in a real-estate advertising was "rebellion"). It used to be that Brazilians would attempt to rent a house for those 2 weeks, only to be told "No way! Can't be done! You will ruin my month of January!" meaning that a landlord would be renting out the first week of January and thus lose out on the most expensive rental month.

The market was not that quick to realize that nobody was renting out for the entire month anymore, or that they could charge our spending-happy northern neighbors the equivalent of the full month of January for those 10 to 15 days, and still have 3 weeks left of January to rent at whatever price. But eventually they got it and Reveillon became established in Punta del Este. And the white dress-code extravagant parties with Brazilian DJs multiplied.

Now here´s a way we can all share in the Brazilian New Year´s Eve joy: meet on harborside promenade across from Lo de Tere restaurant for the countdown, dressed in white please, lugging your own bottle of champagne. Enjoy the fireworks show put on by the restaurants and by every home across the bay, and then dance till dawn on the street. That's free.

Otherwise, reserve a table at one of the restaurants along the harbor (usually a steeply priced prix fixe menu), don the ridiculous hats provided as party favors, and then join the hoi polloi on the street for some real fun. Remember to say "Feliz ano novo!" to lots of strangers.