Garua

Garua is the dry winds that hit the lower western slopes of the Andes creating a low-level of cloud. Within the Andes Mountains the garua blocks out the sun for the cooler six months of the year, and there is almost no rainfall during this period. Many native Indians and Mestizo ethnic groups live on the highlands because of the high altitudes and dry climate.

Motorists driving along in Peru or northern Chile may see the phenomenon. A garûa is a fog that is so clear that it poses no problem to visibility but so wet that drivers have to use their windscreen wipers.

The term garúa (la garúa) refers, at least in Argentina, to a very light drizzle (llovizna in Spanish). It is actually light rain (drizzle) falling from the sky rather than fog. Usually happens in winter, in grey cold days and it has been associated with melancholy and sadness. In Brazilian Portuguese, the word garoa refers to the same, particularly around São Paulo, where it is deemed as a characteristic feature of local weather.

It is also the name of a tango: Garúa, 1943, written by Enrique Cadícamo, music by Aníbal Troilo ("Pichuco").

The lyric opera Bel Canto (Jimmy López and Nilo Cruz) refers to la garúa, a season of dense mist that takes away the sun for months each year.

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Wikipedia