Joaquín Lenzina, commonly known as "El Negro Ansina", accompanied

José Gervasio Artigas José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a soldier and statesman who is regarded as a national hero in Uruguay and the father of Uruguayan nationhood. Born in Montevideo, Artigas enlisted in the Spanish ...

throughout his life as his most loyal friend. He was born in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

in about 1760, son of black slaves. He was a waterboy who, still as a child, moved to the countryside where he became a ''payador'', a

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...

wandering minstrel. He enlisted as a crew member in a fishing boat which turned out to be a pirate ship. Upon discovering this, he fled to the Brazilian coast where he was captured and enslaved. He was bought by Artigas, who liberated him immediately, establishing a deep lifelong friendship between them. He participated in various battles alongside Artigas, eventually accompanying Artigas when he was exiled to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. After the death of Artigas, Manuel Antonio Ledesma learned of the solitude in which Ansina lived and welcomed him to his home until his death in 1860. Unfortunately, due to the destruction caused by the war of Paraguay, his remains have not been found.

The use of "Negro" (spanish for "Black") in Uruguayan society

Among Uruguayans, the term "negro" is used as an endearment, independent of the skin color. A Uruguayan may address a friend or family member by "mi negro" or "negrito, negrita", and it is considered an affectionate injunction, associated with friendship and loyalty. Lenzina is thus mostly known by the Uruguayan people as "Negro Ansina", which is the name Artigas used to refer to him.

References

* *Academia Argentina de Letras (2020). https://www.aal.edu.ar/?q=node/732 1760s births 1860 deaths African diaspora in Uruguay People from Montevideo 19th-century Uruguayan people Uruguayan men centenarians People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata {{Uruguay-bio-stub