Lucy Rose's South American Adventure: Uruguay

I had no idea what he looked like, so stood in the terminal looking a bit bemused until he came over and introduced himself. It turns out Colonia is very small, around 40,000 people live there and nearly everything was within walking distance. We arrived at his house where he had prepared his bedroom for us and was taking the smaller room for himself. It was only a 20 minute walk from Agustin’s into the centre of Colonia, but on the way we stopped to watch a local football match and took photos of some of the old cars that were everywhere.

We had a lovely late lunch, ate the local Uruguayan cuisine, chivito and milanesa and spent the afternoon walking around the old town which was so beautiful. Agustin explained that the Spanish and Portuguese fought many times over this town, some streets were built by the Portuguese and some by the Spanish, it really is one of the most beautiful towns I’ve been too.

The sunset definitely helped which we watched together and I got to know Agustin better. He grew up in Colonia, his parents and sister live round the corner from his house and he’s a teacher at the school next to his house and works at a gas station at the weekends. He’s a huge music lover, I couldn’t believe all the bands he knew from the UK, we pretty much have the exact same taste in music.

As soon as I put up the post nearly a year ago saying I was coming to South America, Agustin was one of the first to respond. He was keen to see if anyone else from Uruguay had contacted me and wanted to see if it was likely I would come to his small town. He thinks I’m the first British artist ever to play in Colonia Del Sacramento - what an honour!

That evening we went to see the venue I was playing the next day, Barbot Brewpub. It’s not a music venue but a craft beer pub, which was kind enough to hire in a sound system and let the show be free entry. On top of that the owner said I could drink as much beer as I wanted for the duration of my stay, so we decided to spend the evening there. They made me try all their craft beers which they brew there and I must say they were delicious. After a few hours getting to know everyone we headed home, a little merry and Agustin was so relieved that we all got on, he mentioned it felt like we’d known each other forever.

We spent the next day with Agustin’s friend Matias and his nine-month-old daughter Valentina, exploring more of Colonia; the old bullring, train station and the town. We learnt that nearly everyone knows each other here. As we walked down the street we would pop into different friends houses, people would wave from their motorbikes and Agustin had told everyone about my show that evening. You can pay a promoter money to promote your show, tell people that it’s happening but honestly the best promoter you can have is a fan who really cares.

That evening I played in the brewery, not just to fans who knew my music, but all of Agustin’s friends and colleagues who he had told to come down. He’s introduced my music to so many people and help spread the word I can’t thank him enough. I met a young girl called Laura who had travelled from Montevideo for the gig and she knew all the words to all my songs and I saw her at both shows in Montevideo too. She’s a guitar teacher and told me she teaches her pupils how to play Shiver. I would have never have known any of this without coming here.

The next day we got a three hour bus to Montevideo and the big surprise was that Agustin had taken the day off workand was coming with us so he could come to the show that evening.

The girl who had asked me to come to Montevideo was called Florencia (Flo). She’s 20-years-old, studying speech therapy at a free university in Montevideo, she lives with her parents; Alvaro and Adriana, her sister Cecilia (27) and twin brother Alejandro. They are the sweetest family in the world. Only days before we arrived they had moved house into a house in the suburbs that their grandfather had built and lived in. Alejandro had given Will and I his bedroom next to Flo and Ceci’s bedroom and was sleeping on the sofa. Flo had somehow managed to book me two free entry shows, the first of which was for Sofar Montevideo.

Some of you may have heard of Sofar Sounds, an organisation that puts on free entry shows in people’s living rooms, the address is announced on the day and you have no idea who is playing until you get there. The point is that they have such a good reputation at putting on great evenings and you go knowing there will be good bands on. I was thrilled to find out they wanted me to play their evening in Montevideo, which only happens once a month.

The show was completely unplugged, so I was pretty nervous. Both the bands who played before me were brilliant and I saw some friendly faces in the crowd; Agustin, Laura, Flo and her entire family. I played the songs I knew they wanted and it was a lovely evening. We headed home, all seven of us squashed into the family car (lots of fun) and had cups of tea and tostadas before bed. We went to sleep happy to be welcomed into this especially caring family.

We had a day off in Montevideo which we spent exploring the city with Flo, Ceci and Alejandro and getting to know them all better. Adriana, their mum had told me she loved watching The Great British Bake Off on the BBC , so I was hoping to be able to get her a Mary Berry cookbook in Spanish as a small thank you but the book shop only had Jamie Oliver and Gordan Ramsey. So if anyone who is reading this knows Mary Berry please tell her she has a fanbase in Uruguay who would love her cookbooks. I settled with flowers and we headed home for the evening.

Uruguay is a fascinating country. As we explored it, I learnt more and more about what a special country this is. We drove past an old zoo and I found out that so many people had protested about the zoo being such a small facility in the city centre , that it got moved to outside the city where the animals had room to roam.

We discussed the issues with gigs in Uruguay, generally being very expensive and unaffordable for lots of people and Alejandro told me the government is currently working with museums and bands to try and put on more free entry shows, making the ballet and opera affordable to more people. Not just the high class. Like I said earlier, there are many free universities in Montevideo so people can get a higher education without going into debt, which means all three children, Flo, Ceci and Alejandro are all studying for a degree.

It’s an inspiring country and I would love to come back here again one day and learn more. We spent the evening at home with the family, I discovered that Flo is a brilliant guitar player and writes her own songs, so we spent an hour in her bedroom playing together and she taught me how to play and sing one of her songs in Spanish. It’s a great song and I would love her to record it one day so you can hear it.

Our final day in Montevideo was so relaxed, we spent most of it at home with the family and it was perfect. As much as I love sightseeing, it’s been great spending time with this family at their home and getting to know them. Flo would love to work in music, out of all the people who have booked me shows so far, I think she has enjoyed the experience the most. Others have found it challenging in many ways, especially booking something free entry but she kept saying, ‘it was so much fun’! So I suggested she find out who was the main promoting company in Montevideo and go for a coffee with them and find out if she could possibly go into booking and promoting bands one day.

Ceci wants to start a shop where she will sell her own designs, starting with framed lyrics from songs where she would make the design and build the frame from scratch. I was lucky enough to be given one of her first proto-types, where the lyric was from one of my songs. Alejandro would like to write his own novel one day, he’s currently reading Virginia Woolf and has many ideas for his own novels.

That evening's show was at Brecha Bar, a small place so the owner Germán had moved out all the tables and chairs out to make room for as many people as possible. I managed to do my own sound again (something I’m proud of) and didn’t have a monitor which I’m used to now .We built a small stage from a table they had outside. By 9pm the room was more than full with people spilling outside looking through the door during the whole show. Both parents were there, Alvaro (the father) filming the entire show on his camera. Again I was so lucky, it was a wonderfully surreal experience, nearly everyone singing along with me showing they really cared.

We drove home together, Ceci said she was shocked and Flo said she had no idea that that many people knew my music. They honestly thought it was just them and so did I. Lovely Agustin had come on a 3 hour bus once more from Colonia and we had to say goodbye, but he informed me he was coming to London, definitely, in 2017. We got home packed our bags and managed to get 4 hours sleep before we left for the airport. It was time for another painful goodbye but I really don’t believe it will be forever. I honestly felt like I really connected with Agustin, Flo and her family and deep down know we will see them again, even if it’s in a few years time. Flo has only left Uruguay once for a wedding in the Dominican Republic, but both her and her sister Ceci said they are beginning saving for a trip to London from today onwards.

It feels like my body has been purified from all the good of these people and my heart has been mended. So many people advised me against this journey, telling me South America was dangerous, it was crazy to be living with strangers and the concept of this trip was unfeasible. Some people have told me I’m brave to do something like this, but I’m not brave. I just want to believe in humanity and good people who live all over this world.

In every place we’ve been over the last month, we’ve been greeted by amazing, good hearted people, who have gone above and beyond to make this experience so special for us. The press sometimes paints a picture of a cruel and scary world, which I know it can be, but the world I’ve been exploring is full of kind, caring, compassionate people who have inspired me to be a better person in any way I can.