Joaquín Lenzina

Joaquín Lenzina, commonly known as "El Negro Ansina", accompanied José Gervasio Artigas throughout his life as his most loyal friend.

He was a waterboy who, still as a child, moved to the countryside where he became a payador, a gaucho wandering minstrel.

He enlisted as a crew member in a fishing boat which turned out to be a pirate ship.

He was bought by Artigas, who liberated him immediately, establishing a deep lifelong friendship between them.

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.