the priest took my daiquiri

Sunday, February 4, 2018

“the priest took my daiquiri.”
“do you think you’ll ever be in a position to say that again?”
lots of laughs.

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it’s all about the people you meet.

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i ended up in uruguay because roughly four years ago i ended up in byron bay, australia. i had gotten hired to work a bartending job because the guy managing it thought i was cool when he interviewed me and we smoked a bag and drank a case of beer at the interview. it was a wild time, that bar. i think about it often. i slept then at a hostel i found close to the bar.

the very first night i moved to town to start my job the next day i was in a real giddy mood. life was good. byron was the type of town that a lot of young people living in australia on a working holiday visa would put number one on the list of towns they’d like to work. the most beautiful beach and live music every night and coffee shops and a nice hike at the edge of town. basically all a guy like me could dream of for a stretch. i checked in around supper time and went to my room and struck up a conversation with the two dudes in there. one of them was juan pereira.

i’ve been lucky to meet a number of people a number of ways. having a preference for showing up at parties or bars or for a couple backpacking stints has meant no shortage of exposure for new potential friends. but anyone can probably agree that when you meet someone you REALLY ought to keep in your life you just fucking know. i can speak to that cliché being true the night that i met juan. i knew i had a lifelong friend. and not only because we won a meat raffle we were complete foreigners at and i knew we had luck as a duo. i won’t go into a juan ass-kissing ramble. it’s just important to note.

over the course of the next month or so we had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs and a lot of talks. he also introduced me to some amazing argentine dudes. and was able to pick up and carry any conversation i put up. the fucking guy knows something about everything. which is fun for a curious person to pick the brain of. we also maybe had a few beers. it helps when people meet me if they can do that with me. helps us share scenes.

the last night he was in byron we got royally fucked. i knew the time of his bus in the morning and being the shit sleeper i am was awake a little already and went to the lobby to say good-bye. but no juan. so i went to his room and woke his ass and helped him throw his stuff into a bag just in time. friends are for shit like that. i said my bye hoping i would see him again.

and then two years later did. which is two years ago now. i came here for a hell of a time with his family and friends in punta del este for their summer vacation.

and then now i did again. because, as i told juan in mid-january when he asked if i was serious about coming,

“yea mang looks like it. it’s a rule of mine to go to my good friend’s weddings when invited. even if they are 6,000 miles away. i look forward to being there. i think i will fly to uruguay in time for the wedding and then leave for a month or so to spend some time in peru. then come back and be in uruguay for some time before i go home so we can hang out.”

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i have nearly nothing negative to say about the uruguayan or argentine people on any front. my experience has led me to believe that many people from this part of the world tend to carry themselves in a way that all others should admire: proud but not conceited, assertive but chill as hell, always in for a good time. and god damnit so fucking nice.

even though i knew all that i hadn’t known just what to expect about a wedding. i knew it would be fun. i can have fun in a telephone booth if i’m with the right people. these are the right people. but i can say with 100% certainty this…nobody knows how to wedding like the uruguayans. this shit was unreal.

start off with the ceremony at 9PM in a small town catholic church. an old beautiful building with paper white bricks. a charming priest. a relaxed but fashionable dress trend and most importantly a vibe that this was more a celebration than a “god is here let’s keep it fucking together guys and get a blessing” thing. and hey, let’s not ignore, an absolute parade of 10’s walking in to view this shit. the people here are second to none in beauty.

the ceremony was great even though i didn’t understand much of it besides when they sang “you raise me up” in english. my mother’s favorite church song. and after i was lucky to walk through the small town having a parade of dressed-up people singing what i was told were politically conscious theatre songs. apparently it’s a thing that happens once a year. it looked fun. and i knew all this because a couple uruguayans that had never met me or the other super white person there (a uk guy that is a friend of the sister of the bride) took on driving us to the wedding. of course they never bailed on us and hung out with us all night and had an amazing time. legends of kindness. everyone here.

we went from the ceremony to where the reception was. which can best be described as a large event center themed after a ranch or farm or something. but nothing looked forced or phony. everything was incredible. including the meat and cheese spreads that i housed about 20 pounds of product from in the first hour i was there. by the time the mains were served i was hardly in need of food. i was in pure rum and beer mode. good thing i ended up sweating out about 20 pounds on that dance floor.

the dance started at midnight. i don’t care much about the number of how many people were there but i know it was a lot. more than i’ve ever seen at a wedding. the amazing argentine dudes that i had met through juan in australia four years ago snuck up behind me and surprised me to say hi. i yelled loudly. happily. i’ve probably never seen that many people smiling that largely for that long. some might say they have. but that’s because they were at a shitty festival with a bunch of drugs and a bunch of people that would hate themselves the next day. that wasn’t any of us. everyone there was genuinely happy. for good reason. these were two people worth celebrating. i saw the newlyweds at six in the morning with the sun fully up still dancing. the groom had tears in his eyes at seven because he was so happy about how much fun everyone had.

oh, and at one point that uk guy that i mentioned that i was hanging out with (legend himself, by the way — birds of a feather) turned to me and told me that the priest took his daiquiri.

cheers, friends. and thanks for the times.