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This note was originally published in June 2022
“Get in line,” a security guard in a suit and tie ordered coldly, following English instructions over a walkie-talkie. We had been at the old Carrasco airport for hours, waiting. Some of us looked at each other as if trying to understand what was about to happen; others hugged each other so tightly that my nervousness made me almost cry.
It is April 16, 2012. The night before, Paul McCartney fulfills the dream of 50,000 UruguayansTo everyone’s surprise, the Beatles arrived Centennial Stadium For his first visit to Montevideo, it was like a miracle. So much so that the tickets were sold out in less than an hour.
But for some people that wasn’t enough. We waited hours for McCartney to arrive that April afternoon.Xabier Lasarte, preparing for an interview with TelemundoAn airport employee also showed up, having come to the scene due to lack of documentation, ready to sign the shirt.
The anxious ones included us teenagers with plenty of free time. One brought a guitar, another brought CDs, and I brought LPs. McCartney I Buy it at the Tristán Narvaja fair. “Get in line,” the security guard repeats firmly. Paul, who had just entered the airport runway in a black car to continue his tour, saw his fans and decided to say hello.
He was wearing a black jacket, chewing a piece of gum, and said in a friendly manner:Hi guys! ” Lasarte’s cries of “Paul, Uruguayan media” overwhelmed the noise. He gave the driver a few minutes to thank the Uruguayan public and promise new meetings. He pocketed all of them.
Then came the autographs. A girl asked him to sign the back of her neck and she immediately burst into tears when she felt the marker on her skin. When the airport staff asked Paul to sign his shirt, he smiled secretly. He also signed my vinyl record for me. The emotion of standing in front of this legend was so strong that I said to him in extremely plain English, “Paul, can I give you my hand?” “Yes, of course,” he replied kindly. A simple handshake can trigger uncontrollable crying. Spending fifteen seconds with the Beatles is unforgettable.
Many have stories to share with McCartney, who returned to Uruguay in 2017. 2014 and He will perform again at the Centenario Stadium on October 1stSome people greeted him as he left his hotel, and some met him by chance while riding their bicycles on the seaside promenade. Alfonso Carbonethe one who brought it to the centenary. “Sometimes the stars align in a particular way so that everything goes well; it was one of those days,” he told El País 10 years later. “It was an unreal night, as if you were in another dimension. What satisfies you most is seeing the joy and absolute communion of so many people of different ages.”
The producer, who has lived in Chile for decades, recalls his first meeting with McCartney in Montevideo with great enthusiasm. “After doing so much work, that madman came and started sound testing straight away. There were 20 of us sitting in the dark in the Americas stand and when the people next to me started playing, they started crying. McCartney noticed and told us: “So I’m just playing for you guys.” I couldn’t believe it”.
After speaking with Paul before the show, Carbone paid close attention to every detail. “I don’t enjoy things until it’s over and everything is going well, because experience tells you that anything can happen. But nothing went wrong,” he said. “Once I had the privilege of going up the Tribute Tower and seeing Paul and the public impressed me so much. The most exciting thing is the thought that I listened to it on my transistor radio in the Prado and now I see it in Montevideo. What more can I ask for? It’s the soundtrack of my life.”
On and off the stage, McCartney influenced those he came in contact with. “I found him to be a very genuine and friendly person,” he said a few days after his visit. Andrea Nileswho looked after him. “If I didn’t speak English, I swear I would sound Uruguayan. A very open, friendly, approachable person. I was touched by the wand and I was there.”
The same thing happened to driver Alejandro Sabini, who was responsible for transporting the Beatles in a BMW during their stay. “During the trip, he was chatting, he was very happy with Uruguay and spoke highly of the architecture in Montevideo,” he recalled.
musician Sebastian Casafua He is the first person in Montevideo to receive the award. “I take care of the logistics of the show, and I’m the trusted person of Paul’s tour manager,” he told the podcast. La la la“When the private plane came down, Paul’s security guard and another local security guard formed a circle, with two police officers following behind. I got the order to go and welcome Paul. My legs were shaking; it was unimaginable. When Paul and his wife came down, I told him ‘I’m glad you’re here, welcome to my country. It’s great to meet you and I’m always ready to serve your needs.’ He responded so well, like he was on stage, and we all left in a caravan. “I couldn’t believe what was happening to me,” he recalled.
“Several situations arose: I saw him in his pajamas, I went to the store to buy Paul’s socks, I even had to buy him his favorite model of alarm clock, which he had forgotten while on tour; it seemed like a critical situation, with so many calls that in the end they had to bring him to me from Punta del Este.”
Then came the show. In addition to the 50,000 people at the Centenario stadium, thousands more watched the last hour of the concert on big screens in the city of Montevideo, in a stadium in Maldonado and another in Rivera. “Hello Montevideo, good evening Uruguayans!” McCartney called out to the crowd in Spanish, which responded with thunderous applause. The miracle had been achieved. There were 35 songs, nearly three hours of music, and a review of Beatles classics like “All My Loving,” “Hello, Goodbye,” “Let It Be” and “Yesterday.”
When he said goodbye to “Endgame” and the whole stadium was filled with embraces from the public, the comments all pointed to the same place: how can a man who is almost 70 years old maintain such dedication? 12 years have passed since that night and McCartney is still as active as ever: the 82-year-old Beatle will return to Montevideo on October 1 to show dedication again and review the long list of classics that made him a legend.
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