Carmen Souza few times, once on a family trip when she was ten and again as an adult in 2010, she grew up speaking Creole and eating Cape Verdean cuisine. While still a child, she began singing gospel music in the church choir. Her parents maintained close ties with the diaspora, and Souza's childhood was filled with the music and culture of Cape Verde, along with that of the former Portuguese colonies of Angola, Brazil, Mozambique and São Tomé. Souza's father, Antonio, a merchant sailor, insisted she should learn English and German. After spending just one year at college, she left to
Brazil–Uruguay relations Uruguay) with the intention of destroying the "Liga Federal". The Brazilian forces, thanks to their numerical and material superiority, occupied Montevideo on January 20, 1817, and after struggling for three years in the countryside, defeated Artigas in the Battle of Tacuarembó. In 1821, the "Banda Oriental", was annexed by Brazil under the name of "Província Cisplatina". In response, the Thirty-Three Orientals, led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, declared independence from Brazil on August 25, 1825, supported by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina). This led to the 500-day Cisplatine War. Neither side gained the upper hand,