Andrade was born in Salto in 1901 to an Argentine mother.
José Ignacio Andrade, who is believed to have been his father, was listed on his birth certificate as a witness.
The older Andrade, who was 98 years old at the time of José Leandro Andrade's birth, had been an expert in African magic and is believed to have been an African-born slave who had escaped from Brazil.

At an early age Andrade moved to the Palermo barrio in Montevideo where he lived with an aunt.

Prior to the introduction of professional football in Uruguay he worked in a number of jobs.
He at one time worked as a carnival musician playing the drums, violin and the tambourine, and at another time led the drums corp for carnival comparsa Libertadores de Africa.
At various times in his life he also worked as a shoeshiner and as a newspaper salesman.
Andrade was born in Salto in 1901 to an Argentine mother. José Ignacio Andrade, who is believed to have been his father, was listed on his birth certificate as a witness. The older Andrade, who was 98 years old at the time of José Leandro Andrade's birth, had been an expert in African magic and is believed to have been an African-born slave who had escaped from Brazil.
At an early age Andrade moved to the Palermo barrio in Montevideo where he lived with an aunt.
Prior to the introduction of professional football in Uruguay he worked in a number of jobs. He at one time worked as a carnival musician playing the drums, violin and the tambourine, and at another time led the drums corp for carnival comparsa Libertadores de Africa. At various times in his life he also worked as a shoeshiner and as a newspaper salesman.
José Leandro Andrade