Héctor Napolitano sings to the hollow girls of Guayaquil

Music and food merge in The hollows of Guayaquil, a catchy theme that talks about the emblematic places of typical Guayaquil food. Is Hector Napolitano the one who puts his voice once again to sing to one of the most outstanding aspects of the culture of this city: popular gastronomy.

“Yes, the word is sticky; is the one used in the slang. And yes, it is a happy song inspired by the hollows of Guayaquil, but also in all the markets where you eat delicious. I remember the Mercado del Sur, where the modern Crystal Palace now stands; who did not know that place! Mercado del Río is another, there you can eat very well and you can see the Guayas River, that is, it is a total spectacle to be there, it is the most beautiful part of Guayaquil. Honestly, all areas of the river are beautiful, and then I was inspired to see the barges, the canoes, the lechuguines; seeing the current is a relaxation. I made the song as simple as possible, without metaphors, in totally plain language, so that it is easy to digest, so that people appreciate the theme”.

With his style that leaves no doubt that he is a true Guayaquil native, Old Napo loves the local food as much as the music itself. “In the song I mention some places that are hypothetical, because I wasn’t in the mood to advertise to anyone, because later they tell me ‘why didn’t you name me…’. I have my favorite places, but for example, I like a hose broth on a Monday. Yesterday, for example, my Negra (partner and assistant to the artist) brought me some balls that they make for the Christ of Consuelo, but they are balls of indor. I like the food. I go from Italian food to chola; I mean, and in those jumps, I have my places where I eat guatita, for example. But for me, the king dish of Guayaquil is crab accompanied by a very cold beer. That is unmatched,” he says.

In The hollows of Guayaquil, Napo also tells a story related to Manabí. “If he had not been born in Guayaquil, he would have been born in Manabí. I have an attachment to that land, my goodness! I lived ten years in Quito and ten years in Galapagos; And yes, I have moved a lot. They love me very much and I love Cuenca very much too, but Manabí is special. I am the favorite son of that province, and that is why I had composed a song for him called kiss of brown salt. So, hypothetically, I say that I come from Manabí, but that is just a saying, as if to name that land and so that my friends from there do not feel relegated, because they are very aware of what I do.”

In the midst of this variety of dishes, it is essential to know the ideal and iconic places to taste them, as stated by the author of the song. “Being Guayaquil is to know the food halls of the city, where to eat a seco de chivo with cocolón, a fried fish or simpler things, like a sweet plantain with cheese, which is just as delicious. Those of us who live in this city know where to go; but we are not only looking for good taste and presentation, we also want a pleasant place, with a good view and a safe environment”.

For Nicolás Romero, director and founder of Mercado del Río, food is the sum of several elements: “The typical food of our city is a tradition of flavors, smells, sounds and memories, which represent the culture and idiosyncrasy of the guayaco. People from different cities in the country come to Guayaquil, specifically to taste our gastronomy. Mercado del Río is an iconic place to find it.”

And how many crabs does Hector Napolitano eat? “I am very fast to eat them,” he says. “I am not from a crab, but from ten or fifteen crabs. The fat hand doesn’t matter much to me. My daughter Delia, for example, if you see her eat, she is a machine: she looks like a wheat harvester, which enters through one side of her and kills her and through the other the wheat comes out. I put the crab in one side of my mouth and the other, the shell, the carapace. I like small legs. Crab has always been eaten as a family and I like it that way”.

Finally, Napolitano, troubadour of customs and popular culture, clarifies that the food of Guayaquil is incomparable: “The song is made to push, remember and, perhaps, raise awareness even more. We see it within our cultural identity, we are very clear about our gastronomic customs. They are unique. It is wrong to say it, but I have traveled to some countries (…); but the only one that more or less makes me a career in Ecuador is Peruvian food. We ‘are mortal’ for food, we have the variety that you can find concentrated in places near the river”.