Vitico Castillo never imagined that he would go viral on social media after jokingly and spontaneously performing the ballad 'Yo te amo' by Chayanne, during a karaoke night at the Amnesia nightclub in Biruaca, Apure state.
Víctor Ramón Castillo Flores, his legal name, popularly known as “Lo Amarillo de la Ñema,” has earned a place in the llanera music of Venezuela and Colombia as an exponent of the powerful, slang-based style. “No me corra cantinero,” “No mata, pero aporrea,” “Para qué voy a mentir,” “Mi corazón solo late para amarte,” and “Corazón de concreto” are some of his iconic songs.
—What led you to record yourself singing a song by a pop icon like Chayanne?
—I'm a plainsman by nature; I was born in San Rafael de Atamaica, Apure state, and raised on the Candelaria plains. But I have a passion for tropical music; what I really wanted was to be a pianist. As a child, I studied in Maracay, and I graduated from high school there. There I learned to sing all kinds of genres: ballads, romantic ballads, rock, chapeta, ranchera, raspacanilla, salsa… I sing all those things.
—Why Chayanne?
—Whenever I get together with a group of close friends, there are songs I always like to sing, especially that Chayanne song, also Rudy La Scala, José José, Julio Iglesias, who is my idol; Camilo Sesto, Marco Antonio Solís, Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernández, and so on. That day I started singing those songs at karaoke and they recorded me. Well, it started out as a joke, but look how far we've come.
—How did the people of the plains receive this episode?
—Since the public is always used to hearing me with the harp, there were some radicals who said, "Look, don't forget us, don't abandon llanera music and all that," but after the video came out, in the few performances I've had—because you know we're still dealing with the earthquakes—wherever I go I have to sing the song with the harp, with the piano, with the cuatro, however I can, because people have it stuck in their heads and it can't be changed. Well, praise be to God.
—Do you plan to include any covers or songs in this style on your albums?
—I was and am working on an intimate album production, for myself, for my personal use. But I had never, ever thought of recording that song. But well, I've recorded it now, thank God, and we should release the video this week, a really beautiful one, with God as our guide.
—What does this personal project consist of?
—Like I told you, I had a personal project of my own, not commercially ambitious, but a project of mine nonetheless, which was to record a CD, a low-budget production with ballads and boleros. And well, yes, we've already recorded this song. We'll wait and see how it goes, and we're going to make a really nice video for it.
— Did you feel that this video opened doors for you to an audience in other countries?
—I think so, I believe doors are opening for me in different countries, because there are many Venezuelans scattered around the world. That's the first step. And through them, I think I will be able to move to countries like Argentina, from where I've already received calls; Chile, Ecuador, Peru, the United States, Panama, and Colombia.
—What is the next step for Vitico Castillo?
—I always walk hand in hand with God, who shows me the way, because I constantly ask Him for intuition; I ask Him to give me tips, hunches, to know what I have to do at every moment and place. And well, now we'll wait and see what God puts in our path. In His name, everything will be for the best.
