How Curaçao Impressed Ryan Castro’s Most Private Album But, ‘Sendé’

Zipping throughout the island’s sunlit landscapes, he shares laughs with outdated mates and waves to delighted followers, who name out to him for selfies as he explores the streets of his second dwelling.

Along with his sophomore album, Castro, 31, strikes away from “El Cantante del Ghetto” and totally embraces a extra weak, romantic aspect of himself. A love letter to Curaçao — the LP not solely displays a spot the place he lived and labored laborious but in addition one the place he unearthed a deeply private a part of his id that had remained semi-hidden.

“Sendé is a really private venture that displays all the things I lived and discovered in Curaçao,” Castro shares. “It’s stuffed with emotion, Caribbean influences, and that dancehall vibe that’s at all times been a part of my fashion.

On this album, Castro masters the fusion of genres like dancehall, kizomba, afrobeat and reggae, all infused along with his signature city fashion. He additionally collaborated with a formidable lineup of worldwide artists, together with Shaggy (“Exclusiva”), Peso Pluma (“Un Trío”), Manuel Turizo (“Menos el Cora”), and Curaçao’s famend native singer, Dongo, on the track “Sanka”, a title meaning “sadly” in Papiamento, a Creole language based mostly principally on Spanish and Portuguese, spoken and written within the islands of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire within the Netherlands Antilles.

However past the massive names and charming rhythms, the album is an invite to discover his story and join with the cultural roots which have profoundly formed his inventive imaginative and prescient. “The title [Sendé] comes from Papiamento and means feeling good, constructive vibes, and that’s precisely what I need to put on the market,” he provides.

In an unique interview with Billboard Español, Ryan Castro shares the moments that formed his life, his deep connection to Curaçao, and the way Sendé grew to become his most private venture so far.

Curaçao holds a particular place in your life. How do you’re feeling being again now on the island?

I came visiting my household. My mother and siblings stay right here. Proper now, we’re driving via a neighborhood referred to as Jan Thiel. There are actually stunning homes right here the place rich folks stay, and quite a lot of Dutch people too. We’re heading to a restaurant referred to as Perla del Mar. I like going there as a result of I used to work as a waiter and did quite a lot of issues within the kitchen as effectively. At any time when I come to Curaçao, I convey my mates, household, or associate. I really like reminiscing about these moments and sharing them with people who find themselves tremendous proud and glad to see me. As we speak, we’re on our option to seize lunch, eat some fish, and recharge.

From El Cantante del Ghetto, impressed by your upbringing in Medellín, Colombia, to Sendé, a venture rooted in Curaçao — how do you’re feeling about sharing this a part of your story and reflecting on these key moments in your life?

I really feel actually glad as a result of I believe my followers have been lacking this aspect of me. I’ve shared lots about my story in Medellín — life within the ghetto, singing on buses, the place I got here from, which is so particular. However I hadn’t talked a lot about this aspect, which can also be one thing very emotional for me. It was whereas I used to be dwelling on the island that I blew up in Colombia. I believe this was the fitting second to inform them about it and allow them to know what life was like for me right here, in addition to my cultural influences, as a result of I really like dancehall. The phrases I typically use, like “awoo,” are for them to know the place all of that comes from. Loads of the issues Ryan Castro does are intently linked to this island.

We’ve seen that you simply additionally communicate Papiamento and use phrases from this language in your music. What do these expressions imply to you?

“Awoo” comes from the native language right here, Papiamento. It’s a really street-style phrase. Individuals right here use “awoo” like “hey” or as a greeting. In Colombia, we use phrases like “oe” or “nea.” “Awoo” isn’t a proper phrase for dialog, however after I bought right here, I heard it on a regular basis.

I apply it to my social media, and the followers embraced it — they even name out “awoo, awoo” now to me. So, I began working with the phrase. This album, referred to as Sendé — one other phrase from Curaçao — means “lit” or “fireplace.” However right here, folks use it to imply that all the things’s good. You may say “awoo” to somebody, they usually’ll reply “sendé.” On the streets, it’s used to say we’re feeling nice, hyped, glad, partying, or stuffed with power. It’s a really energetic phrase.

When did you progress to Curaçao? You talked about that your mother has been dwelling on the island for fairly a while.

My mother has been dwelling right here since I used to be a child. Principally, I used to be born, and a couple of yr later, my mother got here right here on the lookout for a greater future for herself and for me as effectively. I got here right here after I was round 13 or 14 years outdated. My mother’s intention was for me to remain and stay right here as a result of she was already settled — she had her husband and all the things in place. However I used to be too younger, and I couldn’t deal with it. I used to be in class, and I ended up going again to Colombia.

After I completed college, round 16 or 17 in Medellín, I sang on buses and hustled to make it. As soon as I felt extra ready, I instructed my mother I used to be prepared to return again. I moved to Curaçao after I was about 20 years outdated. I got here to spend time along with her, to search for a brand new future in music, work, and my goals.

In Sendé, you labored with genres like dancehall, Afrobeat and a few reggae. How has Curaçao’s musical tradition influenced your inventive course of for this album?

Right here in Curaçao, there’s quite a lot of wonderful music — occasion vibes and romantic tunes, a minimum of round right here. I discovered lots about kizomba, reggae, and carnival music. I believe it’s tremendous cool as a result of throughout the carnivals, you hear a really distinctive fashion of music referred to as tambú, which is a extremely intense drum-based sound. At the moment, I used to be already doing dancehall, rap, and reggae earlier than coming right here. However I’d hear these rhythms and suppose, “How would my voice sound on that?” Or, “I need to make a track and experiment with these flows.”

I might go to recording studios, and there have been Dutch, Jamaican or Curaçaoan folks — I didn’t even know tips on how to talk. In order that pushed me too. I’d say, “Bro, I have to be taught their language to know their music and tradition.” I needed to be taught the language, and I did it via music, by listening to songs from right here and choosing up the road language.

Culturally, I absorbed a lot — the rhythms, the language, the way in which folks discuss, the carnivals, the events, the music they play on the seashore and within the eating places — I cherished all of it. That impressed me lots whereas making this album, and I even introduced my inventive group right here so they might expertise the music. I took everybody who collaborated with me on the album — producers, artists — to the boats and boat events, the restaurant, the ocean, so they might really feel the vibe of the island, and we ended up with an unbelievable album.

You collaborated with artists like Peso Pluma, Shaggy, Sean Paul and Manuel Turizo. Inform us, how do you determine who to collaborate with?

Truthfully, I’m a bit specific about that. I like collaborating with artists I vibe with, the place there’s good power between us. After all, that is additionally a enterprise, and it’s nice to work with somebody who’s tremendous fashionable, however truthfully, that’s the least necessary factor to me. For me, it’s key that there’s chemistry and mutual respect. The track belongs to each of us, so we each must be prepared to place within the work — whether or not it’s media, movies, content material, performing it stay, and all the things else that comes with it.

I’ve had instances the place there are artists I like lots and have at all times wished to report with, however after I meet them, I don’t vibe with them. So, I’d slightly not collaborate to maintain admiring them and never lose the respect I’ve for them. For me, singing is an intimate and particular second between artists, and each of us must be totally dedicated for the outcome to be one thing actually stunning.

What do you hope listeners take away after they hear the album?

I hope it makes them need to hit the seashore and go to Curaçao. I need them to attach extra with me — my fashion, my circulate, my roots, who I’m. The thought behind the album can also be to place Curaçao a little bit extra on the map, in folks’s eyes and ears. I even included an artist from right here, named Dongo, on the track “Sanka.” He may not be very well-known exterior the island, however right here, he’s extremely revered. For me, the album can also be a option to give again to Curaçao for all of the motivation and inspiration it has given me.

Word: The journey to report this story in Curaçao was sponsored by Ryan Castro’s group, who offered funding for airfare and lodging.