The national singer-songwriter, Manuel Castillo Girón, has died at the age of 83, leaving behind a collection of popular songs that made him famous, among them “Adelante Selección”, created to inspire the national team at the 82nd World Cup. In Spain, Honduras was the first to be classified.
The artist died this Sunday afternoon at the age of 83 in the El Manantiel neighborhood south of the capital, and his relatives confirmed that he will be buried in Jesús de Otoro, his birthplace, Intipuca.
During his 50-year career, Castillo Girón wrote more than 500 songs and recorded more than 100 songs, among others, the famous “Jelipita”, “Indio Gualcins and “La Sucia”, national folk and classic school dances.
The artist was preparing to sing when a giant curtain fell and left him bedridden for years. His relatives said that since then he has not recovered and his condition is deteriorating.
His first steps in music started with his mother who was his main mentor. At the age of 11, he wrote his first song, which he dedicated to his girlfriend in elementary school, until he reached stardom in 1980 with the melody “Adelante Celician”, which all Hondurans now know as their second anthem.
“Gelipida” and “The Indio Quailsins”
However, before composing “Adelante Selección”, Castillo Girón gained fame with his school songs “Jelipita” and “Indio Gualcinse”, whose lyrics recreate the bucolic life of Hondurans with that mischievous, humorous and joyful language.
In the case of “Jelbitta”, it is about a beautiful, industrious woman, with raised buttocks, who is “stunned” (stunned) at the sight of her and whose heart almost explodes, ready to marry her on the spot.
“O Zelibita (Felipita) from my heart/ If you say a little yes to me/ I promise you right now I’ll send for the mayor and the father, and we can get married now.”
Elsewhere he says: “When you got in front of my nose, I felt like you smelled like soap/We thought you had taken a shower and collected pure patchouli.
Meanwhile, in “Indio Gualcinse”, also known as Barinde, he honors the rural men of this municipality in the south of Lembira Department with the words of the Lenka ethnic group, the tribe of the national hero. Symbol of national folklore. “I’m a Qualcin’s Indian, coming from a cold land / With my caste on my back / And many things inside / I bring my black girl too / To take her to the feast / I buy her half an adol / etc. Do Spanish.
Thanks to his musical honor, he received the “Pablo Zelaya Sierra” National Arts Award, which, as in his case, was awarded in the field of music to Hondurans with the spiritual, moral and cultural elevation of Honduras. (EG)
