“Hey, the rice, did you bring it? Wow, we forgot. Well, go to the supermarket and bring 2 or 3 kilos…”. Thus begins the ‘Hymn to Paella’ that the Valencian dj, with more than 35 years of experience, Chimo Bayo, has dedicated to the flagship dish of his land’s gastronomy commissioned by the rice cooker La Fallera, who was looking for a hit for his new ad campaign.
The new song, which has electronic rhythms and the characteristic machine sound of those discos that in the 90s were located among Valencian rice fields and belonged to the Ruta del Cod, where Bayo established himself as an artist, continues with the most catchy lyrics to explain the main ingredients of this dish and part of its preparation: “Paella, fire, rice and water. Nano, nano, bring the firewood, let’s start the paella”. He also talks about how this dish is a ritual in his land, and about how preparing a paella is a whole party.
Bayo, who claims to have worked on this issue for more than 3 months, has assured in some interviews that he foresees that the paella hymn will become the official soundtrack on Sundays, the day on which many friends get together to cook this dish in the Valencian Community.
The artist’s new release has also premiered with a funniest video clip that may possibly go viral. In it, Bayo is seen cooking two paellas perched on two plates, as if he were remixing them on the controller.
In the process of creating the new anthem, the Valencian artist has not been alone, since the La Fallera brand asked its community to participate in social networks to propose some fragments of the lyrics and musical arrangements. “The anthem, like paella, is more fun when it is cooked together,” said Anabel Ballester, head of Marketing for this company. “Everything that matters to us has an anthem, the countries, the sports teams, even joy! It was about our great dish also having its anthem.”
