“This beautiful sport is called ecuavolley, from a very young age we have been playing here with friends, we bet 10, 20 until we already play for a lot of money,” explained Anthony Uriles.
It is the side court in the main park of Sunset Park, where every day of the summer, after 5 in the afternoon, it turns into a little piece of Ecuador.
And it is that this group of Ecuadorians prepared this court to practice the traditional ecuavolley, a variant of volleyball that originated in the South American country for more than 100 years.
“This is the volleyball of three, you can grip a little, American volleyball is between six and the net, the net is a little lower,” added Uriles.
The network bears the colors of the Ecuadorian flag. But more than a sport, it is a way of feeling in Ecuador, because many of these migrants have their families far away.
“I get out of work, I come here and distract my mind … I get out here, I distract, I talk to them, I joke, everything,” said Alexis Muñoz, another player.
Age or physical condition does not matter here. There is also no tournament, it is only played for challenges that often involve money bets. But above all, what matters here is maintaining tradition.
“There are a lot of Hispanic people, obviously a lot of Ecuadorian people and you feel like you are in your second home and it is impressive,” added Angel Molina.
And in order not to be nostalgic in this sporting practice there is also a little Ecuadorian food.
“The lady here who prepares the food is typically Ecuadorian food … Dry chicken, that’s the Ecuadorian staple anywhere she goes … Sometimes she prepares the ceviches and fish onions,” said Molina.
This park has seen this tradition for several years. Players chose this location because of the growing number of Ecuadorians in South Brooklyn. Here between 30 and 60 people meet daily, and some curious to admire the game.
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