Cafe Dominguez by the magic duo, Ángel D'Agostino & Ángel Vargas is a classic - great thumping rhythm, sweeping epic melodies and delicious crunching piano, and enough variation to get even the laziest hippo moving. I dare you not to tap your toe.
The piece explodes with a stirring emotional narration, an almost tearful lament - no cry - evoking the old glory days of Cafe Dominguez. Listen between 0:22s and 0:47s.
"Café Domínguez de la vieja calle Corrientes que ya no queda
café del cuarteto bravo de Graciano de Leone
a tus mesas caian Pirincho, Arola, Firpo y Pacho a escuchar tus tangos
era el iman que atraía como el alcohol atrae a los borrachos
Café Dominguez de la vieja calle Corrientes
que ya no queda"
We all have our own Cafe Dominguez. Our own streets and characters from previous lives, when our horizons weren't so broad but our small world provided us with friends, characters who made us smile and laugh even when we knew were were all in the same crappy place. We might be in a bigger prettier world now with flowers and blue skies, but we miss the old drab walls, the tables that saw us eat and drink, we let out a sigh for solid friends now lost, our chests swell with pride, and we remember how we laughed and how it was so close to crying.
The narrator is in fact poet Julian Centeya. The late Gavito wants us to understand that Julian taught him tango, not dance.
Cafe Dominguez is on Tango De Los Angeles vol 4.
D'Agostino is not played enough in London, which is a real shame. There are some fantastic knockout classics by this power duo.