"''Moliendo Café''" ("Grinding Coffee") is a Venezuelan song that has become popular around the world. The song was written in 1958, but the authorship is disputed between
Hugo Blanco and his uncle José Manzo Perroni. Blanco's recording in 1961 became No. 1 in Argentina, and it has since been recorded by many singers. The song has also become a common
football chant
A football chant or terrace chant is form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their p ...
around the world as "''Dale Cavese''".
Composition and recordings
According to
Hugo Blanco, he composed the song in 1958, and since he was not of age (he was 17 years old), he asked his uncle José Manzo Perroni to register the work for him at the ''Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de Venezuela'' (SACVEN). A few years later, Perroni sued Blanco for appropriating the work, claiming that it was he who composed the song, and that his nephew had stolen the melody.
The lyrics of the song tells of someone who, while grinding coffee at night, feels frustrated at having to work instead of having a love life.
The first singer to record "''Moliendo Café''" was
Mario Suárez in 1958; Blanco did not record it himself until 1961. Blanco's version hit No. 1 in Argentina and Japan that year.
Cover versions
Cuban singer
Xiomara Alfaro's Spanish-language version peaked at No. 1 in Peru.
Lucho Gatica
Luis Enrique Gatica Silva (11 August 1928 – 13 November 2018),
''The New York Times''. Retriev ...
's version of the song peaked at No. 3 in Spain.
Mina's version topped the Italian singles chart and was the No. 11 track on the end-of-year chart in 1962.
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...
covered the song in the 1976 for his album ''
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
'', which led to renewed interest.
covered the song in his 2002 album ''
Moliendo Café
"''Moliendo Café''" ("Grinding Coffee") is a Venezuelan song that has become popular around the world. The song was written in 1958, but the authorship is disputed between Hugo Blanco and his uncle José Manzo Perroni. Blanco's recording in 1961 ...
''.
At present, the song has more than 800 versions in many languages. In Japan, the song's title is , written by Seiji Nakazawa and recorded by Sachiko Nishida in 1961. "Coffee Rumba" has been covered by several Japanese artists such as
The Peanuts
were a Japanese vocal group consisting of twin sisters Emi (, ''Itō Emi'') and Yumi Itō (, ''Itō Yumi''). They were born in Nagoya, Japan in April, 1 1941. As identical twins they had voices only slightly apart in timbre, which resulted in t ...
,
Yōko Oginome
, real name , is a former pop idol, actress and voice actress, who gained popularity in the mid-1980s. Her fans often call her Oginome-chan. She is represented by the talent management firm Rising Production.
Career
Oginome spent most of her ...
, and
Yōsui Inoue
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, guitarist and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music. "Hailed as the Bob Dylan of Japan .. He is renowned for his unique tone, eccentric lyrics, and dark sunglasses which he alway ...
. In Indonesia, the song is titled "''Kopi
Dangdut
Dangdut () is a genre of Indonesian folk music that is partly derived and fused from Hindustani, Arabic and to lesser extent, Malay and local folk music. Dangdut is a most popular musical genre in Indonesia and a very popular in other Malay wo ...
''" and was a hit in that country in 1991.
Ricardo Montaner
Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner (born September 8, 1957), better known as Ricardo Montaner (), is an Argentine-born Venezuelan singer and songwriter. Since starting his career in the late 1970s, he has released more than 24 albums, and many su ...
performed a cover of the song on his 2001 album ''Sueño Repetido''.
Football chants
"''Moliendo Café''" has become a popular chant for
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
fans around the world, and the chant is widely known as "''Dale Cavese''" in Europe. The chant was first adopted by fans of
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
a few years after Julio Iglesias had recorded the song, and it became popular in ''
La Bombonera
The Alberto José Armando Stadium is a football stadium located in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Widely known as La Bombonera (; en, The chocolate box) due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands rou ...
'' for a few decades, where the fans know the chant as "''Dale Boca''" ("Come on Boca"). The chant was picked up by fans of the Italian team
Cavese 1919
Cavese 1919 S.r.l., commonly known as just Cavese, is an Italian football club based in Cava de' Tirreni, Campania, that currently plays in . The first city club was founded in 1919 as Unione Sportiva Cavese. It was refounded as Pro Cavese in 1 ...
after coming across a CD of Boca Juniors chants. The fans first used it in a match against
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
in September 2006, and a clip of their chant "''Dale Cavese''" was uploaded to
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in 2007.
The video went viral and its popularity then spread to other clubs around the world, with many fans adapting the chants for their own teams.
References
External links
*
* Chant by fans of Cavese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moliendo Cafe
1958 songs
1961 singles
Venezuelan songs
Spanish-language songs
Ricardo Montaner songs
Songs written by Hugo Blanco (musician)
Number-one singles in Argentina
Number-one singles in Japan
Polydor Records singles