"Moliendo Café" 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 Jose Manzo Perroni. Blanco's recording in 1961 became No. 1 in Argentina, and it has since been recorded by many singers. It has also become a common football chant 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 asked his uncle Jose Manzo Perroni to register the work for him at SACVEN. A few years later, Jose Manzo Perroni sued his nephew 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 he was 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; Hugo Blanco did not record it himself until 1961. Blanco's version hit No. 1 in Argentina and Japan in 1961.
Covers
Cuban singer Xiomara Alfaro's Spanish-language version peaked at No. 1 in Peru. Lucho Gatica'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 covered the song in the 1976 for his album America, which led to renew interest. At present, the song has more than 800 versions in many languages. In Japan, the song's title is "Coffee Rumba" and it was recorded by Sachiko Nishida. In Indonesia, the song is titled "Kopi Dangdut" and was a hit in that country in 1991. Ricardo Montaner performed a cover of the song on his 2001 album Sueño Repetido.
Football chants
"Moliendo Café" has become a popular chant for soccer 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 a few years after Julio Iglesias had recorded the song, and it became popular on La Bombonera for a few decades, where the fans know the chant as "Dale Boca". The chant was picked up fans of an Italian team Cavese 1919 after coming across a CD of Boca Juniors chants. The fans first used it in a match against Anconain September 2006, and a clip of their chant "Dale Cavese" was uploaded to YouTube 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.
