My wife and I just celebrated 36 years together in a place worthy of such a celebration. While there where expected compromises in catering to an americanized clientele, Miguel, the general manager, and Cafe Sevilla have succeeded in bringing the taste and feel of another world to Long Beach. Excepting the straw in our sangria, they sent us back to memories of adventures many years ago on the other side of the world in Spain.
The 25 year old memory is still fresh in our minds we had found a small hostile in Sevilla after a day of travel from the southern coast of Spain. It was late in the morning when we awoke to the sound of a flamingo guitar filling the small hallway on the 2nd floor. As we wandered down to the lobby for our morning cafe con leche we discovered that it was the desk clerk playing along with a TV program teaching locals how to play the guitar. We were in a different world. Everyone there played guitar, and played it with a passion. And everything stopped for afternoon siesta.
We arrived at Cafe Sevilla in Long Beach at 6:45pm, had we been in Spain the cafe would have just opened after siesta, and now was the time for some sangria to set the mood for some pre-dinner tapas at the neighborhood bar. The staff and environment was the perfect setting; bringing back memories of the passions of a foreign place that was fresh, but old and comfortable. The music was indescribably spontaneous, real, and full of passion. As Miguel sat at the bar instructing someone on a laptop computer, I couldnt help but think that the tradition he is carrying on is centuries old, but the passion of Sevilla is as fresh as this mornings sunrise.
We will be back to Cafe Sevilla, and we hope that they keep and saver the centuries old passion that they rekindle everyday.
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