10/10/08: Café Mambo Closing Party

An ominous looking sky wasn’t enough to hold back the celebrations at Café Mambo tonight, as the crew, residents, workers and faithful patrons gathered together one last time before the beautifully mosaic-ed doors were officially nailed shut (or at least, boarded up and fenced off) at the end of another very successful season for what is perhaps the island’s most legendary sunset bar.

With special guest Jose Padilla – dubbed ‘godfather of the sunset session’ by Team mambo - there to kick off the sunset proceedings, the party began in the traditional chillout style it’s known for. Clapping off the sunset has become nothing less than a nightly Mambo tradition and tonight was no exception – though the sunset itself left a lot to be desired thanks to the low cloud cover and mist.

Well, the Café Mambo family may be able to control many things when it comes to throwing a fabulous closing party, but the weather isn’t one of them!
Pacha and El Ayoun resident Angel Linde continued the musical journey as the night began to settle, followed by the Mambo residents themselves, the boys responsible for setting the ambient mood all summer long, Alex Wolfenden and Jason Bye – sadly for us (but not for him!) Andy Baxter wasn’t on deck duty tonight as he was busy taking part in a Pacha tour of Brazil however the boys were joined by Dan Ward aka Negghead, no stranger to the Mambo DJ booth himself.

From the minute the boys began their back-to-back bonanza it was clear the chill out vibe was over and the party had well and truly begun. Spotted getting their groove on by the booth? The Mambo boys (as they’ve come to be known as) Alan and Christian plus head honcho Javier, Pacha’s Danny Whittle and his team and those Manumission and Cocoon dancers still on the island, all soaking up the vibe.

At one point the soundtrack took a turn for the cheesier when a certain Mambo manager began making requests and got even more err, shall we say, interesting when the person in question jumped behind the booth and began mixing themselves.

Thankfully, Alex and Dan returned to save the day – or more appropriately night, as it was 2am – and kept the eager crowd going until the very last cerveza was poured… and drunk of course.

Miss W has to wonder though, are all these people aware that the sun actually continues to set even though Café Mambo is closed?

THE LOWDOWN
THE GOOD: Over the past few years Miss W has noticed the vibe at Mambo just getting better and better and tonight it really showed with the loyal crowd remaining on the premises right up until closing time.
THE BAD: Finding the right place to linger proved a little difficult for Miss W as it after dark it was freezing outside yet very cosy, warm and perhaps just a little too humid indoors. Here comes the drama of trans-seasonal dressing again.
THE GOSSIP: The police turned up at one point – for no apparent reason – causing whispers through the crowd of a potential shut down or noise pollution fine but Mss W can report it was nothing of the sort. The lovely law enforcement boys were simply enjoying the atmosphere and the view for themselves.