When Esteban Mauricio Paredes arrived in Tokyo from Ecuador 12 years ago, he felt lucky to score an apartment through a friend. He didn't feel so lucky, however, when he received a gas and electricity bill for the previous tenant. It wasn't so much money, but anyone who has arrived in Tokyo looking for work will know that even a few thousand yen can hurt. Esteban found out that Miguel Angel Dillunde, his remiss predecessor, was working at a club in Roppongi. So off he went to meet Miguel and discover a friendly chap, who with a slap on the back and a little cash, sealed the deal on a new friendship.
Even back then, Esteban recalls, Miguel always talked about opening his own bar in Tokyo. Miguel grew up in a small town full of little bars on the Costa del Sol, which swells with tourists in summer. "It's in my blood to be a bartender," he often confided to Esteban.
It took almost 10 years, but Miguel finally realized his dream by opening Cafe Ole Bar in Shinjuku. Every night was fiesta, and Miguel was right at home.