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Insults Make Good Matches

By Janis D. Froelich

Julian Gonzalez, 72, (middle) makes a move at a domino game at Centro Asturiano de Tampa in Ybor City as Joe Hajaistron , 71, (left) and Fernando Lopez, 76, (right) watch the fun.

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By JANIS D. FROELICH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 3, 2007

YBOR CITY - Playing a crafty game of dominoes is half the challenge at Centro Asturiano de Tampa, one of a few hangouts representing a throwback to the cigar-making days when workers took regular dominoes breaks.

The other half is the insults tossed lightly as the dominoes clink on the wooden tables.

"Why'd you make that move?"

"I never knew you could be so stupid!"

"I wouldn't have played with you if ..."

"It can be very animated," said Al Frederick, Centro's executive director, who opens the private club at 1913 N. Nebraska Ave. most days from 2 to 4 p.m. for dominoes and card players.

The trash talk, dominoes-style, is all in fun.

"There's no bad blood here," said Frank Gonzalez, 84, a club member since 1951. "They wouldn't do it with strangers."

"There's a lot of cheating," Octavio Infiesta said affectionately as he quietly nursed a beer in the corner.

"I don't play much anymore," he said. "It's talk, talk, talk with them."

Mark Perez, a member for four years, organized a tournament a year ago so the players could have focus.

"It makes them play sharper, knowing this is coming up," he said.

A wall plaque salutes past winners: Joe Hajaistron and Bobby Fernandez in 2006; and this year's Angelo Ippolito and Anthony Lo Cicero. The next match will be in March.

At 95, George Garcia reigns as the survivor of the flak.

"They try to take advantage of my age," he said as he sat solemnly eagle-eyeing the tiles. Garcia attributes his dominoes skills to his good memory.

Al Casal, who sat across from Garcia, said the game, with its 28 rectangular tiles, is usually played quickly.

"You have to concentrate," Casal said, tallying up the winners' numbers on a small chalkboard. "George is master at that."

The only card group on a recent Friday afternoon was the table occupied by Robert Weintraub, who said he plays "rummy with dummies." He came with a friend eight years ago and has returned ever since.

"It's just a good group," he said.

Gonzalez, who grew up in Ybor City, said most of the players are old school friends.

"They just never left. Now they come here to argue and get out of the house.

"This has been a family atmosphere for years," Gonzalez said. "It's a place away from home."

Gonzalez said the game room moved upstairs from the Centro's basementlike space in the late 1990s.

That was during a time when Centro Asturiano was getting back on its feet, restored to a portion of its former glory. The club, with its theater of red-velvet seating, ballroom, library and cantina, opened in 1914 after the first club was destroyed by fire in 1912. The club was organized in 1902 by Spaniards who came to Tampa from Havana. The building was a place for them to get health care, learn English and enjoy themselves.

Frederick, who said the club has more than 400 members, believes the game room keeps alive Centro's mutual aid spirit.

"These members are rock solid with each other," he said.

Frederick said 300 people used to play dominoes in the yellow brick building's cantina. Cigar workers came in the evenings as part of a social outing. Today, dominoes are popular worldwide, especially in Latin American countries.

Frederick said men and women often drop in for dominoes, which can be played simply by getting rid of your tiles before your opponent or in the more-involved version using bidding and trump suits to score points.

"The dominoes players are our most loyal," said Frederick, before going back into the jovial atmosphere of the cigar-smoky room.

PLAYING THE TILES

For information about dominoes and other activities at Centro Asturiano de Tampa, call (813) 229-2214.

Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.

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