Astros Café: a Maradona tribute in La Paternal for his 66th birthday.

A café with Maradona’s spirit in La Paternal

Astros Café, a small spot at Donato Álvarez 2096 in the La Paternal neighborhood, opened in February this year and today, Friday, October 30, it marks its first Maradona date: Diego Armando Maradona would have turned 66. For the occasion there will be music, stories and neighbors invited to sing him happy birthday.

Inside, the walls and tables speak of the Diez. There is a photo of him in dark glasses from his time as coach of the Dorados de Sinaloa, a life-size silhouette from his days at Argentinos Juniors and a mural showing him bearded, with his eyes closed, drinking a coffee.

Customers and neighbors keep adding objects to the corner the owner calls a sanctuary: a cup with the idol’s face, a crochet doll, a can of an energy drink that carries his name and photos with a story. A photographer customer said he took the 1986 image himself in which Maradona smiles with the ball on his forehead, before the final against Germany.

Who is behind the café

Diego Arvilly, 51, is a Radio 10 journalist who hosts the radio show Vida de sábado with Pablo Ladaga, which devotes a segment of every broadcast to a Maradona story. He runs the café with his partner, Laura Villanueva, and the two split the shifts, serve the tables and work behind the counter.

The space has family history: for more than twenty years his parents’ clothing shop operated there, and until 2025 a friend used it as a storage room. When he was about to return the key to the property owner, on October 14, 2025, Arvilly proposed to a businesswoman friend that they go into business together on some venture.

The next morning he woke up from a vivid dream: Maradona walked into his father’s clothing shop and advised him to close it and open a café. He called his friend, who understood at once and proposed opening the café. The renovation was complicated, since the place did not even have a bathroom, but the café opened in February.

What you see and what is served

The café offers specialty coffee and pastries. According to Arvilly, the goal is for the place to become a cult spot and for Maradona fans to know that in La Paternal there is a temple in honor of the Diez.

The table placemats carry a star, which is the café’s logo, a drawing of the Diez having a coffee and a phrase from his repertoire, different depending on the sheet. Among them are “Se le escapó la tortuga” and “Me cortaron las piernas”.

The mural of the Diez with his eyes closed grew out of an image created by one of Arvilly’s daughters with the help of artificial intelligence, and the muralist Katherina Bulacio painted it on the wall. It is the place’s trademark, according to the owner.

Visitors to the café have included Ana, Maradona’s older sister, with her son Daniel López Maradona, and the footballer Hernán López Muñoz, the Diez’s great-nephew who plays for Argentinos, according to Arvilly’s account.

The birthday plan

From the morning, a speaker plays narrations of plays and goals, along with songs linked to Maradona. At night, the singer Gustavo Urkel performs live. Among the announced songs are Maradó, by Los Piojos; Para siempre Diego, by Los Ratones; La mano de Dios, by Rodrigo; and, by Manu Chao, La vida es una tómbola.

Guests are also expected to share stories and anecdotes, and neighbors who want to sing happy birthday are invited, the owner announced.

The café is five blocks from the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, home of Argentinos Juniors, and ten from the Casa de D10s, the neighborhood museum, whose owner, César, gave him a themed painting. Arvilly says the café is still a modest place that is growing.

How to get there

Astros Café is at Donato Álvarez 2096, in the La Paternal neighborhood. According to the report, it is five blocks from the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, home of Argentinos Juniors, and ten from the Casa de D10s, the neighborhood museum. Today, Friday, October 30, from the morning a speaker plays stories of plays and songs; at night the singer Gustavo Urkel performs live, and neighbors are invited. Clarín’s report does not give opening hours or prices, although the café offers specialty coffee and pastries.