When asked to name the king of mainstream Cuban dance bands, contemporary islanders will probably give one name: Los Van Van. Showcasing a mix of charanga, son, and rock, with a strong jazz influence, the island-based dance orchestra was a major force in Afro-Cuban music. Undisputed champions at home, they were among the few Cuban bands to have recorded outside Cuba, invigorating international salsa with original versions of Cuban sounds.
Juan Formell, a bassist and songwriter, formed Los Van Van in 1969. While primarily a charanga band, with its characteristic use of violins and flutes, the band also incorporated the hard-edged trumpets and trombones of salsa music. The electric bass and drums gave them the grit of a rock’n’roll band. The orchestra broke with past conventions by countering three violins with three trombones, creating a tough but sweet sound that was unmistakably “vanvanero” (the essential spirit of Los Van Van).
The band was no small affair, and had over a dozen members. Musicians came and went, but few will forget the piano of César “Pupy” Pedroso, or the violins of Gerardo Miró and Pedro Fajardo. The all-important percussion was carried on the congas of Manuel Labarrera, and the timbales and drum set of Samuell Fromell and “Changuito.” Musicians switched instruments and several composed. Boris Luna, featured on his slap bass and synthesizers, also composed, while Hugo Morejón played trombone as well as keyboard.
Juan Formell, who composed and played bass, directed Los Van Van from the beginning. One of the premiere musicians of post-revolution Cuba, he was the creator of tunes such as “Sandunguera,” “Que Palo Es Ese,” “Muévete,” “Que Sorpresa,” and “Soy Todo.” The band’s Paris-recorded album, Songo, shows off the complexity of rhythmical structures used by modern-day Cuban salsa bands.
Unlike most common international salsa, with facile or sexually explicit lyrics, Los Van Van reflected the mainstream Cuban tradition of producing challenging, socially conscious music with a direct relevance to Cuban life. Formell said he was critical, but “with a humoristic and satirical tone, in direct language.” Their “L’Habana No Aguanta Mas!” (Havana Can Take No More) highlighted the shortage of public housing in the capital city. It was common for song lyrics, rather than the official media, to reflect more accurately what most Cuban people were thinking about social issues.
Cuba was Formell’s musical lifeblood, and for that reason he declared that, unlike so many talented Cuban musicians, he would never leave the island-nation. Formell was quoted as saying, “I like living in Cuba. It inspires me to write. I’d be unmotivated in New York. The importance of my work has been to relate or narrate what’s around me (in Cuba). If I left that environment, I’d be empty.”
America’s blockade of Cuba was long an impediment to Cuban bands who wanted to play in the U.S. Los Van Van, denied visas for decades, were finally allowed to tour in 1997. The band met enthusiastic crowds in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but not in Miami, home of the largest Cuban exile community who shunned those who stayed behind.
The 1990s saw a renewed Cuban influence inching back into salsa. Island bands such as Ritmo Oriental and Adalberto Alvarez were making inroads with original salsa creations. But Los Van Van were the indisputable champions among Cuban bands, who strove to put the “sabor” (flavour) back into salsa.
Brett Allan King
SEE ALSO:
CARIBBEAN; CUBA; LATIN AMERICA; SALSA.
FURTHER READING
Ayala, Cristobál Diaz. The History of Salsa (New York: Excelsior Music Publishing, 1995);
Manuel, Peter, ed. Essays on Cuban Music: North American and Cuban Perspectives (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991).
SUGGESTED LISTENING
The Best of Los Van Van; Dancing Wet/Bailando Mojao; Lo Ultimo En Vivo; Songo.