Recognized groups will meet for three days at the Salon Rosado de La Tropical to initiate activities for the 45th anniversary of the orchestra. The initiative, organized by the Clave Cubana agency, will take place December 13, 14 and 15…
I still remember my grandmother Juana Theodora asking me to stay quiet in front of our KRIM 218 TV set to move her nonagenarian feet to the beat of the notes by Pedrito, “The Calvo,” as she used to call that artist.
Van Van used to burst into her routine as if it were a hurricane. My grandmother also loved the combinations of Pupy (César Pedroso) on piano, Changuito in pots and, of course, Pedrito singing: “Don’t knock at my door, the black man is cooking.”
Van Van took her to delirium, although the Aragon, Arcano y sus Maravillas and Sonora Matancera brought” awed to my heart.”
Juana Teodora remembered that event that erupted in late 1969. She knew of the whereabouts of the Revé Formell, whose song Tuesday constituted a kind of melodic hymn for her and my grandfather Severiano. She also hummed Lo material and enjoyed a vast Elena Burke, who played like no one else those pieces by the famed Cuban bassist and composer.
The fact is that for her there was no one better to make her day than that Van Van playing Se permuta, Marilú, Se muere de sed la tía and the soundtracks of the film Los pájaros tirándole a la escopeta.
Although quite a few miss that era of the band, there are others who like the “aggressiveness” of Chapeando, Van Van is here, Razing and La maquinaria, the last album that we currently enjoy.
Great have been those 44 years that the orchestra celebrates, which came to life in the heat of an essential phrase in a crucial stage of the Island
Undoubtedly, Formell synthesized our stories in minutes of the music he composes. His finesse takes the taste and style inherited from Ñico Saquito, Benny Moré, Miguelito Cuni and Arsenio Rodriguez. He is meticulous, concerned to maintain a seal and is not carried away by the bad taste.
The secret formula of Van Van, as Formell enunciated few days ago, is the story of many Cuban musicians. “I think we were the first to make fusion that surrounds us in the Caribbean and the United States, with the rhythm and blues of New Orleans and working with voices …
“We have not stopped to date. This has been the scoop of Van Van. We are in the taste of the dancer, of music followers and we give them new contributions. One way or another the public has received it and adopted it, “the musician said, while announcing a possible concert in Paris, sponsored by the prestigious Art Center of the French capital.
Recognized groups will meet for three days at the Salon Rosado de La Tropical to initiate activities for the 45th anniversary of the orchestra. The initiative, organized by the Clave Cubana agency, will take place December 13, 14 and 15 and will involve Paulo FG, Anacaona, NG La Banda, Pupy y los que son son, Pachito Alonso y sus Kini Kini , Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco, and Laritza Bacallao, among others. The grand finale of the celebrations will take place in this iconic Havana venue on December 14.
With news still fresh of the awards won by Juan Formell, the Latin Grammy for Musical excellence and WOMEX 2013 – Cubans rejoice for having a group that does not lose the ability to surprise us, to help us continue this journey throughCuban identity rooted in our areas, to be an eternal clock of our reality, not to mention the poetry is in the everyday life.
Author
Yelanys Hernández Fusté
