<\/p>\n
\u201cAunty, I\u2019m at Casa de la M\u00fasica<\/em>. They stopped the concert. Elito (Rev\u00e9) said that Formell has died. The musicians and everyone are crying. I can\u2019t believe it.\u201d That was how I found out, through a text message. Then came the mourning and the tributes, but I still feel like he\u2019ll break the silence behind which he sometimes hid the rough patches in his life. Then I imagine him ready to answer those questions that I never got to ask.<\/p>\n Juan Formell was always a gentleman, even amid the stress of a concert. He demonstrated that a number of times: at the Concert for Peace, at La Tropical\u2026. Once, during the closing ceremony of a Benny Mor\u00e9 Festival in the largest plaza of Cienfuegos, I saw him being harassed by some transvestite fans of Los Van Van: \u201cMaestro, call us up to the stage,\u201d L\u00e1zaro, the most uninhibited of the group, kept calling out to him.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t do that,\u201d Formell answered calmly. \u201cIt\u2019s too small; keep enjoying yourselves there in the front row,\u201d he said, laughing happily.<\/p>\n He walked among us as a simple mortal, even though part of him was more than that. Even after he was famous, the recipient of prizes and distinctions, he kept placing the highest priority on dancers.\u00a0 And that was confirmed for me in my last interview with him, part of which I have transcribed for OnCuba<\/strong>\u2019s readers:<\/p>\n Late last year in the U.S. city of Las Vegas, Juan Formell Cortina (1942-2014), winner of Cuba\u2019s National Music Award, was the recipient of a Latin Grammy for Musical Excellence. Others who were honored along with him included<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s Oscar de Le\u00f3n of Venezuela, Colombia\u2019s Tot\u00f3 la Momposina, Spain\u2019s Miguel R\u00edos,\u00a0 Argentina\u2019s Palito Ortega and Puerto Rico\u2019s Eddie Palmieri.<\/p>\n The spirit of the band founded by Formell in 1969 had reached dancers all over the world. Musicians, experts and producers from the U.S. National Academy<\/em> of Recording Arts<\/em> had also surrendered to the sound of Los Van Van, who fused contemporary with tradition for a sound full of life.<\/p>\n Weeks earlier, he had received another major award, the Womex (World Music Expo), in the UK\u2019s Cardiff, Wales. He dedicated it to all musicians who work in the Third World, \u201caway from the world of big labels and markets, but with tenacity and professionalism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On the occasion of those awards, executives from the Artex Clave Cubana catalog, to which Los Van Van belongs, organized a press conference at the Delirio Habanero nightclub. Formell arrived with a big smile, as always, accompanied by his pregnant wife. A moment of chaos made it possible for me, recorder in hand, to approach him and obtain the following statements.<\/p>\n By now it is unquestionable that every single one of Los Van Van\u2019s albums holds a piece of Cuba and of the best popular dance music in the world. Nevertheless, the Latin Grammys have been elusive, even after five nominations. Now the organizing committee has decided to give you an honorary prize. What do you make of this?<\/strong><\/p>\n International juries and dancers all over the world have given serious recognition to the work of Los Van Van from a musical standpoint, because it has gotten people dancing for I don\u2019t know how many years. The Concert for Peace and other things that have happened in this country in recent years are like a summary of all of that.<\/p>\n It is true that we\u2019ve been nominated for a Latin Grammy five times, and you wonder why the award hasn\u2019t come. I don\u2019t have an answer, but I view this Grammy for Excellence as recognition of that, and a way of saying, \u201cHey, it\u2019s about time, let\u2019s give them some special appreciation.\u201d<\/p>\n When Paco de Luc\u00eda gave a concert in Cuba (October, 2013) we heard musical excerpts from \u201cSandunguera.\u201d You were there and enjoyed it.\u00a0 Other musicians, such as Rub\u00e9n Blades, have played versions of your songs\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, there are several versions of \u201cTal Vez,\u201d one of them by Brazil\u2019s Mar\u00eda Betania with Omara Portuondo. There\u2019s another by Rey Barreto. There\u2019s a version of \u201cMu\u00e9vete\u201d by Harry Belafonte with a South African chorus, and another by a Puerto Rican group called Batacumbele, and then there\u2019s the one by Rub\u00e9n Blades\u2026. Really nice things have been done with our music.<\/p>\n How do you feel when you hear your music being performed by other singers or musicians? <\/strong><\/p>\n The most important thing for a composer is to endure, that\u2019s what you work for, and this is one of the ways you achieve it: when somebody, without you imposing on them, does a version of a composition that they heard at some point. I think that is the best type of recognition. Will my music last? Maybe, if 30 years from now people are still singing \u201cSandunguera\u201d or any of my numbers. But I won\u2019t be around to see it.<\/p>\n After so many years of work and so many hits, could it be said that you have found the secret to making a song popular, on everyone\u2019s lips? <\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s something we don\u2019t know; it\u2019s always a surprise. What I have realized is that sometimes a very simple thing, something that\u2019s not complicated at all but that touches spots and elicits responses that are common to millions of people, can define a number\u2019s success.\u00a0 When you achieve that, you analyze it and say to yourself, What happened? What did I do?<\/p>\n It\u2019s something that can\u2019t be copied. I couldn\u2019t do another number like \u201cLa compota de palo,\u201d or \u201cSanduguera,\u201d or \u201cLa cabeza mala.\u201d It\u2019s enough to have that recognition that you get and the experience of going through something like that. The rest is a mystery.<\/p>\n But you were able to work out the secret to having popular vocalists\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, yes, that\u2019s true. You choose your vocalists based on experience, and you do it taking the long view. Regardless, there\u2019s always a little bit of doubt, and you tell yourself, I think this could work. A lot of times you\u2019re on the ball, but to say that you know exactly who is going to make a certain song stick and who isn\u2019t, that\u2019s just false. Nobody ever knows exactly how something is going to be. You\u2019re never always right. That\u2019s something for the dancers, and the public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAunty, I\u2019m at Casa de la M\u00fasica. They stopped the concert. Elito (Rev\u00e9) said that Formell has died. The musicians and everyone are crying. I can\u2019t believe it.\u201d That was how I found out, through a text message. Then came the mourning and the tributes, but I still feel like he\u2019ll break the silence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2075,"featured_media":37260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13930],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[33648,7284],"class_list":["post-37257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technologies-of-communication-and-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n