Los Van Van was formed in 1969 by bassist and composer Juan Formell. It has endured as Cuba’s most important and popular dance orchestra for over four decades.
Formell’s imaginative approach to instrumentation brought new sounds and ideas into Cuban dance music, blending charanga-style violins and flute with a trombone section, adding drums and introducing electric guitar, bass and keyboards.
Los Van Van is known for fusing genres such as contemporary rock and jazz with Afro-Cuban roots. Formell and timbales-player Changuito created a new rhythm they named ‘songo’, which gave birth to a whole genre.
The celebrated Cuban band will perform in Cardiff (Wales) on Sunday morning, 27 October 2013, during the WOMEX Award Ceremony accompanied by a WOMEX Networking Breakfast, both open to WOMEX delegates only.
The next edition of WOMEX, the most important international professional conference and trade show for world music, will take place in Cardiff, Wales (UK), from Wednesday, October 23, to Sunday, October 27, 2013. In 2014 WOMEX will be moving to historical Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (Spain).
Available recordings: Lo Ultimo En Vivo, The Legendary Los Van Van: Thirty Years of Cuba’s Greatest Dance Band, Best of Los Van Van, En El Malecon De La Habana.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
