Los Van Van

Latin Beat Magazine, March, 1997 by Jesse Varela

Maritime Hall in San Francisco, Sat. Jan. 18-- With cries of "Viva Cuba," thousands packed Maritime Hall in San Francisco over two nights to greet the Cuban supergroup Los Van Van and savor a rare taste of Caribbean musical nirvana.

The evening unfolded with Los Compas, a local Latin dance band who gave an enthusiastic performance of mostly covers.

Charged with anticipation, when the headlining 15-piece Los Van Van ensemble hit with Ya Empezó La Fiesta the place erupted with a roar! From the outset, Los Van Van grooved with an intensity so breathtakingly nuanced and controlled that the hall was instantly electrified. The resonant piano of Cesar Pedroso led the uproar as they kicked in with a songo, a rhythm innovated by the band in the eighties that fused North American rock 'n' roll and funk with the traditional Afro-Cuban son. Towering lead singer Pedro Calvo began pulling women up on stage to dance as the band rolled out their eighties world hit, Sandunguera.

Up front, bassist and bandleader Juan Formell smiled as he thumped out a hypnotic pulse that ground the swirling polyrhythms. Originally based on a traditional charanga orchestra, the group was formed 27 years ago and modernized in 1979 in Havana when he added trombones to give the ensemble an added punch. Talented components like pianist Cesar Pedroso ("Pupi") and percussionist José Luis Quintana (Changuito), brought in modern ideas that gave the group a distinct rhythmic sense, where the accents don't fall on the first beat but roll into it.

The long, complex compositions were carefully crafted originals that left musicians in the audience gasping, and dancers delighted. This was not a crowd searching for deep lyrical meaning, and most of the songs were party tunes aimed to please them. An exception was Soy Todo, with its hook coro, Ay Dios Amparame, off Los Van Van's latest CD, which closed out the first set. The song affirmed what it means to be Afro-Cuban. As it progressed, the lyrics became a metaphorical prayer asking for protection from misfortune. Vocalist Mario Rivera (Mayito) pleaded for good things and virtues in his improvised verses as the crowd responded enthusiastically - If I don't believe in you who can I believe in? Rivera lamented in Spanish, over an impassioned hip hop beat.

During the break, you couldn't help but notice the graying hair of half the band and the den of young lions replacing outgoing veterans. This was most obvious among the trio of singers. Calvo, who was decked in a blue double breasted blazer with black slacks and his trademark white campesino Panama hat, has been with the group 23 years and has a rasp to his voice. His youthful counterparts sported street gear of jeans, flannel shirts, caps, and sneakers, and looked like they could have dropped in off of any street corner in urban America. Rivera and Roberto Hernández are amazing singers with distinctive resonant voices, who are integrating rap into a nouveau son mix.

For their closing set, Muevete brought a burst of acknowledgment, and the crowd gravitated toward the front of the stage. De La Habana a Matanzas was a stunning salute to the rumberos, where young Samuel Formell (Juan's son) was set loose on the timbales before Julio Norona blasted off on congas. After three hours of a sensuous, profound performance (filled with the added multimedia flash of the Maritime Hall light show and its superb Meyer Sound system), Los Van Van finally started to wind down. As they walked offstage, the cry for "Otra!" filled the hall before the ensemble returned with Disco Azucar as a fifteen minute encore.

A great stateside debut, Los Van Van's performance was a long-awaited serenade by a creative dynasty of the highest caliber.