Los Van Van make Bogotá dance

This Saturday night the popular Cuban orchestra The Van Van offered a well-known concert in Bogotá, as part of the activities of the Salsa al Parque Festival, one of the most popular musical events in the Colombian capital.

The emblematic group founded more than 50 years by Juan Formell, returned to the event eight years after his last performance there, with a renewed generation of musicians who manage to maintain the hallmark of the popular group, to captivate those attending the concert, according to press reports.

In statements to the agency Latin Press (PL)Samuel Formell, director of the orchestra, stated at the end of the evening that, even though they are used to a warm welcome from the Colombian public, this time “there was incredible energy.”

Although they had not performed at Salsa al Parque for almost a decade, an event that returned to the musical calendar after two years suspended due to the pandemic, “tonight’s reception was very impressive, the public was participating all the time, singing our songs”, he said after having made the large audience dance.

“It’s an unforgettable experience,” he added.

Similarly, Formell announced that by the end of the current year they plan another presentation on Colombian soil during the Cali Fair, after touring throughout Europe with 20 scheduled concerts.

The Van Vans recently held a tour for the United States, with 11 concerts with the also Cuban orchestra Havana D’Primera, which included a presentation in the town of Pembroke Pines, northwest of Miami, which was not without controversy.

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But beyond that, Samuel Formell cataloged so far in 2022 as “a good year” for his group.

“We did not expect so much work. For us it is very necessary to take this music to the whole world and we are very happy that we have been invited to so many countries so there is Van Van for a while”, confessed the heir to the legendary founder of the orchestra.

The repertoire performed this Saturday in Bogotá and that of the upcoming presentations is conducive to showing the public “half a century of Los Van Van’s history,” said the drummer and composer.

Samuel said to PL who is committed to defending his father’s legacy and the orchestra he founded “with great responsibility”. And he concluded that he does it “always thinking of the people, which is what really makes us feel happy because without the people we are nobody, it is the one who really sings our songs, goes to these places, fills them and gives us that positive energy. ”.