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Llegó Los Van Van: A Transnational Introduction. Carlos Palomares Third Term Paper

September 17, 2007

Miami, Fl Adeliade, Australia Seoul, Korea

Merida, Mexico Essen, Germany Milan, Italy

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TABLE OF CONTENTS: PRELUDE: ROAD TRIP, DECEMBER 9TH, 2006 4 INTRODUCTION: TOPIC AND QUESTIONS 5 THEORY AND METHOD: LITERATURE AND MODEL 8 CUBAN POPULAR MUSIC: LITERATURE REVIEW 12 CUBA’S TRANSNATIONAL MUSIC: THE DANCE CRAZES 16 THE SALSA DEBATE 18 THE MUSIC OF LVV: SONGO 21

LLEGO VAN VAN 1999 28 THE COVER 32 THE MUSIC: INTRODUCTION TO THE ORCHESTRA 34 CLAVE CONCEPT: “CLAVE LICENSE” 38 THEMATIC APPROACH 42 THE HISTORY LESSON 43 INTERTEXTUAL SALSA COMMENTARY 51 SOCIAL COMMENTARY: 1990S CUBAN CONTEXT 55 HAVANA CITY” THE ENDING AND THE BEGINNING 56 CONCLUSION 60 CODA 60 APPENDIX 62

1. LLEGÓ VAN VAN TRACKS AND CREDITS 62 2. LOS VAN VAN DISCOGRAPHY 63 3. LOS VAN VAN STAGE PLOT 65 4. PHOTOS OF CALLEJÓN DE HAMEL 66 5. SALSA RHYTHMIC FOUNDATIONS FROM GROVE. 67

BIBLIOGRAPHY 68 RECORDINGS AND FILMS CITED 71

FIGURES AND CD TRACK LISTINGS FIGURE 1. THEORETICAL MODEL INSPIRED BY SLOBIN, APPADURAI, AND SHUKER 11 FIGURE 2. THEORETICAL MODEL APPLIED TO LLEGÓ 11 FIGURE 3. THEORETICAL MODEL: APPLIED TO LLEGÓ AND EXPANDED. 12 FIGURE 4. STANDARD BLUES SHUFFLE PATTERN 25 FIGURE 5. ROLLING STONES “(I CAN’T GET NO) SATISFACTION” RIFF. 26 FIGURE 6. LED ZEPPELIN “ROCK & ROLL” RIFF. 26 FIGURE 7. STANDARD PIANO I IV V MONTUNO. 26 FIGURE 8. LVV “EL NEGRO ESTÁ COCINANDO”MONTUNO. 26 FIGURE 9. BASIC SALSA BASS LINE. 27 FIGURE 10. LVV “SANDUNGERA” BASS LINE. 27 FIGURE 11. LLEGÓ COVER WITH STICKERS. 33 FIGURE 12. STANDARD GÜIRO PATTERN. 36 FIGURE 13 “PERMISO” DRUM INTRO. 36

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FIGURE 14 SON AND RUMBA CLAVE IN 3:2 DIRECTION. 38 FIGURE 15 SON AND RUMBA CLAVE 2:3 DIRECTION. 39 FIGURE 16 EXAMPLE OF CLAVE CHANGE USING CLAVE LICENSE CHANGE 41 TABLE 1: "EL CHEQUE" SON FORM. 46 FIGURE 17 GUAGUANCÓ COMPOSITE RHYTHM. 50 TRACK SONG FIGURE PAGE REFRENCE 1 ROLLING STONES “(I CAN’T GET NO)

SATISFACTION” 18 26

2 LED ZEPPELIN “ROCK & ROLL” 19 26 3 LVV “EL NEGRO ESTÁ COCINANDO” 20 26, 53 4 LVV “SANDUNGERA” 21 27 5 LVV “PERMISO QUE LLEGÓ VAN VAN 13 36, 43–44 6 LVV “ESO DÁMELO A MI” 16 41–42, 55

7 LLL “APPAPAS DEL CALABAR” 44–45 8 LVV "EL CHEQUE" TABLE 2 46 9 LVV “SOMOS CUBANOS” 47–48 10 LVV “TE PONE LA CABEZA MALA” 48 11 LVV “CONSUÉLATE COMO YO” 50–51 12 LVV “NO SOY DE LA GRAN ESCENA” 52 13 LVV “TEMBA TUMBA TIMBA” 53–54 14 LVV “MI CHOCOLATE” 55 14 LVV “HAVANA CITY” 56–59 16 LVV “MARÍLU” 59 17 LVV “LLEGADA” 59

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PRELUDE: ROAD TRIP, DECEMBER 9TH, 2006 As I drove across the border, a Canadian customs agent started by asking the

usual questions.

Agent: Why are you coming to Canada, business or pleasure? Me: Pleasure. Agent: Where are you going? Me: Toronto. Agent: What for? Me: A concert. Agent: Who are you going to see? Me: Los Van Van. Agent: Who are they? Everyone is going there today!

A few hours later, after a brief rest in the hotel room, it was time to go to the show. In the

lobby I realized that I needed to find out if I could bring my camera to the show. I asked a

hotel employee if she could call the club to ask. As she waited on the telephone for an

answer, she asked me a question.

Employee: Who’s playing tonight? Me: Los Van Van. Employee: Oh that’s right, it’s tonight. I wanted to go, but I forgot,

and now I have to work. Because of her reaction and her accent, I asked if she happened to be Cuban. She was

Colombian.

Ten hours of driving for a two-and-one-half hour concert may seem extreme to

some, but as the customs agent indicated, I was not alone crossing from the U.S. into

Canada to see this Cuban band. A quick overview of the audience shows the transnational

nature of this event. Approximately 2000 people attended the band’s first North

American concert in several years. The racially mixed audience’s age range spanned

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from 19 to 70.1 I ran into a student and a professor I know from Ann Arbor. Jose

Contreras, the Cuban pitcher for the 2005 World Series champion White Sox, spent the

whole night posing for photographs. The consul of Panama partied with a small

entourage in the VIP section.2 As is usually the custom during these performances, Los

Van Van’s singer called out various city and country names to which the audience’s

cheers indicated where they were from. That list included various parts of the U.S.

including San Francisco, New York, and Miami.

INTRODUCTION: TOPIC AND QUESTIONS

I am examining the music of Los Van Van (LVV), arguably the most popular

dance band in Cuba for over thirty years, because I want to understand musical and

cultural changes in revolutionary Cuba. In order to account for these changes, I am

primarily interested in the following question: What relationship does the music of LVV

have with the transnational flows of popular music? This question is interesting because

the history of LVV runs concurrently with the history of polarizing debates inside and

outside of Cuba—the Revolution’s cultural changes, the effects of the U.S. embargo, and

the local effects of globalization. To answer this question I will look at the music of

LVV’s 1999 record Llegó…Van Van/Van Van is Here (Llegó) as a window into both the

band’s career and the transnational flows of popular music. 3

1 Personal communication Sophie Giraud, one of the concert’s promoters 31 August

2007. 2 Ibid. 3 Formell, Juan and Los Van Van, 1999, Llegó…Van Van/Van Van is Here, Havana Caliente/Atlantic Recording CD 83227-2, Miami: Pimienta Records Company.

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The changes I am examining show how Cuba actively participates in transnational

flows of culture. The music of LVV challenges the popular image of Cuba: the island

nation is frequently depicted as trapped in time, isolated from twentieth and twenty-first

century globalizing forces, and avoiding U.S. cultural imperialism. One example is the

image presented in the film The Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC).4 In the film old men

play an almost forgotten old music as 1950s-era Chevrolets still roam the streets of

today’s Havana.

The U.S./Cuba relationship has been integral to the history of Cuba since at least

1898, the year the U.S. entered Cuba’s war for independence from Spain. In October of

1962, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear war over Soviet

missiles detected in Cuba. As I write this, Fidel Castro turned over control to his brother,

Raúl, over a year ago and the Soviet Union fell apart almost twenty years ago. The U.S.

and Cuba, however, maintain a political standoff that, as LVV’s history illustrates, has not

succeeded in stopping the flow of music. This research is an attempt to enrich our

understanding of this ideologically tense period in Cuban and U.S. relations through a

case study of the music of this influential band.

To define the object of this study, I will answer 6 questions presented by Anthony

Seeger.5 From the band’s formation to the present, LVV has performed for international

and Cuban audiences. The interest of this essay is the transnational context of the

“performance” of the recording Llegó. Llegó foregrounds the complex transnational

4 Buena Vista Social Club, 1999, DVD, directed by Wim Wenders (Santa Monica:

Artisan Entertainment). 5 Seeger 1998a, 55–56. The questions are (1) Who is performing? (2) For whom are they

performing? (3) What are they performing? (4) Where are they performing? (5) where are

they performing? (6) When is it performed? (7) Why are people performing music in that

way?

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musical interactions that have always been integral to LVV’s music. This picture is

particularly complex because of the political context that has framed LVV’s career: both

Cuba’s somewhat self-imposed isolation and the effects of the U.S. embargo of Cuba.

Although not LVV’s first attempt, this effort to make a dent in the U.S. Latino market was

recognized with the 2000 Grammy award for best salsa performance. For this reason, I

am considering this effort to be a success.

While scholarly research in the field of Latin music is growing, there has been a

paucity of scholarly attention into the music of one of the most important popular music

groups in Cuba of the Fidel Castro era.6 Studies of Cuban music have multiplied in recent

years; however, government restrictions, from both Cuba and the U.S., have challenged

scholars trying to research issues and changes in Cuba. 7 Although LVV’s career began

ten years into the Revolution, with the exception of one Cuban musicologist, no one has

taken more than a cursory look at the band and the music.

This paper takes the following structure. First, I will present the literature

providing the theoretical framework for my study. I propose a model for this research

drawing from the writing of Roy Shuker (2001), Arjun Appadurai (1996), and Mark

Slobin (1992). I then illustrate how I imagine this model would work by inserting LVV

and Llegó. From there I will provide some historical context to illustrate that Cuban

6 Cuban musicologist Neris González Bello is the only scholar I have found researching

the music of LVV. Because of the difficulty in locating Cuban publications, however, it is

possible that there are other Cuban texts with more information on LVV. Though this

essay will reference one article, (See González Bello 2000), I have not been able to

access her thesis: “Juan Formell y Los Van Van: 30 años de historia y vigencia en el contexto cubano” (Juan Formell and Los Van Van: 30 Years of History and Effect in the

Cuban context) 1999. 7 See Hagedorn 2001, Chapter 1and Moore 1997, ix–x. I cite Moore, R. 2002, 51–52

below to expand on this.

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music has long been transnational and to discuss briefly the debate regarding salsa as a

musical genre. Next, I will discuss LVV’s music and significance and their own term

songo. The rest of the essay is dedicated to the analysis of Llegó. I answer the question:

why analyze an album released in 1999? The analysis then looks at some observations

about the physical product of the CD. Lastly, I examine some songs on Llegó as the band

announces its arrival to a new transnational audience. The analysis reveals how LVV

negotiates the dialectics of tradition/innovation and local/global, their signature sound,

their conscious reflection on history, and their socio-cultural context.

THEORY AND METHOD

Understanding today’s music culture requires an examination of the role of

globalization in the distribution of music.8 Understanding musical change in Cuba, as

well as in the music of LVV, involves investigating the dynamics of musical interaction

between Cuba and global flows of popular music thus contributing to the broader interest

of the discipline of ethnomusicology. Nettl summarizes a shift in the discipline of

ethnomusicology as a whole as going from (1) a concern with the study of the music of a

particular culture to find the differences among cultures to (2) a concern with the study of

music to understand the increasing interactions between musical cultures.9 In this study I

will illustrate an example offering some answers to one question of interest to the

discipline: “How do the world’s musics transmit themselves, maintaining continuity and

also engaging in change?”10

8 Nettl 2005, 453. 9 Ibid, 442. 10 Ibid, 452.

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In Understanding Popular Music, Shuker states that the “nature of meaning in

cultural products and practices must be located within the dynamic interrelationship of

the production context, the texts and their creators, and the audience.”11 Therefore, this

study examines Llegó with the four factors in mind: (1) the “production context,”

situating Llegó in the commercial world of global music and within the historical and

political context of U.S./Cuba relations; (2) “the creators of the text,” LVV along with the

related music industry personnel involved in the production of Llegó; (3) the text, the CD

as a product including the packaging and sounds; (4) the audience, for now I am

primarily concerned with their North American audience.

Several cultural theorists have developed frameworks for understanding

globalization with Appadurai’s five -scapes being among the most influential. Appadurai

describes a web of interacting and constantly shifting -scapes shaping the global flow of

culture through the movement of people, money, ideas, technology, and media:

respectively, the ethnoscapes, financescapes, ideoscapes, technoscapes, and

mediascapes.12 At various points the analysis of Llegó as a global cultural product

foregrounds one or more of the -scapes. The same processes have been at play throughout

the history of LVV.

Building on Appadurai’s -scapes, ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin’s framework

involves subculture, superculture, and interculture. Slobin posits that:

If “culture” was the sum of lived experience and stored knowledge of a discrete population that differed from neighboring groups. Now it seems that there is no one experience and knowledge that identifies everyone within a defined “cultural” boundary, or if there is it’s not the total content of their lives… for musical experience people live at the intersection of three types of -cultures… A theory

11 Shuker 2001, 241 12 Appadurai 1996, 33.

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and method of current musical life that rests on a notion of overlaps, intersections, and nestings of the sort [the prefixes] sub-, super-, and inter- represent.13

Through this framework we see the “musical interplay… between individual, community,

small group, state, and industry.”14

In figure one below, this dynamic relationship is diagramed. The model shows

that a performer creates a musical text, which is heard by an audience, or audiences,

framed within the context of the five -scapes. The lines between audience and performer

are dotted to represent that in mass-mediated music this interaction is spread by time and

space. Some audience members belong to the same subculture while others are involved

in an intercultural interaction. Furthermore, at any given moment an audience member

can go from a member of a common subculture to an interculture relationship.15 This

relationship affects the performer’s performance of the text and audiences’ reception of

the text. Furthermore, the contexts of the various -scapes affect the nature of this

interaction. Unfortunately the diagram appears static, but in reality the diagram should be

imagined moving. In addition, though all these elements are always in play, any analysis

will constantly adjust as one or more of the -scapes comes into focus.

In figure two, I apply the model to LVV’s record. In addition, figure three

separates the elements to investigate the implications of the model. The text, or to use

musicological terminology the “score,” that I am analyzing is the album Llegó, as sounds

and the physical product. The context includes the specific historical, political, cultural,

13 Slobin 1992, 2. 14 Ibid, 4. 15 For example, when I listen to LVV, at times, my background knowledge places me in

the same subculture as LVV. At other times, however, I experience the music from an

intercultural realm when, for example, LVV includes Afro-Cuban sacred themes of which

I am less familiar.

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social, and economic factors, drawn from the -scapes, which are implicated in any

understanding of Llegó. The performer is not just LVV but also the various agents that

have an interest in the success (commercial and artistic) of the record: for example, the

record label, producer, recording engineer, managers, and lawyers. Lastly the

transnational audience is made up of Cuban and international consumers. I look at LVV’s

music through this model to see the effects of a globalized world on musical and cultural

change. In this model, LVV and popular dance music in revolutionary Cuba, are

considered as a subculture of their own. Specifically, for the purposes of this paper, I am

investigating LVV’s intercultural connections with North American popular music

subcultures.

Figure 22. Theoretical model inspired by Slobin, Appadurai, and Shuker

Figure 23. Theoretical model applied to Llegó

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Figure 24. Theoretical model: applied to Llegó and expanded. 16

CUBAN POPULAR MUSIC LITERATURE REVIEW

If the academy was slow to take popular music seriously, it took even longer to

look beyond the Euro-American sphere.17 Shuker argues that the majority of popular

16 Figures 2 and 3 are intended to show the various directions this analysis could go by

inserting an example into the model. Many of the issues raised in the figure will be

examined and illustrated in this essay.

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music studies “concentrate on one national context, or the Anglo-American nexus of

popular music” and privilege rock .18 Béhague gives an idea where Latin American music

research was in 1975. His bibliographic review shows that there were a wide range of

types and topics of study, with some interest developing outside Latin America. Most in

depth studies, however, were from Latin America with few studies of popular music

genres. 19 The field of Latin(o) American popular music study is so new that in 2003

Pacini Hernández calls it an emerging field.20 The journal Ethnomusicology began

publishing articles on popular music, but only two articles on Latin American popular

music were published during the 1970s.21 The majority of work in this field did not begin

until the 1980s.22

In the 1970s John Storm Roberts was a trailblazer in the field. As Manuel notes,

though Storm Robert’s work is more journalistic than scholarly, his books are

informative.23 Furthermore, when considering the lacuna of scholarly interest in the

1970s, these books are important starting points. In Black Music of Two Worlds (1972),

Storm Roberts authored a work on the wider African diaspora including Latin America.

In Latin Tinge, a widely respected text first published in 1979, Storm Roberts was one of

17 See Pacini Hernandez 2003 and Manuel, Peter, “Popular Music: II. World Popular

Music.” 18 Shuker, 242. 19 Béhague 1975, 190. 20 Pacini Hernández 2003, 13. 21 The two articles were Béhague (1973) on Brazilian bossa nova and Blum (1978) on

salsa. Ibid, 16–17. 22 Ibid, 13. 23 Manuel, “Popular Music: II. World Popular Music.”

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the first authors to take the Latin American influence on American popular music

seriously.24

North American scholarly interest in Cuban popular music began to grow in the

1980s. The journal, Latin American Music Review, published thorough examinations of

two important Cuban popular music genres; rumba (Crook 1982) and son (Robbins

1990). These two genres, developed in the 19th-century, are important antecedents to

LVV’s music. Peter Manuel (1987) examines popular music in the context of Cuba’s

socialist ideology. Manuel looks at several different types of popular music in Cuba in

order to examine both public attitudes and government policies toward the different

styles. He states that his goal is to show the complexities involved especially with regard

to the government policy as stated and as practiced. His focus is on attitudes towards the

music rather than musical analysis.25

In Essays on Cuban Music: North American and Cuban Perspectives (1991)

Manuel has compiled, edited, and translated Cuban and North American scholarly work

about music in Cuba. This eclectic mix of articles provides some contextual background

information. Two chapters examine the music industry in Cuba. Acosta’s “The Problem

of Music and its Dissemination in Cuba” is a critique of music production in Cuba from a

leading Cuban scholar. Acosta proposes how to take from a capitalist model while

maintaining revolutionary goals and principles. Robbins’ “Institutions, Incentives, and

Evaluations in Cuban Music-Making” provides an outsider’s perspective on music

24 For more info on Latin American to North American musical influences see Narváez

1994, Washburne 1997, Béhague 2002 25 Manuel 1987, 161. Manuel 1987 is a revision and expansion of Manuel 1985.

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production in Cuba. He describes details about the institutions of and administration of

music policies in Cuba.

After 1990, the growth in interest about Cuba and its music was exponential. Two

books by ethnomusicologist Robin Moore are particularly relevant here. Nationalizing

Blackness (1997) and Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba (2006)

examine the pre- and post-revolutionary periods respectively. In both he notes the

difficulty of his subject matter due to political (ideoscape) matters. In my view Moore is

one of the most successful at navigating this difficult terrain. As a result he notes, “to

supporters of socialist Cuba, [his] study will probably seem overly critical, while to

others it may appear ‘soft.’”26 In another article Moore writes about the difficulty of

studying Cuba:

Essays… involving history from the socialist period are problematic for various reasons. One is that all books and articles printed within Cuba are issued by government agencies that control their content. It is therefore difficult to evaluate their accuracy or objectivity. A second is that people interviewed on the island are often reluctant to speak openly with researchers about issues that could be construed as critical of the government, a third is that even much of the academic literature about Cuba from abroad is extremely polarized, either unrealistically supportive or critical of recent policies, and is often not based upon extended fieldwork in the country. A fourth is that socialism has so fundamentally altered social and cultural life that to provide a thorough background for this analysis would require an extended essay of its own.27

I use this extended quotation to highlight the difficultly in studying a band from this era.

Moore’s observations may be the reasons for the shortage of scholarly work on

the Castro era and on LVV in particular. It is not difficult to find the many journalistic

articles and brief reviews of LVV’s career available. Most of these just reiterate the same

26 Moore, R. 2006, xiii-xiv. 27 Moore, R. 2002, 51–52.

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basic story without looking at “how” or “why” questions. Such publications were useful,

however, in gathering some of the basic information about the band.28 One article that

stands out, however, is Neris González Bello’s (2000) article “¡Llegó Van Van! El mejor

disco de salsa en el Grammy 2000.” Published in the Cuban music journal, Clave, it

provides an excellent analysis of the CD from the subculture insider perspective, focusing

primarily on the lyrics of the songs. I will return to some of her observations when I

discuss the CD below.

CUBA’S TRANSNATIONAL MUSIC: THE DANCE CRAZES.

The various Cuban and Latin music crazes to circulate the globe show that what

scholars were ignoring, or slow to acknowledge, was not being ignored by the dancing

public or the music industry. In I Love Lucy, one of the U.S.’s classic television

programs, Desi Arnaz plays Ricky Ricardo; both actor and character were Cuban. It is not

a coincidence that Ricky Ricardo is a Cuban dance music bandleader. Looking back at

the habanera rhythm of Bizet’s Carmen to the “Spanish tinge” of Jelly Roll Morton’s

jazz, the music of Cuba has long been transnational and has frequently been an important

contributor to U.S. popular music and popular culture.

A virtual conga line connects the habanera through Ricky Ricardo to LVV, and

many others, dancing through both U.S. and Cuban popular cultures. Probably the first

Cuban dance music to spread beyond Cuba’s border, the habanera has roots in the French

contredanse. In the late 18th century, as French and Haitians fled the Haitian revolution,

28 See Valdés Cantero 1986, Fernández Bendoyro 1999, Mauleón and Faro 1999, Vilar

2000 Friedler accessed 2005, and Rodríguez 2006. See also the following music

instructional materials Mauleón 1993, Del Puerto 1994, Quintana and Mauleón 1996,

Quintana and Silverman 1998, Mauleón Santana 1999, Stagnaro 2001, and Cruz 2004.

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many ended up in the eastern part of Cuba. The piano, violin, and flute trio of the

contredanse eventually became the Cuban contradanza with the incorporation of Cuban

percussion and the habanera rhythm.29 The same habanera rhythm wound up in the early

New Orleans jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton’s example of what he called the “Spanish

tinge.” Morton claimed the “Spanish tinge” was a necessary ingredient to make jazz, long

before the invention of Latin jazz.30 The music of Cuba’s long transnational status could

not lie solely on the short rhythmic cell that also traveled the world through Argentina’s

tango. In the twentieth century Cuba’s son, rumba, mambo, and chachachá would each

have their moments as international dance crazes and lead eventually the much-debated

“salsa.”

After the mambo and chachachá of the 1950s, Cuba’s successive waves of

popular dance crazes hit a brick wall in the 1960s. The U.S. imposed an economic

embargo on Cuba that remains in force nearly fifty years later. On the Cuban side, the

government isolated itself from the international market in an effort to fight the

imperialism of its northern neighbor.31 As the Cuban government nationalized the music

industry, many popular music performers fled the island.32 Of course many others stayed:

some of whom were sympathetic with the revolutionary cause.33 The political climate of

the time all but completely stopped the influx of new Cuban music to the U.S. In Cuba of

the 1960s, political and social changes led to what several authors have called a crisis in

29 Alén Rodríguez 1998, 121–122. 30 Storm Roberts 1999, 39. 31 Moore 2006, 121. Moore describes “the ‘autoblockade’…that excluded salsa from

domestic airplay.” 32 See Moore 2006 Chapters 2 and 3 for details on Cuba’s nationalization of the music

industry during this period. See also Perna 2005, 28–32. 33 Pacini Hernandez and Garofalo 2004, 52.

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Cuban music popular music.34 At the same time, no one, in the U.S. or Cuba, was

immune to the effects of Beatlemania. Rock and roll overwhelmed Latin dance music in

the U.S., and with no influx of new rhythms from Cuba, the stage was set for a new era

and new genres—salsa and songo.

THE SALSA DEBATE

Many scholars and musicians have debated the term “salsa,” since the mid-

seventies when the term became used widely in the U.S. music industry and popular

media. Many have argued salsa’s origins and even if salsa exists. Older musicians

claimed salsa was just a sauce and that they were playing the same Cuban music as

before.35 Young musicians, especially in New York but also in Puerto Rico and other

parts of Latin America, argued for recognition of a new style. While I have no intention

to join this debate, understanding Llegó requires some review of the term, the literature,

and the debate. Many parts of Llegó and Cuban dance music since the 1960s could be

seen as a response to the international salsa phenomenon.36

Manuel (1994) argues that “most of the predominant Puerto Rican musics, from

the nineteenth-century danza to contemporary salsa, have been originally derived from

abroad—particularly Cuba.”37 In contrast, Duany’s ideological position regarding the

term “salsa” is clear form the article “Popular Music in Puerto Rico: Toward an

Anthropology of Salsa” (1984). He clearly argues against just seeing salsa as a marketing

term for Cuban music and for an acknowledgement of the contribution of Puerto Ricans.

34 See for example Padura 2003, 62 and Perna 2005, 32. 35 Loza 1999, 16. 36 Froelicher (2005) argues that the genre timba must be seen as a continuation of the

Cuban “anti-salsa discourse.” 37 Manuel 1994, 249. Berríos-Miranda (2003) challenges Manuel’s assertions.

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Duany concludes that salsa is an amalgamation of Caribbean folk traditions, musical

styles, and rhythms with a North American influence from jazz and soul. Furthermore, he

says that salsa provides models for behavior for facing realities of economic dependence

and the social marginality of the barrio.38 The traits of salsa that Duany lists include:

- Call-and-response song structure - Polyrhythmic organization and emphasis in role of percussion and syncopation - Instrumental variety: brass and percussion with strident orchestration - Jazz influence - Reliance on themes and sounds of lower class life in Latin American barrios39

The traits are general enough to fit the various definitions of salsa.

For political and economic reasons, in Cuba the term salsa initially met with

resistance: it was labeled, by some, as a marketing term invented in the U.S. to hide and

capitalize on the Cuban roots of the music.40 Furthering this argument, some salsa

recordings of songs written by Cuban artists were not credited to their authors but as DR,

or derechos reservados (rights reserved), because U.S. embargo prohibited economic

trade with Cuba and paying the songs’ composers.41 By the 1980s salsa’s popularity in

Cuba had grown through radio broadcasts received from Miami and a concert tour of

Cuba by the Venezuelan salsa band—led by Oscar De León.42 In Cuba salsa was slowly

accepted, by some, as an expression of a pan-Latino anti-U.S. cultural imperialism

identity. In 1987 LVV released the record Al son del Caribe, with songs that celebrated

38 For scholarly literature reviews about the salsa debate see especially Pacini Hernandez

2003, and Berríos-Miranda 2003. 39 Duany 1984, 187. 40 For more information on Cuban perspective to salsa debate see Moore 2006, 119–122. 41 Gerard and Sheller 1998, 29 and Moore 2006, 121. 42 Moore 2006, 122.

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pan-Latino or pan-Caribbean identity.43 In the late 1980s Cuban musicians responded by

trying to distinguish their music from international salsa, but at the same time,

appropriating the term to capitalize on the popularity of salsa by calling their music salsa

cubana, which would eventually be labeled timba. 44

In the early 1990s, Cuban novelist Leonardo Padura Fuentes interviewed

musicians (including LVV’s bandleader), a promoter, and a Cuban musicologist, both

Cuban and other nationalities. These are compiled in the book Faces of Salsa: A Spoken

History of the Music. Through the interviews Padura Fuentes examines opinions about

salsa and the salsa debate. Padura Fuentes shows that U.S. salsa musicians never denied

the Cuban roots of salsa but added themes of barrio life and struggle that distinguished

the music from earlier Cuban music—a theme Padura Fuentes connects to what Formell

was doing in LVV.45 The interviews reveal attitudes towards post-1959 Cuban music in

general, and LVV in particular, with historically relevant information regarding the 1970s

and 1980s. Today it is generally accepted that “salsa” is a marketing term but it is also a

type of music. The music developed in New York, primarily by Puerto Ricans but also

other Latino musicians, who were inspired by their own cultures and by Cuban son.46 At

43 Formell, Juan and Los Van Van, 1987, Al son del Caribe, EGREM LD 4367. Also available as Formell, Juan and Los Van Van , 1995, Colección Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. XII, EGREM CD 0138. 44 Timba is a genre of Cuban dance music that draws heavily from both African-

American and Afro-Cuban street culture: music, dance, words, and dress. Timba is

largely associated with the 1990s, a period known as the “special period in times of

peace.” Castro coined this phrase to describe the period of economic collapse after the

fall of the Soviet Union, which ended subsidies that the Cuban government previously

received. (Perna 2005, 2) For a study of timba see Perna 2005. 45 Some musicians interviewed by Boggs 1992 also acknowledged Cuban son as an

influence of their music but also emphasized the difference of, not just the barrio themes,

but drawing from other musical sources. 46 Gerard and Sheller 1998, 28.

21

the same time that New York musicians were developing the sound that would eventually

be labeled salsa, back in Cuba, Juan Formell formed LVV and was developing the sound

that he labeled songo.

THE MUSIC OF LVV: SONGO

When Juan Formell (born 2 August 1942) formed LVV in 1969, no one could

have guessed that LVV would become one of the most important dance bands in

revolutionary Cuba. Almost forty years later, the band remains popular inside Cuba and

has gained international listenership. On the one hand, the success of LVV has depended

on Formell, the musical director, songwriter, and bassist, and his ability to keep his finger

on the pulse of popular taste in Cuba. On the other hand, Formell owes a huge debt to the

musical innovators of Cuban dance music who staked out the path for him. From LVV’s

early experiments with rock to the current sound of timba, the band has maintained its

position at the forefront of Cuban dance music and has managed to stay relevant to their

home audience. As musical director of LVV, Formell has experimented with different

timbres, styles, and instrumentations inspired by traditional Afro-Cuban dance and sacred

music, infusing them with North American and European influences. All along, LVV has

managed to ground technical and musical innovation within the musical traditions of

Cuba, becoming one of Cuba’s most influential popular music bands of the revolutionary

period.

22

Several authors have commented on LVV’s influence on Cuban popular music.47

Ethnomusicologist Robin Moore states that LVV “might be considered the Rolling Stones

of Cuba.” He continues, “The history of LVV, one of the most important dance bands to

emerge in the late 1960s, demonstrates the creativity of ensembles of that time.”48

Timba.com contributor, Kevin Moore, is currently writing about the 1970s output of LVV

and two other bands for an online book on the roots of the 1990s Cuban dance music,

timba. K. Moore calls LVV “a group that has stayed at the true leading edge of its

country’s music longer than any other in the history of music—and which shows no signs

of slowing down after nearly 40 years.” 49 Lastly, the Italian ethnomusicologist, Vincenzo

Perna, credits José Luis “El Tosco” Cortés, a LVV alumnus, as the originator of timba. 50

Throughout his book, Timba (2005), Perna illustrates that LVV are both one of the

principal Cuban influences leading to timba and one of the important timba bands.51

Looking back, LVV’s influence can be traced to the development of songo.

Songo’s origins are traced to the earliest music of LVV. In particular Formell and former

LVV drummer, José Luis “Changuito” Quintana are usually credited with starting songo.52

Because songo forms the foundation of much of LVV’s music throughout the band’s

47 Vilar 2000 offers a Cuban journalistic report on the importance and influence of the

band. González Bello 2000 also discusses the importance of the band. Both authors see

the Grammy as in honor for LVV overall career not just Llegó. 48 Moore R. 2006, 113. 49 Moore K. 2007, “Roots of Timba.” 50 Cortés also performed with another influential 1970s Cuban jazz band, Irakere. 51 In Perna the other influential Cuban band is the jazz band Irakere. Kevin Moore is

investigating LVV, Irakere, and Rimto Oriental as the 1970s roots of timba. 52 Gerard and Sheller 1998, 99 and Waxer, “Los Van Van.” Quintana (1996) credits

Formell first and foremost. He also credits Blas Egues the original drummer for LVV for

laying the groundwork to songo. Quintana expanded the rhythmic concept. Along with

Formell, Quintana, and Egues, LVV keyboardist, Cesar “Pupi” Pedroso, should be added

to the list of songo originators.

23

career and some, including Cuban musicologist González Bello, believe that Llegó is a

modern songo record more so than a timba record, some discussion of songo is required

in this essay.53 Like many other terms in Cuban music such as timba and mambo,

defining songo is extremely difficult, but several have tried.

Songo may be described as a genre or a rhythm, but the following discussion

suggests songo is best described as an approach to making music. Gerard and Sheller sum

up songo as “in essence… playing rumba on the trap set.”54 Mauleón’s influential book,

Salsa Guidebook for Piano and Ensemble (1993), defines songo as, “a contemporary,

eclectic rhythm which blends several styles, including rumba, son, conga and other

Cuban secular as well as sacred styles, with elements of North American jazz and

funk.”55 Mauleón adds that in songo “each instrument part is not as rigid as in other

styles…[and] there is little adherence to any regular, repeated figure.”56 Mauleón also

worked with Quintana to release a video, The History of Songo. Though the video does

not quite live up to its name, Quintana’s playing on trap drumset, congas, and timbales

does show some of the variety that makes up songo rhythm patterns.

Kevin Moore lists six possible definitions pertinent to Cuban popular dance

music:

1) The music of Los Van Van.

2) The music of Cuba in the 70s and 80s.

3) The most common Cuban genre of the 70s and 80s.

4) A specific rhythm.

5) A potpourri of eclectic rhythmic and harmonic experiments by Formell and

others, which depart completely from the [specific rhythm of] #4.

53 González Bello 2000, 12. 54 Gerard and Sheller 1998, 99. 55 Mauleón 1993, 258. 56 Ibid, 73.

24

6) A section of a timba arrangement where one or more of the rhythm section

instruments plays a pattern derived from songo.57

Under songo definition number four, Moore lists the following five characteristics of the

specific songo rhythm:

a) A brisk tempo of 105–130 beats per minute.

b) 2-3 rumba clave.58

c) A hybrid drumset and timbale. In particular timbale and bass drum.59

d) Rumba guaguancó conga rhythms with melodic combinations of open tones.60

e) Bass patterns that include beat one of the measure and syncopation with

accents on clave beats.

Moore’s “specific rhythm” is just a list of characteristics, and Mauleón writes that there

seems to be no “specific rhythm.”61 This may explain the contradiction between Moore’s

fourth and fifth definitions. On the video Quintana seems to contradict Moore; one of

Quintana’s songo variations is described as in a 2:3 son clave.

K. Moore’s third characteristic of songo is one of Formell’s important changes to

the traditional dance band. The use of trap drumset was one of Formell’s earliest

innovations. Inspired by North American big bands, Cuba already had its share of jazz

big bands using the full trap drumset. What Formell did was add the trap drumset to a

traditional dance ensemble called a charanga.62 The first LVV drumset (Blas Egües’)

“consisted of toms, snare drum, bass drum and a large piece of bamboo called ‘caña

57 Moore, K. 2007 “Roots of Timba.” 58 Clave is an organizing rhythmic timeline principal found through out many Cuban

music genres. For more on clave see the discussion of clave see page 35 below. The

plural claves refers to the idiophone instrument, two polished wooden sticks used to play

clave. 59 Timbales: “a set of two, tuneable drums createeds in Cuba–derived from European

tympani–mounted on a tripod and played with sticks.” Mauelón 1993, 258. The drum

head are connected to a metal structure. Orovio, 2004. 210. 60 Conga barrel shaped wooden or fiberglass drum, known in Cuba as tumbadora. The

guaguancó a type of rumba will be discussed bellow. 61 Quintana and Mauelon 1996. 62 Mauleón and Faro 1999, 8.

25

brava’” and no high hat or cymbals.63 In Quintana’s twenty-five years with the band the

drumset expanded. Eventually, the drumset became a hybrid between timbales and the

drumset. Samuel Formell, the current drummer and Juan Formell’s son, continues to use

the hybrid.64

To understand songo it is important to remember that Formell cites rock music as

an early influence on his LVV sound experiments. Songo shares with rock an emphasis on

song-identifying riffs and patterns.65 In other words, patterns previously were defined by

the genre and are now defined by the specifics of a particular song.

On the one hand, early rock ’n’ roll and rhythm and blues often featured one of

several blues shuffle patterns that define a chord and can be transposed to define the other

harmonies, and, most importantly, that can be reused for any number of songs. Figure 4

shows one such pattern, a standard blues shuffle.

Figure 25. Standard blues shuffle pattern

On the other hand, in the mid- to late-1960s rock songs that were still riff-based more

frequently featured a song-identifying riff: For example, Figure 5 shows the instantly

identifiable Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”:

63 Quintana 1996, 4. 64 For the rest of the paper the name Formell alone refers to the father, Juan Formell. In

addition to timbales, Samuel’s drumset includes: 22” kick drum; 10”, 12”, and 16” tom

toms; snare drum; high hat; and four cymbals.

http://www.vanvandeformell.com/technical-ridel.php accessed 8/22/07. 65 Of course there were song specific riffs long before rock just as some rock songs

continued to recycle generic riffs. The same is true of son and songo. In both rock and

songo, however, the emphasis seems to shift toward the defining riff.

26

Figure 26. Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” riff. CD Track 1.66

Figure 6 is an example of a riff that replaces the generic shuffle patterns in the 12-bar

blues of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll:”

Figure 27. Led Zeppelin “Rock & Roll” riff. CD Track 2.67

In the same way, older Cuban sons frequently featured standard patterns,

montunos, for the tres, a type of Cuban guitar later replaced by piano in many

ensembles.68

Figure 28. Standard Piano I IV V montuno.

Many of LVV’s songs feature piano montunos instantly identify the song.

Figure 29. LVV “El negro está cocinando”montuno. CD Track 3.69

66 Rolling Stones, 2002, Forty Licks, ABKCO Music & Records CD 133782. 67 Led Zeppelin, 1990, Led Zeppelin, Atlantic Records CD 782144-2. 68 See also Appendix p. 64 for salsa rhythmic foundations from Wise, “Salsa.” 69 Thanks to Kevin Moore for correcting this transcription.

27

This is also true in bass patterns. Figure 9 and 10 compare a basic salsa bass line to the

bass line from one of LVV’s best known songs from the 1980s “Sandungera” (No literal

translation but refers to a woman who dances in a particular manner).

Figure 30. Basic salsa bass line.

Figure 31. LVV “Sandungera” bass line.CD Track 4.70

While the two bass lines are similar, Figure 9 is frequently used with no particular song

to refer back to, but if Figure 10 is used it would instantly reference “Sandungera.”

All of this may help explain the difficulty in pinpointing a definition for songo.

Instead songo seems to be more of an approach to music that includes some breaking

away from the standard patterns, which were more or less consistent from one song to the

next in previous Cuban dance genres. This is not to say that songo was a complete break

with the past. Instead songo includes a song-centered approach that built on established

patterns from a wide range of music genres both Cuban and North American.

In addition to influencing the development of songo, rock artists may have also

influenced Formell’s approach to record production. Inspired by the Beatles and other

late 1960s-era rock bands, Juan Formell began packaging albums conceptually beginning

with the second record (1974). Concept records were packaged as “more than a

convenient collection of tracks. Rather, [they] had a beginning, an end, a sense of

70 Formell, Juan and Los Van Van, 1988, Songo, Island Records CD 9908.

28

dramatic pacing, and an identity and artistic value which was hopefully more than just the

sum of its parts.”71 Llegó is no different.

LLEGÓ LVV: 1999

Llegó… VanVan was released in the year 1999, which stands out as one of Los

Van Van’s most successful. The Grammy awarded for Llegó was the first for a Cuban-

based dance band recording.72 The same year, Ashé Records released a two-disc greatest-

hits LVV compilation with an informative bilingual 106-page booklet.73 The songs on

these CDs included songs recorded for the Cuban national record label, EGREM, that

were re-mastered to meet North American expectations (technoscapes). The film Van

Van: Empezó la fiesta [The Party Began], released by the national film company, ICAIC,

features retrospective footage of the band’s career, of the Grammy award celebration, and

of a huge outdoor thirtieth anniversary concert in Havana.74 Finally this same year, LVV

embarked on a five-week tour of the United States including a controversial concert in

Miami.75

71 K. Moore 2007 “Roots of Timba” 72 “The Salsa Censors” 2000, Time 155, no13, April 3, p. 78. 73 For comparison, these liner notes meticulously documented the bands career,

personnel, discography, song lyrics and credits. In Cuban national record label’s 1995

collection of reissues of the original fifteen LVV releases, each CD was packaged with

minimal notes and inconsistent audio quality. See Appendix for Discography. 74 Formell, Juan and Los Van Van 2000, Van Van: Empezó la fiesta!, VHS, Primer Plano Film Group, Arca Difusión and Instituto Cubano de Arte e Industria Cinematográfica, Havana: Video ICAIC. 75 The ethnoscape and ideoscapes were particularly intense when LVV’s Miami

performance was met with major protest from some members of Miami’s Cuban-

American community. With Miami’s mayor calling LVV “The Official Band of Fidel

Castro” Castillo 1999, p 35.

29

Llegó also marked the end of an era before a major transition. Llegó was the last

recording to feature two prominent members of the group. Keyboardist Cesar “Pupi”

Pedroso was a founding member of the band, and only Formell has written more of the

band’s hit songs. The other musician to leave, Pedro “Pedrito” Calvo was an iconic lead

singer with the band for almost two decades. On LVV’s next and most recent studio

release, Chapeando, Formell’s son, Samuel Formell, is listed as musical director.76

Previously always listed as the musical director, Formell Sr. is listed as producer and

general director of Chapeando. Lastly, Pavel Molina now shares bass playing duties with

Juan Formell both on Chapeando and in concert. In fact, at the 2006 concert in Toronto,

Molina played bass on the majority of the songs. Formell sang some and gave directions

to Samuel. It is likely Formell was training his future successor.

1999 was also the year of the release of the Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC) film,

Wim Wenders’ hugely successful documentary about a group of older Cuban son

musicians playing in a traditional style. A record with the same name was released two

years earlier. Ry Cooder, a North American guitarist, was involved in the production of

the first CD. The film was shot when Cooder returned to Cuba to record another album:

Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer, also released in 1999.77 Though Perna

states that the original album was released “with good press response but tepid initial

sales,” the first record must have been lucrative enough to merit Cooder and Wenders

return to film the next BVSC project. Many critics and scholars have noted the film seems

76 Formell, Juan and Los Van Van, 2006, Chapeando, Unicornio Producciones CD AHI-

1051. 77 Ferrer, Ibrahim, 1999, Buena Vista Social Club Presents: Ibrahim Ferrer, Nonesuch

Records CD 79532-2.

30

to portray Cooder as a colonial explorer discovering these forgotten musicians and a

forgotten music.78

Perna devotes a chapter to examining the impact of the international success of

the BVSC in Cuba.79 He states:

Through its old-fashioned sounds and its celebration of elderly musicians, the

album constructed a nostalgic representation of the island promoted by the tourist

industry at the turn of the millennium.80

Perna illustrates that the Cuban Government embraced the marketing of the BVSC, which

proved to be quite lucrative for the government and represented a safer image of Cuba

than the image projected by many of the timba bands. Ironically, the government’s

harshest critics, and perhaps many of those who protested LVV’s 1999 Miami concert,

also embraced the nostalgia of BVSC.81 It is important to keep this context in mind in the

analysis of Llegó. Perna even claims that when Formell named the timba genre at a press

conference in 1998 and this could be seen as a “strategic move.” “[The] leaders of Cuban

dance music bands intended to challenge the equation between Buena Vista and national

music.”82 In other words, Llegó can be seen as challenging the romanticized image

present in BVSC by showing a contemporary music culture up to date with global music

trends.

It appears that all the -scapes lined up just right for LVV in 1999. An examination

of the late 1990s ideoscape shows a significant warming in the relations between the U.S.

78 See for example Katerí Hernández 2002, although I have found several problems with this article see Palomares 2006 unpublished manuscript. For another side to the BVSC debate see Godfried 2000. Godfried defends the BVSC project from its critics. 79 See Perna 2005 chapter 9. 80 Perna 2005, 240. 81 Ibid, 263. 82 Ibid, 240

31

and Cuba. During Bill Clinton’s presidency cultural exchanges between the two countries

were frequent. Cuban musicians toured the U.S., and U.S. citizens with state department

licenses traveled to Cuba legally. Turning to the technoscapes, Llegó was recorded at a

new world-class recording studio that had recently opened in Havana.83 Abdala studios

was a project of Silvio Rodriguez, one of the best-known singers of nueva trova, a type of

protest song popular throughout Latin America. Rodriguez founded Abdala with the goal

to build a world-class recording studio in Cuba.

To release Llegó and circumvent the U.S. embargo, LVV signed a contract with

the Dutch company Harbor Bridge. Harbor Bridge’s relationship with the New York-

based company Havana Caliente and Havana Caliente’s affiliation with the major label

Atlantic Records assured LVV U.S. exposure and distribution.84 This shows how

complexly intertwined the -scapes are. The mediascapes, ideoscape, and financescapes

come into particular focus here. So many different media companies were necessary

because of the U.S. embargo. It is also important to note, however, that Cuban policy was

also involved here, though more historically situated. Only in the late 1980s did the

Cuban government start to allow artists to sign international contracts for themselves.

This was accelerated by the financial crisis of Cuba’s 1990s “special period.” Previously

all artists were state employees and the national record label, EGREM, controlled who

recorded what and when.85 At the risk of taking the model too far, I note also, the

technoscapes and financescapes were involved in the release of the album in Cuba. After

83 See http://www.abdala.cu 84 Mauleón and Faro 1999, 34 85 See Robbins 1991, Moore 2006, and Perna 2005 Chapter 1.

32

being released on CD in the U.S. first, Llegó was released on cassette in Cuba because

CD players are prohibitively expensive in Cuba.86

THE COVER

The title on the cover of the Llegó reveals the transnational target audience. A

choice was made to print the title prominently both in Spanish and in English: Llegó…

Van Van/Van Van is Here. No other LVV release to date was marked with such a clear

nod to an English speaking audience. In addition, the CD booklet features English

explanations of the Spanish lyrics. At the time, only the greatest hits compilation,

released the same year, included an English/Spanish title and liner notes. Furthermore,

although Llegó is the past tense of the verb Llegar [to arrive], the title is translated as

“Van Van is Here.” When translating the verb literally the title becomes “Van Van

arrived.” 87 This play on “is here” and “arrived,” the present and the past tenses, give the

CD an ironic title for a premier dance band with over twenty previous releases. In fact

LVV arrived many years ago but now calls out to a new audience, “we are here!”

The packaging of Llegó also featured a common industry-marketing tool, a sticker

advertising more details about the product. Llegó is available now with a “Grammy

Winner” sticker clearly using this achievement to sell the CD to consumers. Before

winning the award, the sticker proclaimed in English, “Cuba’s greatest dance band

celebrates 30 years.”88 The marketing of the CD illustrates an awareness that LVV could

86 Casteñeda 1998, nn. 87 The CD cover does not include the accent over the “o” on Llegó. Llego is the first person present tense form, or I arrive. LVV’s official website list the title as Llegó. (http://www.vanvandeformell.com/discografia.php accessed 16 August 2007.) 88 As found on New York based online Latin music store Descarga.com, and

Amazon.com both accessed 16 August 2007.

33

not count on name recognition alone. Therefore, the marketing of the CD would

capitalize on the then current popularity of Cuba.

Figure 32. Llegó cover with stickers.

An unfamiliar audience may see the cover as a title printed against an abstract

backdrop. The backdrop, however, is a close up of a mural from Callejón de Hamel

(Hamel’s Alley) in the city of Havana.89

I argue that the implications of this choice are

two-fold. First, as Vincenzo Perna recently pointed out, the CD cover art and several

songs on Llegó exemplify LVV’s increasing references to Afro-Cuban and Santería

themes in the 1990s.90 The artist responsible for the mural is Salvador Gonzales. His art,

sold at a gallery on Callejón de Hamel, and mural feature themes of the Afro-Cuban

religions of Cuba, especially Santería. The mural depicts the orichas, or Santería deities.

Secondly, what others have not noted is that the cover art also brings up the issue of

tourism in Cuba. Every Sunday afternoon many tourists attend a rumba, a secular Afro-

89 See Appendix p. 63 for my photos of the mural and rumba from a 2002 trip to Callejón de Hamel. 90 Perna 2005, 185.

34

Cuban music and the party itself, dance party at Callejón de Hamel.91 Hagedorn discusses

the orichas, Santería, and the prominence of Afro-Cuban religions during the “special

period” including the government’s involvement in religious tourism, in particular selling

tour packages that include initiation rites.92

THE MUSIC: INTRODUCTION TO THE ORCHESTRA

Llegó’s first track, “Permiso que llegó van van” (Excuse me, Van Van has

Arrived), (CD Track 5) gradually presents the orchestral sound and musical concept of

LVV. It functions as a musical introduction to an intercultural audience familiar with

other Cuban music, salsa, or a completely unrelated musical subculture. “Permiso”

epitomizes Formell’s textural concept—drawing from different ensemble traditions,

altering the instrumentation through the years, and experimenting with electronic timbres.

LVV’s orchestral origins lie in the charanga tradition; Formell later drew from the

Cuban conjunto tradition by adding brass instruments.93 In 1965 Formell joined a popular

Cuban charanga orchestra, Orquesta Revé, and was already experimenting with North

American elements such as the trap drumset, electric guitar and bass, and other sounds of

91 On the day I visited Callejón de Hamel the rumba party was an even more

transnational event with a Cuban rap group before the rumba performers. 92 See Hagedorn 2001, Chapter 7. For more information on santería see Murphy 1993.

Vélez 2000 is a biographic case study of a drummer in the sacred Afro-Cuban tradition. 93 Charanga: “a specific style of instrumentation, consisting of rhythm section

(contrabass, timbales and güiro), strings (from two to four violins, or any number of

violins with a cello), and one wooden flute. The piano and conga drum were added in the

1940’s” (Mauelón 1993. 252–253). Conjunto: “a specific style of instrumentation

developed around 1940, derived from the septeto ensemble[, a seven piece son

ensemble,] consisting of guitar, tres, contrabass, bongos, three vocalist [who play hand

percussion such as maracas and claves), and two to four trumpets… and the piano and

[conga drum]” (Ibid, 254).

35

rock ’n’ roll. In 1969, among the musicians who left Orquesta Revé to join Formell’s first

incarnation of LVV were a flautist, four violinists, two guitarists, and a cellist. By 1999,

of these instruments, only two violinists and a flautist remained. Two trombones replaced

the electric guitars in 1980, with a third trombone added in 1983; finally, the brass

section had grown to four trombonists by 1999. The addition of trombones could be seen

as a response to international salsa bands.94 Salsa bands also derived their instrumentation

from the conjunto ensembles, which trace their roots to the Cuban son tradition. New

York salsa musicians, particularly Mon Rivera and Eddie Palmiere, started using

trombones in the 1960s.95 What made Formell’s idea unique was the combination of

charanga strings and flute with salsa, or conjunto, brass. Notably, Formell did not add a

trumpet, the first brass instrument added to the son ensembles in the early twentieth-

century and a standard instrument in salsa ensembles. This mix of trombones, violins,

flute, drumset, and electronic instruments has become a signature element of LVV’s

distinct orchestral timbre.96

On “Permiso” Formell’s arrangement allows almost one minute to elapse before

the full orchestra can be heard. This introduction begins with ten seconds of a percussive

groove that may sound disorienting to listeners expecting either salsa or BVSC’s

traditional son. The sonic palette is bare except for a güiro and the drums.97 The steady

rhythm played on the güiro is standard and would be familiar to many Latin music

94 Salsa ensemble: “typically includes vocals, Cuban percussion [such as bongos, congas,

timbales, claves, cowbells, woodblocks, maracas, and güiro], piano bass, trumpets,

trombones and saxophones, and usually ranges in size from ten to fourteen members”

Waxer, “Salsa.” 95 Lankford 1999 dissertation give some historical background of the trombone in salsa. 96 See Appendix p. 62 for stage plot showing the current LVV stage setup. 97 Güiro: serrated gourd tat is scraped with a stick.

36

audiences.98 Figure 12 shows the güiro’s standard pattern: the quarter note is a legato

down-stroke and brief upstroke creating the characteristic scraping sound, while the next

two strokes provide the quick percussive eighth notes.

Figure 33. Standard güiro pattern.

While the güiro churns out its steady groove, Samuel Formell moves around the trap

drumset providing a sparse but syncopated and melodic rhythm.

Figure 34. “Permiso” drum intro and Drum key. Note: Pickup note not transcribed. Clave only implied.

CD Track 5 00:00–00:1299

98 Mauleón 1993,102. 99 Thanks to Drummer’s Bible author Jason Gianni for verifying this transcription.

37

He’ll wait until the next instruments enter to start twisting the steady beat poly-

rhythmically. A live recording from Miami also starts with a drum introduction but

Samuel’s playing is busier from the start.100

A futuristic sounding synthesizer enters after eight-measures (CD Track 5, 00:12).

If the untrained ear did not catch on to the uniqueness of the drumset, then the synthesizer

clearly announces to BVSC fans to beware this is not your Cuban band trapped in the

past. The spacey synthesizer sound exemplifies a common thread to LVV’s sound.

Formell has always been open to experimentation with nontraditional electronic timbres.

In the 1960s and 1970s LVV’s use of electric bass and guitars, as well as the liberal use of

reverb, was new to Cuban dance music. In the 1980s, LVV’s sound featured electric

drums and keyboards. On Llegó, the late 1990s sound includes combinations of

synthesizer, organ, electric keyboard, and percussion pads.

As the synthesizer plays an eight-measure phrase, Samuel continues to expand on

ideas presented earlier. His approach is more polyrhythmic one moment playing a three-

against-two rhythm at the eight-note pulse and adding to the tension set up by the odd

synthesizer sound. In addition, the conga drums can be heard to enter very faintly but in

response to the trap drumset’s call. On the second half of the phrase (CD Track 5, 00:22),

the synthesizer becomes static playing chords that emphasize the synthetic nature of the

sound. Meanwhile, Samuel stretches the three-against-two polyrhythm to the quarter-note

pulse. On the repeat of the synthesizer’s eight-measure phrase (CD Track 5, 00:33) an

electronic keyboard accompanies the melody. Although this keyboard is also set to an

100 Formell, Juan and Los Van Van, 2004, Van Van Live at Miami Arena, Havana

Caliente/Pimienta Records, 2 CDs and 1 DVD 245360585-2.

38

electronic timbre, the sound is not as distinctive. The keyboard sounds closer to a Fender

Rhodes electric piano or jazz, fusion sound.

While the drum intro may be read as representing an “African” past, I note two

aspects here. First, the güiro is one of the few instruments thought to have survived from

Cuba’s indigenous past.101 Secondly, the sound of the trap drumset along with how it is

being played challenge any notion of a traditional sound. Therefore in just under one

minute LVV has linked themselves with the past tradition (güiro, indigenous Cuba, clave,

and “African” rhythm) and modern sound (clean production, trap drumset, synthesizer,

and keyboard); LVV has begun to introduce songo.

Nearly one minute into the song the rest of the orchestra enters (CD Track 5,

00:51), showcasing the full sound of LVV’s novel instrumentation. After a drum fill and a

steady run of triplets from Samuel, a four-bar instrumental interlude separates the intro

from the vocal entry of the first coro, or chorus. Here the brass, strings, and electric bass

enter together, strongly reinforcing the three side of the clave. On the second half of the

phrase the strings break away from the instruments with a countermelody that brings

back Samuel’s triplet run that prepared this phrase. Now as the band hits the main groove

full force, the vocal chorus enters. For those who had any doubts: Van Van llegó!

CLAVE CONCEPT: “CLAVE LICENSE”

101 Although as Mauleón, and others, explain the güiro has both African and indigenous

American roots (Mauón 1993, 255).

39

Figure 35. Son and rumba clave in 3:2 direction.

Figure 36. Son and rumba clave 2:3 direction.

I am returning to the drum introduction to illustrate the clave concept of LVV.

Berríos-Miranda refers to clave as an important criterion “for the criticism and evaluation

of salsa.”102 The importance of clave awareness is illustrated by the term cruzado

[crossed]. It is used derogatorily to describe someone playing against the clave. In other

words, if a melody calls for a 3:2 clave and a musician plays a part in the 2:3 clave that

musician might be accused of being cruzado.103 At times determining the direction can be

challenging. “The proper application of the clave concept has been a theme of much

debate and disagreement.”104

One interesting technique that contrasts LVV from much U.S.-based salsa is

Formell’s flexible handling of “direction” in the clave rhythm. By direction I mean

whether the first measure of the two-measure clave phrase has two or three beats, that is,

whether the clave rhythm is struck in either the 3:2 direction or 2:3 direction. This can

refer to either the son or rumba clave (figs 14 and 15).

102 Berríos-Miranda 2002, 37. 103 In looking beyond the New York-Puerto Rico-Cuba salsa triangle Berríos-Miranda

(2003) examines Venezuelan salsa and attitudes towards salsa, she found musicians that

did not believe that clave rules were inflexible. They claimed that if the music “still

swings it is still good” even if the musician is cruzado (37). Berríos-Miranda finds that

some question Venezuelan musicians ability and knowledge of clave concept (38). 104 Ibid. See also Gerard and Shuller 1989 and Mauleón 1993.

40

Analysis of the introduction to “Permiso” illustrates the basics of the clave

concept. For the first phrase of the intro to “Permiso,” Samuel’s playing keeps things

sparse. (See Fig. 11) The steady güiro pattern is a one measure pattern and therefore

clave neutral. Samuel’s line shows the first measure is quite syncopated while the second

is not. This indicates a 3:2 clave direction with the three side of the clave being the

syncopated half. The 3:2 clave will be further reinforced when the full band enters at the

musical interlude.

Kevin Moore calls one way of handling the clave direction “New York Style,”

because of the tendency of New York salsa arrangers to maintain the clave direction

strictly throughout a song.105 In other words, once a song begins, in either 3:2 or 2:3

clave, the clave direction never changes. If a melody does call for a different direction of

the clave, the arranger will use a phrase with an odd number of measures. On the other

hand, Formell has been quoted as stating that this strict maintenance of the clave

direction is only one option. Formell claims that Cuban musicians have a “clave license”

to jump the clave if necessary in an arrangement if “the clave must be interrupted” for the

sake of the song.106 This technique “jumps clave” by simply repeating the necessary 2 or

3 side of the clave.

An example will clarify what Formell meant. While the arrangement of

“Permiso” maintains the 3:2 clave throughout the song, the arrangement of Llegó’s third

song, “Eso dámelo a mi” (Give me That) (CD Track 6), includes a passage where LVV

invokes their “clave license.” For the first two minutes, the groove is in the 3:2 son clave

direction. This is evident in the piano montuno, which melodically articulates the clave.

105 Moore, “The Four Great Clave Debates.” 106 Ibid and Mauleón 1999, 16.

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Furthermore when the verse enters at (CD Track 6, 00:21) the vocal melody reinforces

the clave direction. At this same moment, a wood block enters stating the son clave

rhythm.107

At the two-minute mark Samuel takes a sixteen-measure timbale solo that

maintains the 3:2 clave.

Figure 37. Example of clave change using clave license change. CD Track 6 01:59–02:23)108

The transcription in figure 16 shows the clave, which at this point is implied. The second

line of the transcription shows the band’s rhythmic accents. Measures 3, 5, 13, and 15

107 The wood block part enters on the “and” of beat 2, which is called the bomba, as the

verse begins. 108 Thanks to Kevin Moore for his assistance with this transcription.

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show the band accents most clearly maintaining the clave direction. At measure 17 (CD

Track 6, 02:19), after the solo, a new coro begins in the 2:3 clave direction.109 Note that

measures 16 and 17 both show the 2-side of the clave. There is no odd-measure phrase;

the two-side of the clave pattern is repeated to jump clave and match the phrasing of the

new coro. The other option, or the “New York Style,” would have been to add one more

measure between 16 and 17 or remove measure 16. This would have maintained the 3:2

clave throughout, however the affect of the passage would have been drastically different.

THEMATIC APPROACH

In studying for her musicology degree in Cuba, Gonzáles Bello devised a system

for analysis and classification of LVV’s music. She studied the linguistic and literary

elements of LVV’s repertoire and emphasized the themes and how the themes were

addressed.110 She completed her dissertation work before Llegó was released

commercially in Cuba, but she applies the system to Llegó in a later article (2000). Aside

from a concluding remark, her emphasis relies on subcultural knowledge not necessarily

available to the audience that, I argue, LVV is introducing themselves to. The exception is

a paragraph at the end noting that perhaps for North American audiences the songs are

shorter than usual and fade out before closure of the musical discourse.111

Gonzalez Bello’s classification system found four fundamental themes in LVV’s

music and on Llegó. They are love, society, music, and character types with the first two

109 The rhythm of coro melody indicates the 2:3 clave, in addition a 2:3 bell pattern can

be heard. 110 Gonzáles Bello 2000, 7. 111 Ibid, 13.

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being the predominant themes.112 She notes that under society fall themes of religion,

identity, and contemporary social issues of Cuba.113 These themes are addressed through

allegory, chronicles of the people, and humor.114 Humor appears two different ways; first

being obvious, on the surface, though jocularity, hyperbole, irony, and mischief; and

second, songs that require further examination to reveal their humor though a play on

words and history.115 Of course, these themes are not mutually exclusive; some songs fall

under more than one category. At the heart of González Bello’s argument is that Llegó

marks a point of return for the band and that LVV’s approach to addressing the themes

has precedent in previous traditional Cuban popular music. While Llegó doesn’t

completely abandon the timba approach of their 1990s discography, Llegó’s music and

themes are more in keeping with their 1970s and 1980s work.116

THE HISTORY LESSON:

Through the text and the music of Llegó, LVV provides their audiences with a

Cuban history lesson. This is true from the first song. The first words heard on the CD are

not in Spanish. “Permiso” begins with a coro in Lucumí, the Cuban version of the

Yoruba language and the language of the Afro-Cuban religion, santería. This is followed

by an evocation to the deities of santería. (CD Track 5, 00:59–01:07)

Ejé o mi baba Ochún, Obatalá, Yemayá Changó, Oggún, Oyá

Blood … Father Six of the primary deities of Santería

112 “Las cuatro categorías fundamentales creadas para las mismas en el sistema clasificatorio, entiéndase lo amoroso, lo social, lo musical y personajes tipos; de ellas, las dos primeras con un predomino significativo” Ibid, 7. 113 Ibid. 114 Ibid. 115 Ibid. 116 Ibid 6–7.

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The verses tell the history of the band. The first verse includes (CD Track 5, 01:14–

01:21):

A Los Van Van que están celebrando sus treinta cumpleaños y siguen ahí

To LVV who are celebrating their 30th anniversary and they are still going

The second verse begins with (CD Track 5, 01:30–01:40):

Diciembre numero cuarto del ano’69 pegó Van Van y todavía en el ‘99 siguen pegao’. Caballero hasta cuando?

December 4th of the year ’69 Van Van made a hit. and still in ’99 they are still a hit. Dude, until when?

The second verse includes a reference that is hidden from unknowing ears. The date

December 4, 1969 has double significance; this is the day of LVV’s premier, and

December fourth is the feast day for Santa Barbara, which in santería is syncretic with

Changó, the deity of the drum.117 The religious themes of “Permiso” continue throughout

the song.

The song is not just a self-congratulatory history; it also makes reference to the

1990s social context with the prominence of Afro-Cuban sacred and secular themes. The

liner notes say Formell sings “Appapas del calabar” (CD Track 7) in the secret language

of Abakúa, the secret Afro-Cuban all-male society with roots from the Calabar region

(Nigeria) of Africa. Formell actually sings some of the song in Spanish as well. González

Bello says “Appapas” is the first case where the Abakúa have been approached

117 Although Quintana was not in the band for this debut or on this record, his nickname,

“Changuito,” is the Spanish diminutive for Chango, or little Chango.

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pedagogically in a popular dance music song.118 In the song, Formell draws a classic

study of the Abakúa by Lydia Cabrera to teach about the Abakúa .119

The history lesson on Llegó continues with the incorporation of two traditional

Cuban dance music genres: son and rumba. Son developed in the eastern rural regions of

Cuba and made its way to Havana in the early 20th century. “During the 20th century the

son has taken shape as the most important [genre] in present-day Cuban music, especially

because of its influence on dance music.”120 Most of the songs on Llegó illustrate the

band’s debt to traditional son form.121 The classic son form consists of two parts: first, a

closed strophic verse, called canto or tema, followed by an open montuno. The montuno

is said to be open because it only ends when the singer runs out of ideas. The montuno

can also refer to the pattern played by the tres or piano, as illustrated above in Figure 7.

The montuno of the son form consists of a short repetitive refrain, or estribillo also called

coro, sung by a group in response to a lead singer whose improvised lines are called

inspiraciones. During this section the band plays a vamp, one frequent example is the

piano montuno of Figure 7.122 The montuno is frequently extended through the use of

multiple coros building tension by shortening the duration of the coro (in number of

measures). Additional variety is added through mambos. Not to be confused with the

1950s mambo dance craze, the mambo here refers to horn passages over the vamp. At

times tension is further built as coros, inspiraciones, and mambos begin to overlap.

118 González Bello 2000, 10. 119 Ibid, 9. 120 Alén Rodríguez 1998, 60. 121 The prevalence of son form in many salsa songs is one reason leading some to say that

salsa is just Cuban son. 122 Also see Appendix p. 64 salsa rhythmic foundation from Waxer, “Salsa” to see how

the piano montuno would be modified to incorporate extended jazz harmonies.

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On Llegó, the song “El cheque” (The Check) is an example of rather strict

adherence to the son form (Table 1), while other songs are variations on it.

Table 3: "El Cheque" son form. (CD Track 8).

Tema: Intro 8 measures Verse 1 32 bars AABA form Verse 2 32 bars AABA’ form Interlude 4 Measures

Montuno:

Call Response # of repeats coro 1 4 bars inspiraciones 4 bars 5 times coro 1 4 bars mambo 1 4 bars 4 times

Lead vocal interlude 8 Bars

coro 2 4 bars inspiraciones 4 bars 4 times

coro 2 4 bars NO RESPONSE 1 time

mambo 2 2 bars coro 3 2 bars mambo 2 2 Bars coro 3’ 2 bars Repeat coro 3 and 3’ with mambo 2 and fade out

In “El Cheque” the montuno spells out a progression using the tonic, sub-dominant, and dominant chords in the key of A. Notice that the coro changes from calling to responding in the final section of the montuno.

Drawing from another tradition, the tema of “El cheque” consists of two 32-bar choruses

in AABA, or Tin Pan Alley form. The use of Tin Pan Alley form probably reflects an

earlier era’s intercultural exchange between the U.S. and Cuban musicians. While I have

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stressed throughout this essay the flow from Cuba to the U.S., the Tin Pan Alley form

and LVV’s rock, jazz, and funk influences illustrates that the flow goes both ways.

Son became the quintessential Cuban music through the construction of a Cuban

national identity drawing from both Spain and Africa. Son’s “rhythmic variations,

refrains, percussion techniques, intonations, and sonorities reveal both original sources”

blending Spanish and African elements.123 The construction of a national mulatto identity

can be traced to the appropriation of Afro-Cuban cultural expressions in the 1920s by art

composers associated with the Afrocubanismo, an intellectual and artistic, movement.

Before this moment Cuban intellectuals imagined an indigenous past that erased African

culture from Cuba. The elite and bourgeois of Cuba, along with the Afro-Cuban middle

class, previously derided son. The Afrocubanismo movement along with an international

rumba craze for popular Cuban music changed attitudes toward the Cuban popular music

genre son. 124

Popular music in Cuba plays on the Spanish/African duality of Cuban culture in

the construction of a national mulatto culture. In “Somos Cubanos” (We are Cubans),

LVV acknowledges that very little remains of the indigenous culture of Cuba, having been

exterminated by disease and cruel conditions as Spain first colonized the island:

“Somos Cubanos” (We are Cubans) from Llegó… Van Van (1999). (CD Track 9 00:44)

En mil cuatrocientos llegó Colon y descubrió esta hermosa isla donde habitaba la raza india la que con el tiempo exterminó. Llegó la raza Africana y la mezclaron con la Española. Nació la mulata criolla.

In the 1400s Columbus arrived and discovered this beautiful island inhabited by the Indian race which was exterminated over time. the African race arrived and they mixed it with the Spanish. The Creole mulata was born.

123 Orovio 2004, 203. 124 See Moore 1997 about this era.

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La Cubana era una mezcla diferente con mucho sabor acompañada de la rumba y el guaguancó dueños de la clave y la magia del tres mas dos que nos hizo tan especiales gracias a Dios Coro: Somos Cubanos, Español y Africanos

The Cuban (women) was a different mix with a lot of flavor accompanied by the rumba and guaguancó owners of the clave and the magic of the three plus two that made us so special thanks to God Coro: We are Cubans, Spanish and African

On the band’s previous record (1997) they show a more complicated mix and their own

awareness of their music’s transnational past and present:

“Te pone la cabeza mala” (It Drives You Crazy) (1997) (CD Track 10)125

Esa música que heredamos Hijos y nietos de los africanos La que mezclamos con la española Con la francesa y la portuguesa La que fundimos bien con la inglesa Por eso decimos que es una sola Din dan con rumba y rock Mambo con conga y pop Salsa con mozambique Y clave de guaguancó Cumbia con jazz con swing Songo con samba y beat Merengue con bomba y son Y clave de guaguancó

This music that we inherited Africa’s children and grandchildren The one we mixed with the Spanish, With the French and the Portuguese The one which we fused with the English That is why we say it is all one. Din dan with rumba and rock Mambo with conga and pop Salsa with mozambique And the clave from guaguancó Cumbia with jazz and swing Songo with samba and beat Merengue with bomba and son And the clave from guaguancó126

125 Formell, Juan and Los Van Van,1997, Te pone la cabeza mala, Caribe Productions CD

9506. 126 Mauleón and Faro 1999, 96. Rumba, mambo, conga, mozambique, guaguancó, songo, and son are all Cuban genres. Cumbia is originally a Columbian genre but has variations throughout Latin America. Merengue is a popular dance music from the Dominican Republic. Bomba is a traditional Puerto Rican genre. I am not clear what Din dan is.

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“Somos Cubanos” challenges previous national mulatto identity projects that

ignored racial inequality through the appropriation of Afro-Cuban culture without

actually accepting the Afro-Cuban people. The final coro (CD Track 9 02:48) of “Somos

Cubanos” quotes Arsenio Rodríguez’ (1911–1970) classic song “Bruca manigua” (Witch

from the Bush).127 Rodríguez is one of the most important Cuban son musicians of the

era. Rodríguez celebrated his African heritage writing songs commenting on the status of

blacks in Cuba.128 In “Bruca manigua,” Rodríguez’ lyrics mask commentary on racial

oppression by singing in bozal, an “Africanized” Spanish which would not have been

understood by the white Cuban audiences.129 Also “Somos Cubanos” is not a son, but a

rumba. While the son became the national music of Cuba, the rumba maintains its

associations with mostly black Cubans.

The rumba emerged in the mid-19th century and developed in the urban slums

and at the shipping docks of the Western Cuban cities of Havana and Matanzas. The

traditional instrumentation consists of a percussion section and a vocal section. The

percussion section consists of three drums and palitos, sticks struck against the shell of

one of the drums. Initially the drums were shipping boxes for codfish switching later to

three congas drums with the smallest high-pitched drum responsible for improvisation.

The vocal section includes a lead vocalist and a chorus.130 The rhythm heard as “Somos

Cubano” begins, also heard on the song “Consuélate Como yo” (Console Yourself Like I

127 Translation from Ibid 19. 128 See Garcia 2006 129 Ibid, 19–20. In addition, Gonzalez Bello (2000) cites other intertextual references in

“Somos Cubanos,” and cites “Bruca manigua” as a reference to Vincento Valdés. As

Arsenio Rodríguez is one of the most prominent musicians in Cuban music history it

seems more likely that to refer to his more famous song. 130 For more details on rumba see Crook 1982 and Alén Rodriguez 1998, 81–98.

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Do) (CD Track 11), is a specific type of rumba, the guaguancó. The figure below shows

the standard guaguancó rhythm provided by the palitos and a composite rhythm of the

open notes from the two larger conga drums.

Figure 38 Guaguancó composite rhythm.

Both songs begin with this rhythm, which identifies the songs as guaguancó. However

the inclusion of LVV’s full band and not just the percussion and vocals of traditional

rumba means the songs are hybrids, which González Bello classifies as songo-

guaguancó.131 “Consuélate Como yo” is classic guaguancó by Gonzalo Asencio also

known as Tío Tom.132 LVV’s version adds other typical rumba elements missing from

“Somos Cubanos.” The song begins like many traditional rumbas, with the vocables of

the introductory diana, which sets up the tonality of the song. This is followed by a

passage that informs the listener why the singer, Mayito Rivera, sings “Consuélate como

yo.”133 Before the guaguancó rhythm continues any further (CD Track 11 1:07) the band

breaks into a salsa sound. I call this a salsa feel in large part because the typical

anticipated bass of salsa played by Formell and the traditional sounding piano

131 González Bello 2000, 12. 132 Acosta 1991 writes about Tio Tom to contest the anonymous nature of oral traditions

like rumba. The essay, written from a Cuban Marxist perspective, presents Tio Tom and

the rumba as an expression of the proletariat class. 133 See Alén Rodríguez 1998, 85.

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montuno.134 Just after entering the salsa section (CD Track 11 01:22) Rivera quotes the

classic song “Bemba colorá” (Red Lips) made famous by the salsa singer Celia Cruz,

know as the queen of salsa.

INTERTEXTUAL SALSA COMMENTARY

González Bello states that Llegó features many intertexual references, an element

common to both LVV and Cuban music in general.135 While González Bello illustrates

several cases of intertextual references to show LVV’s connection with tradition, my

purpose is to show a connection or commentary on salsa through what the literary theorist

Henry Louis Gates Jr. calls signifyin(g). Encyclopedia Britannica describes signifyin(g)

as a “humorous, boastful, insulting, or provocative” way to indirectly represent and

comment on an idea in dialogue with the past.136 He applies his theory of signifyin(g) to

African-American literature and argues that the practice of signifyin(g) is central to it as

well as to African-American music. In a chapter devoted to developing his theory and

connecting it to an African past, Gates turns again and again to Afro-Cuban culture and in

particular santería.137 The key here is Gate’s idea that signifyin(g) is repetition with

134 See Appendix p. 64 for Grove illustration of salsa rhythmic foundation. Note the

typical anticipated bass. This is not to say that Formell never plays this type of bass line,

but he is more likely to play a different bass line than what is heard on many salsa

records. Also see K. Moore’s definition of songo and notice the use of bass starting on

beat one. 135 González Bello 2000, 9. “La intertextualidad, quizás uno de los recursos más utilizados en Van Van” (Intertextuality, perhaps one of the most utilized resources in Van

Van]. 136 “Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.,”Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005. 137 See Gates 1988, Chapter 1.

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difference. This difference can be both motivated and unmotivated, with unmotivated not

meaning without intention but without the negative critique of motivated signifyin(g).138

Signifyin(g) is recurrent in the music of LVV. A classic example is LVV’s 1989

song “No soy de la gran escena” (I’m Not from the Big Scene) (CD Track 12).139 The

lyrics critique a Cuban television show, La gran escena, which featured art music but not

popular music. The music underscores the point by quoting Tchaikovsky’s Piano

Concerto No. 1 with rumba clave throughout.140 The signifyin(g) on Llegó that I am

looking at here comments on salsa or the salsa debate. The quotation of Rodríguez’

“Bruca manigua,” which the original itself was an example of Rodríguez signifyin(g), in

“Somos Cubanos” also can be said to point to the salsa.141 That is because Rodríguez is

widely acknowledged as one of the lead antecedents to salsa.142

Through both humor and boastfulness more signifyin(g) can be heard on “El

negro está cocinando” ( The Black Man is cooking) (CD Track 3). Though she does not

connect the song to salsa or signifyin(g), González Bello’s sees “El negro está

cocinando,” as a return for LVV to both depicting character types and the double

entendre. Several earlier LVV songs use culinary double entendres. That “El negro está

cocinando” is a case in point would be pretty obvious to any Spanish speaker (CD Track

3 00:26–00:44):

138 Ibid, xxvi. 139 Formell, Juan and Los Van Van, 1999 The Legendary Los Van Van: 30 Years of Cuba’s Greatest Dance Band, Volume 1, ¡Y Van! Los Van Van 1969 to 1989 Ashé Records, CD 2007A 140 Mauleón and Faro 1999, 23. 141 See Garcia 2006, 19–20. Rodríguez signifies by masking critique of Cuban racism

through the use of bozal dialect which was appropriated in Cuban equivalent of blackface

minstrelsy. So while white Cuban audiences did not understand Rodríguez’ critique they

associated the language with something they of were familiar with. 142 Garcia 2006, 6.

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Que no me toquen la puerta Que el negro está cocinando No no no no no no no no, No me la toquen Que está adobando la carne Y la yuca está ablandando Ssss… la olla

Don’t knock on my door Because the black man is cooking No no no no no no no no Don’t knock on my door He is marinating the meat And the cassava is softening Ssss… the pot

Gonzales Bello also illustrates that the song contains an intertextual reference to a classic

son, Ignacio Piñero’s “Échale salsita” (Put Some Sauce on It). Also about a man who is

very skillful in the kitchen and all the women want to sample his cooking. Piñero’s song

is, however, frequently referred to as the original use of the term “salsa” in Latin, or

Cuban, music.

Lastly song “Temba, Tumba, Timba” may be an allusion to the salsa debate.

González Bello says it is an allegory. She says, “It alludes, in reality, to the evolution of

Cuban music from the most traditional forms to timba, this term being the most

contemporary.” 143 The song appears to be a strange love pentagon about three men and

two women. In the chorus a chain begins where Temba’s wife leaves him for Tumba.

Tumba’s wife leaves him for Timba. Gonzalez Bello reads this as an allegory alluding to

the evolution of Cuban music from the traditional forms to timba. González Bello calls

attention to the following lyrics in particular:

“Temba, Tumba, Timba” (CD Track 13 01:03–01:11…01:50–01:59)

No quiso bailar más rumba Y quiso cambiar de estilo Cambiando temba por tumba

She didn’t want to dance any more rumba and wanted to change style Changing Temba for Tumba

143 “Se alude, en realidad, a la evolución de la música cubana desde las formas más tradicionales hasta la timba, siendo éste el termino más contemporáneo.” González Bello

2000, 8.

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Así cambia de Marido. … Tú le darás la razón Sabiendo que está muy Linda De Tumba pasó pa’ Timba para cambiar de sabor

This is how she changes husbands … You give her the reason Knowing that she is very pretty From Tumba she passed to Timba to change flavors

In addition to the culinary reference, “sabor” is a word frequently used in Latin musical

situations much like the word swing in jazz. One would compliment a musician by saying

that the music “tiene mucho sabor” [has a lot of flavor]. Perhaps the lesson to draw here,

accepting that this is an allegory for music, through the humorous way that LVV discusses

the changes of flavors from one style to the next may indicate that the name of the music

doesn’t matter as much to the band. Salsa, timba, rumba, rock, or son, it does not matter

what you call the music—LVV doesn’t take the terms so seriously. This same attitude

could probably be mapped onto the song “Te pone la cabeza mala” transcribed above.

Alternatively, if we wanted to see this all as motivated signifyin(g), then LVV could be

saying it doesn’t matter if you call it timba or salsa, it is all still Cuban music.

These quick references do not tell us much about attitudes towards the salsa

debate. Further research would have to determine to what extent this could be motivated

or unmotivated signifyin(g). Formell has commented about salsa:

There was a moment when we had to accept the word “salsa” because of the international situation. At that time we were on the defensive, but now we are on the offensive and we can say, No, that’s not what we do. We’re somewhere between traditional son and salsa.144

It is worthy to note that the music of Celia Cruz, the singer quoted in “Consuélate como

yo,” was banned in Cuba because of her outspoken stance towards the Cuban

government. She was also one of the older musicians who said salsa was just Cuban

144 Quoted in Casteñeda 1998, nn.

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music.145 But any assumptions of harsh criticism of salsa must keep in mind that, for

commercial reasons, it makes sense for LVV to align themselves with salsa, a market that

is already established internationally and a market that, presumably, would be interested

in Llegó.

SOCIAL COMMENTARY: 1990S CUBAN CONTEXT

LVV’s history lesson is not all stuck in the past. According to Gonzáles Bello,

LVV’s approach to the chronicles of the people is handled differently than usual.146 LVV

is more critical of core social problems in contemporary Cuba. Two songs look at a man

being abandoned by his woman and her sexual and economic relations with one or more

foreigners. The relationship is a more complex arrangement than prostitution, not always

including a sex for money arrangement, and is called jineterismo [literally a jinetera

would be a female jockey] in Cuba.147 The two examples she gives are “Mi chocolate”

and “Eso dámelo a mi:”

“Mi chocolate” (My Chocolate) (CD Track 14 00:25–00:30…00:50–00:56)

Mi Chocolate es una mulata Que tiene los ojos claros … Se casó con un italiano Por supuesto se la llevó

My Chocolate is a mulata who has bright eyes … She married an Italian Of course she took her away

“Eso dámelo a mi” (Give that to me) (CD Track 6 02:40–02:57)

Por un poquito de dinero… For a little bit of money…

145 Cruz 2004, 130–132. 146 González Bello 2000, 7. 147 “Abandono del hombre cubano por parte de la mulata criollas y las relaciones sexuales sostenidas entre estas y uno o varios extranjeros en las que media un interés económico, a lo que se denomina jineterismo.” González Bello 2000, 7. Aparicio 1997

examines the image of the mulata in Latin music.

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Tú te me fuiste con un Pepe You left me for a guy Jineterismo is just one example of the results of the financial crisis in Cuba of the 1990s.

In another example connecting LVV to the socio-cultural present, “El cheque” the

financescapes come into further focus. Faced with extreme shortages, some Cubans

depend on the dollars they receive through checks or cash from family overseas. The

song “El cheque” looks at the financial needs of Cubans of a diverse nature and the

aspirations and longings for the chance to have access to some money.148 In this song, the

protagonist awaits a check he has been told is coming from abroad, but the check does

not arrive. While waiting, the people around him make various plans including things to

fix up the house, a Santería ritual, and even a pair of Nike tennis shoes. It is important to

note that these difficult issues are always handled with a sense of humor and a driving

rhythm not likely to leave the listener dwelling on the situation. The humor only adds to

the ambivalence of comments such as in “El cheque” when Calvo laughs, “como tengo

dinero” [how I have money] (02:37).

“HAVANA CITY” THE ENDING AND THE BEGINNING

The “Havana City” (CD Track 15) is the last song on Llegó and of my analysis.

While the lyrics of “Havana City” are another example of LVV drawing from themes

relevant to the socio-cultural context of the 1990s, the music of the song takes listeners

back in time. The lyrics evoke the collective national and individual dependence on

tourist dollars through the image of guided tours in classic 1953 Chevrolets. Note also

148 González Bello 2000, 8.

57

that these tour guides do not refer to the capital by its Spanish name, La Habana, but in

English for the tourist (CD Track 15 00:51–00:58):

Havana city

Havana crazy

Havana Vieja [Old, La Habana Vieja is the name of the oldest part of the city.]

Welcome to the capital

In the last history lesson of Llegó the music at the end of the CD hints at the rock-

influenced early sound of LVV.

Today, few in the U.S. or Cuba see rock as much of a threat. At the time of LVV’s

founding, however, rock music was thought by the North American political

establishment to represent the counter-culture and the rebellion of flower-power hippies.

In Cuba, on the other hand, the political establishment frowned on rock music because it

represented a North American cultural influence. Even in the 1950s as rock ’n’ roll

expanded its market into Latin America it was meet with contrasting opinions:

[Rock ’n’ roll] was welcomed by some (primarily young) people as an expression

of urban modernity, youthful exuberance, and liberated nonconformity, but more

commonly, it was rejected vigorously (primarily by their elders) as a symbol of

U.S. cultural decadence and the seemingly unlimited power of the United States

to force it products on unwilling nations.149

Pacini Hernandez and Garofalo (2004) challenge the cultural imperialism thesis by

examining how musicians, fans, and the government negotiated a place of rock music in

Cuba. Cuban state policies “succeeded in driving rock underground [, but] could not

eliminate the enthusiasm of urban young people–even those committed to the revolution–

for rock.”150

149 Pacini Hernandez and Garofalo 2004, 43. 150 Ibid 44.

58

It is hard to determine how actively the government prohibited rock music; this

has been debated in Cuba as noted by Pacini Hernández and Garofalo. In their essay they

state that rock was only prohibited from media outlets between 1964 and 1966, with the

impact of the Beatles worldwide forcing the censors to give in.151 Manuel, on the other

hand, writes that “the only break in rock airtime occurred in early 1973.”152 It is

interesting that both articles include questionable minor details about LVV. One problem

in Manuel is perhaps just a typo calling songo “sougo,” but this is followed with the

statement that “rock is consumed but not produced in Cuba.”153 Pacini Hernandez and

Garofalo thoroughly dispute that claim illustrating many examples of Cuban rock

music.154 Pacini Hernández and Garofalo also claim that LVV’s songo indicated a gradual

shift away from rock and towards traditional son, however songo was part of LVV’s

earliest experiments in with rock.155 Furthermore, they write that Formell “never

abandoned electric guitars” but as of 1980 the electric guitar was almost abandoned, until

“Havana City.”

The mellow groove of “Havana City” is distinct from anything else on Llegó and

probably a sound none of LVV’s dance band contemporaries at the time would have

imagined trying. In 1999 the hard driving rhythms and hip-hop influences of timba were

at their climactic peak, driving Cuban dancers into a frenzy. For this song, however, the

electric guitar returns to LVV. The electric guitar sound and solo (CD Track 15 01:47–

151 Ibid, 47. 152 Manuel 1985b, 163. 153 Manuel 1985b 162. 154 Further comment should be noted as in Pacini Hernandez and Garofalo regarding the

racial dynamics of rock in Cuba. The authors discuss the prevalence of light skinned

Cubans favoring rock and dark skinned Cubans favor Cuban Dance music (see 53 and

65–66). My experience in Cuba confirmed this to some degree. 155 Pacini Hernández and Garofalo 2004, 62.

59

02:50), the vocables “sha la la la la la” (CD Track 15 03:22), the overall groove, and the

voicings of the vocal harmony give the song a mellow Latin rock sound and remind

listeners of LVV’s rock roots. This nostalgic song also features another LVV flashback

with the return of Angel Bonne for lead and harmony vocals. Bonne was only with the

band for a short time in the 1990s but was called back by Formell for this track. All that

said, “Havana City” also updates the early rock sounds of LVV. Missing are the dated

twangy guitar and keyboard sounds, and the reverb drenched mix that can be heard on the

LVV classic “Marilú” (CD Track 16) written by Formell and released on the first LVV

recording in 1969.156

For the listener not sure if this song was intended to peek back at LVV’s past, a

clue appears after the music of “Havana City” fades out at 4:40; then at 5:05, after a

moment of silence, a drum solo fades in that is reminiscent of the first song on LVV’s

second release (1974)—not so coincidentally, the title of this old song is “Llegada” (CD

Track 17).157 Llegada translates to arrival. And here we return to the beginning. On the

1974 record, Formell’s first attempt at the album concept, “Llegada” announced the

arrival of Quintana and his version of songo.158 On Llegó he announces the arrival of LVV

and the latest version of songo on the North American music scene.

Ironically, in challenging the BVSC image of Cuba, Llegó ends with the same old

Chevrolets driving the streets of Havana. Throughout Llegó, however, LVV tells the

listener about the context of 1990s Cuba. The economic struggles of the so-called

156 Formell, Juan, Los Van Van, 1995, Colección Juan Formell y Los Van Van Volumen I, EGREM CD 0126. 157 Formell, Juan, Los Van Van, 1995, Colección Juan Formell y Los Van Van Volumen II, EGREM CD 0127. 158 Kevin Moore notes that “Llegada,” “introduces the world–at least on LP–to the genius

of” Quintana. Moore, K. 2007, “Roots of Timba.”

60

“special period” has Cubans finding any way possible to keep these cars on the road not

merely as an aesthetic statement, because it looks good on film, but out of need. Then the

owners of these cars shuttle, or jockey, tourists around Havana city in order to participate

in the tourist economy.

CONCLUSION

To announce their arrival thirty years after first forming, LVV gives a history

lesson. While the album has many moments that offer a window back on the band’s

career, the themes of Llegó are firmly rooted in the socio-cultural context of 1990s Cuba.

LVV’s longevity provides a window on Cuban musical and cultural change during this

controversial era. While choosing any one CD to analyze provides only a partial view, the

CD Llegó illustrates many of the musical techniques that make up LVV’s sound—a sound

that is both traditional and open to experimentation. It also refers back throughout the

band’s entire career and back through Cuban popular music history.

In this essay I have shown some of the techniques used on Llegó to examine

LVV’s place in the transnational flows of popular music (whether you want to call it salsa,

songo, or timba). I argue that Llegó illustrates many of the group’s important sub- and

intercultural connections. Looking at the release of Llegó as a transnational product

shows that the CD could be understood as (1) an introduction to the U.S. market, (2) a

response to salsa, and (3) a contrast to images of Cuba isolated and trapped in time.

61

CODA

In some ways by examining the music of LVV, I am asking how my life would

have been different if my parents had not left Cuba. Gustavo Perez-Firmat probably

expressed it best, when he spoke of living on the hyphen between Cuban-American.159 As

the son of Cuban exiles, I feel too Cuban to be American and too American to be Cuban.

In my house we serve frijoles negros with turkey on Thanksgiving. In my quest to figure

out who I am, I have used music to negotiate a space where I can be both Cuban and

American.

Growing up in my family meant hearing one side of the Cuba story. My family

passed on to me the sense of losing their homeland, the loss of personal freedoms for

those remaining in Cuba, and the oppressive rule of the government. When I moved to

Berkeley and San Francisco, I heard another side. I heard about the corruption of the

Batista government, the inequities that led to the Revolution, and the goals of the

Revolution.

In 2002, I went to Cuba to see for myself. I expected to find evidence that

contradicted my parents’ side of the story. At the same time, I never believed that Cuba

would turn out to be the socialist paradise that others wanted me to think it was. I was

surprised, when I returned, how much more I agreed with my parents. The problems I

saw in Cuba and the conversations I had with Cubans made me question the Revolution

more strongly than I ever had. On the other hand, and with some reservations, I am more

willing than my parents to acknowledge some positive outcomes of the Revolution. The

159 Perez-Firmat, 1994.

62

career of LVV has spanned the course of my life. Investigating their music and social

history may show what life in Cuba might have been like.

APPENDIX

1. LLEGÓ VAN VAN DETAILS: Track name Time Lyrics by Arranged by:

1 Permiso que llego van van 5:54 Juan Formell Juan Formell

2 Temba, tumba, timba 4:51 Cesar Pedroso Cesar Pedroso

3 Eso damelo a mi 3:59 Juan Formell Juan Formell

4 La bomba soy yo 4:15 Cesar Pedroso (No Arranger Listed)

5 El negro está cocinando 5:31 Cesar Pedroso Juan Formell

6 Somos cubanos 4:44 Samel Formell Cesar Pedroso

7 El cheque 4:51 Rodolfo Cárdenas Boris Luna

8 Quien no ha dicho una mentira 3:53 Juan Formell Cesar Pedroso

9 Mi chocolate 4:14 Juan Formell Juan Formell

10 Consuélate como yo 4:27 Gonzalo Asencio Juan Formell

11 Appapas del calabar 4:32 Juan Formell Jorge Leliebre

12 Havana City 5:59 Juan Formell Juan Formell

Personel:

Produced By Charlie Dos Santos

Co-Produced by: Juan Formell

Recorded and mixed by Charlie Dos Santos at Adbala Studios Miramar, La Habana,

Cuba

Musicians:

Juan Formell: Musical Director, Baby Bass, and Vocals

Cesar “Pupi” Pedroso: Piano

Samuel Formell: Drums, Timbales, and Campana [Cowbell]

Pedro “Pedrito” Calvo: Lead Vocal (on 5, 7, and 9)

Mario “Mayito” Rivera: Lead Vocal (on 2, 4, 6, and 10) and Chorus

63

Roberto “Robertón” Hernandez: Lead Vocal (1, 3, and 8) and Congas

Hugo Morejon: Trombone, Organ, and Synthesizer

Gerardo Miro: Violin

Julio Norña: Güiro [Gourd scraper]

Jorge Leliebre: Flute, Chorus, and Maracas

Boris Luna: Keyboards

Alvaro Collado: Trombone

Edmundo Pina: Trombone and Percussion Pad

Manuel Navarrera: Tumbadoras [Conga drums]

Pedro Cesar Fajardo: Violin

Invited Musicians for Llegó:

Dagoberto Gonzalez: String Director and Arranger

Jose Antonio Perez Fuentes: First Violin

Irving Fontela Risco: First Violin

Silvio Dequesne: First Violin

Hugo Cruz: Second Violin

Julio Cesar Garcia Dominguez: Second Violin

Jose Ihosvany Conyedo: Second Violin

Angel Bonne: Chorus, Harmony, and Lead Vocal on “Havana City”

Adel Gonzalez Gomez: Tumbadora and Quinto [Middle and high conga]

Francisco “Pancho” Terry: Chekere

Julio Cesar Lemoines: Tumbadora [Middle conga drum]

Geovani del Pinto Rodriguez: Campanita [Little cow bell]

2. LOS VAN VAN DISCOGRAPHY: Compiled from: Fernadez Bendroyo et. al. 1999, Mauleon and Faro 1999, and Official Van Van web site. (The first 15 releases were released on LP [or LD Larga Duración] on the National record label: EGREM.) Orquesta Los Van Van 1969 LD 3320 Orquesta Los Van Van 1974 LD 3425 Orquesta Los Van Van 1975 LD 3471 Orquesta Los Van Van 1976 LD 3615 Orquesta Los Van Van 1979 LD 3782 Juan Formell y Los Van Van 1981 LD 4005 El baile del buey cansao 1982 LD 4045 Que pista 1983 LD 4118 Anda ven y muevete 1984 LD 4162 La Habana sí 1984 LD 4282

64

Eso que anda 1986 LD 4282 Al son del caribe 1987 LD 4367 El negro no tiene ná 1988 LD 4497 Crónicas 1989 LD 4596 Aquí el que baila, gana 1990 (released as two LPs I LD 4698 and II LD 4699) (EGREM re-released these in 1995 under the title: Colección Juan Formell y Los Van Van: Edición Especial) Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. I • 1969 CD: 0126 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. II • 1974 CD: 0127 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. III • 1974 CD: 0128 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. IV • 1974 CD: 0129 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. V • 1976 CD: 0130 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. VI • 1980 CD: 0131 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. VII • 1982 CD: 0132 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. VIII. • 1983 CD: 0133 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. IX • 1984 CD: 0134 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. IX • 1984 CD: 0135 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. X • 1985 CD: 0136 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. XI • 1986 CD: 0137 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. XII • 1987 CD: 0138 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. XII • 1988 CD: 0139 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. XIV• 1989 CD: 0140 Juan Formell y Los Van Van. Vol. XV• 1990 CD: 0141 Also on EGREM the LP Azúcar 1992 LD 4784

COMPACT DISC WITH OTHER LABELS: Mango Records: Songo 1988 CD 9825 Murakami’s: Los Van Van 1974. 2nd edition 1994 Caribe Productions: Azucar 1993 CD 9453 25 años y seguimos ahí 1994 Vol. 1CD 9431 & Vol. 2 CD 9432 Lo ultimo en vivo 1994 CD 9425

65

Esto esta bueno 1995 CD 9452 Ay Dios, ampárame 1995 CD 9475 Te pone la cabeza mala 1997 CD 9506 Havana Caliente (Atlantic) Llego Van Van.. Van Van is Here 1999 CD 83227-2 Havana Caliente (Universal Music Latino) Van Van Live at Miami Arena:Double CD, Bonus 3 hour DVD. CD245 360 585-2 Pimienta Record (Universal Music Latino) En el malecón de La Habana: Concierto en vivo 2003 CD245 360 556-2 Ahí-Namá Music Chapeando 2004 AHI-1051 Ache Records The Legendary Los Van Van: 30 Years of Cuba’s Greatest Dance Band 1999 Vol 1. Y Van CD 2007A Vol 2. Vanvanéate CD 2007B Several other companies have also released other greatest hits compilations and live recordings. In addition, some of the above records have been licensed to other labels for re-release.

3. LOS VAN VAN STAGE PLOT FROM WWW.VANVANDEFORMELL.COM

ACCESSED 08/31/07

66

4. PHOTOS OF CALLEJÓN DE HAMEL

Salvador Gonzales Mural

67

More Salvador Gonzales Art from Callejón de Hamel gallery

Sunday afternoon rumba on Callejón de Hamel

5. SALSA RHYTHMIC FOUNDATION FROM GROVE. WAXER “SALSA.”

68

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