Los Van Van: Some Mo Cuba!

by Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

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I almost didn't give Van Van: Let's Party a chance. Besides the corny disco-sounding title and previews that showed lead singers doing some comical pelvic thrust thing, I was, momentarily at least, through ith movies about Cuban and Latin music. (After The Buena Vista Social Club, Cuba Feliz, Calle 54 and counting…)

But if you have any of the aforementioned prejudices, I'm here to persuade you to lay them aside. This movie, about Cuba's most popular band, Los Van Van, is pure pleasure, even for those who are not aficionados of Latin jazz, salsa or whatever name is being used. The filmmakers, directors Liliana Mazure and Aaron Vega, want to explain why Los Van Van is so popular. They follow the group on tour in Cuba and on an international trip that includes Miami, where Los Van Van is embraced by fans and denounced by placard-carrying demonstrators of that city's right-wing exile community.

Though the band's founder and leader Juan Formell is White, the band's leading members are Black and many songs refer to the island's African heritage, as well as the popular African-derived religions practiced there, including Santeria. Though embraced by the Cuban government, which gave financial support for the making of this film, the band has also had its differences with Castro. At one point, one of its songs honoring a supreme faith in god was banned from Cuban radio. In 84 minutes, this film covers performance, interviews, personal stories of artistic challenge and straightforward discussion about the African roots and history of Cuban popular music.

Screened at Acapulco Black Film Festival 2001.

-- June 21, 2001

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