Juan Formell: 'Just don't ask me to dance'

"I don't dance." This simple statement by a Cuban always takes people by surprise. But coming from the director of the most famous dance band in Cuba that has become part of the musical history of the island, it is almost unbelievable. Juan Formell—bassist, composer, arranger, trovador, innovator, and above all, the man who has led Los Van Van for 42 solid years—welcomes us at his home, a beautiful house whose backyard is the joy of his grandchildren. He tells us that in terms of dancing, he is like a baseball fan, who dreams of being a great baseball player and with the eyes of his mind imagines he is hitting a homerun. "But when they hand you a bat, you don't even know how to handle it right. You can imagine it. You can dream it. But when the time comes, you can't do it. I love people who dance well and dance beautifully, but I don't have that gracefulness."

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Formell may not have the talent for dancing, but this has been more than compensated by his amazing musical talent that he inherited from his father, Francisco Formell, who, in the words of his son Juan, "was an excellent musician." He adds that his dad studied with one of Cuba's greats, Amadeo Roldán. He played the piano and the flute; was a band director for variety shows; and taught his son harmony, counterpoint and music theory. "My father taught me all the basics that allowed me to tackle different things," says Formell, whose conversation is spiced up with Cuban phrases, which, alas, are lost in translation.

Although the bass that Juan Formell studied with Orestes Urfé became his first means of livelihood when he was only 15 playing with nightclub, radio and television orchestras, his first instrument was the guitar, which allowed him to make incursions in music on his own. "I knew the entire "filin" repertoire, but I also knew Elvis Presley's songs because I played rock and roll, too."

When he began to study music in earnest, the guitar served him well (and still does) to start singing, composing and doing orchestral arrangements. But it was not only popular dance music for Formell. "Trova," he says, "was very important for me. We started out almost at the same time, Pablo, Silvio and me. I have always respected them a lot and they have respected me."

Meeting singer Elena Burque, one of Cuba's most outstanding and popular voices, meant a huge step forward in his musical career. Blas Egües (brother of the renowned flutist Richard Egües of the Aragón orchestra) was the drummer of the band of the Habana Libre Hotel, in which Formell was bassist. One evening, Blas introduced Elena to him and Formell recalls that he said something like, "Hey, this guy's got some good songs." Elena listened to them and liked them instantly, and that is how a very fruitful relationship began, one that would give Formell immediate recognition, which he would otherwise had not attained so quickly. Elena's singing career too received a boost thanks to those songs, which would become part of Cuba's musical history. As luck would have it, the musician who was to make the arrangements was ill and Formell offered to do it. "Real cheeky of me," he confesses, "because I had written music before but not at the level of the Modern Music Band..." Their first "trial" song together was "De mis Recuerdos," which became an instant nationwide hit.

Elena and Formell went on to record four other songs for the "Mis 22 Años" album, which already had several songs by Silvio and Pablo. This record allowed Formell to make a grand entrance in the music world. He was not only an excellent bassist but also began to be acknowledged as a talented composer and arranger. About his personal relationship with Elena Burke, he says, "It's hard to explain. She was my sister, my buddy; we would have forty drinks together. We made several international tours and became real good friends."

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