Los Van Van`s "Chapeando" komt vijf jaar na hun laatste, met een Grammy bekroonde studio plaat ("Llego Van Van") en 2 jaar na hun `live` En El Malecon de la Habana". Het is de eerste CD met compleet nieuw materiaal van Cuba`s beste band o.l.v Juan Formell. Met een speciale bijdrage van flamenco ster Diego El Ciegala. Een CD met grote diversiteit, een absolute aanrader! 2005 release.
3. Después de Todo (6:06)
4. No Pidas Mas Presta`o (4:13)
5. Por Qué No Te Enamoras (4:38)
7. Anda Ven Y Quiéreme (5:43)
13. Chapeando (reprise) (1:35)
Los Van Van have been the living definition of popular Cuban dance music for 35 years. But after their 1999 Grammy winner, Llego Los Van Van, doubts emerged as to whether they could continue to play this leading role. The departure of talismanic frontman Pedro Calvo and keyboardist Cesar Pupy Pedroso after the Grammy award threatened to deal the group a mortal blow. While Calvo had become something of a self-parody, the notion that the band could survive without the showering riffs of Pupy seemed unthinkable. Add some no-shows on stage by leader Juan Formell himself, and speculation strengthened.
The excellent Chapeando, though, proves beyond a doubt that life goes on and that there`s still plenty of fuel left in this Cuban-style salsa vehicle, even if ultimately leadership moves from bassist Juan Formell to son and drummer Samuel.
Lele, named after his father (one of the founding members of the band), is already becoming one of the group’s new stars. Purveyor of an unusual raspy voice that doesn`t immediately conjure up images of potential stardom, Lele actually fits in perfectly with Juan Formel`s image of distinctive voices that chronicle the times.
The group`s other post-Grammy vocalist, Jenny Valdes, however, is less well utilized. Like other Cuban female singers of her generation, such as Haila Mompie, the powerful voice Valdes showed with former group NG La Banda is suited to intense brash numbers rather than the slower material she`s given here.
Teh album features a song in the voice of Spanish flamenco singer Diego El Cigala. Written by the Spanish artist, the song is titled "Cuba Linda" and it fuses flamenco elements with the characteristic timbre of the most popular of the bands in Cuba. As another novelty, the 12-track album Chapeando, released through Abdala Records, includes two texts where Cuban poet Miguel Barnet and ethnologist Rogelio Martinez Fure reflect on the importance of folklore in the national culture and the role of the band led by Juan Formell on its spreading.