From May 1 through the 21st, from Jacob Park in San Diego to the Hard Rock Café in Orlando, from coast to coast, each of the Los Van Van and Havana D' Primera concerts in the United States - following a stop in Puerto Rico’s San Juan - featured fine tuned performances and confirmed the popularity of the genuine vanguard of current Cuban popular dance music.
Loyal audiences and new followers filled venues. The communicating vessels shared by the group led since 2007 by composer, trumpeter and singer Alexander Abreu, and the iconic band with which Juan Formell, starting in 1969, revolutionized the genre of son, flowed convincingly before audiences in the neighboring country of various generations and diverse nationalities, who recognize the vital signs of a resistant and unstoppable culture.
As expected, there were ridiculous attempts to torpedo the performance set for Friday, May 20, at the Charles Dodge City Center, in the town of Pembroke Pines, in Broward County, just outside of Miami, the last stop of the Florida tour.
The hardcore of the anti-Cuban industry – which protects notorious terrorists and devotes its time and resources to squashing the slightest move that could lead to the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba – collected signatures and attempted to organize demonstrations calling for the concert to be cancelled.
It is enough to take a look at the images posted on the net to verify the enormous distance between the public attending the concert and those who gathered on a corner beside the cultural center. Inside, the crowd that packed the venue sang along with Havana D' Primera and, with particular enthusiasm, Los Van Van. The temperature of the party could not have been any hotter, as the classic Vanvaneros arrived in the voices of Robertón, Abdel, Mandy and Vanessa, welcomed by many Latinos, and of course, Cubans who live in South Florida.
Outside, just a few dozen loud haters. A feeble response to the calls of the extreme right. Profanity in bulk, rude gestures, cornered by the police, who, for nothing in the world, would allow a culture event to turn into a display of barbarity.
"There are many more who love us than those who don't," Vanessa posted after the concert. Earlier, addressing the promoters of more blockade, a Cuban woman commented on one of the most aggressive anti-Cuban platforms: "Yes, I am going to the concert because my money is mine and I have always loved Los Van Van. I don't care about any of your reasons (those of the boycotters); I respect them but since I like the band, I will go, and will be in the front row; If you don't like them, don't go. That's it.”
Like her, there were many who may now become the target of attacks. A reggaetonero who climbed up to share the stage with Alexander has been explicitly told how he is going to die. What's more, one who just recently jumped on the anti-Cuban bandwagon, had the idea of posting on the official Van Van website: "My locomotive never fails." And now they want his head.
In the face of such poverty of spirit, stands a forceful reality: Music, the most authentic, music that builds bridges, like the locomotives of Cuban music, is rising and going strong.
