Los Van Van come to Yoshi's San Francisco

I won't believe it until I see it - with the cancellation earlier this year of Los Van Van in the midst of a booking snafu, we "vanvaneros y vanvaneras" were slightly pessimistic. But word is the U.S. tour is on, with stops in LA and NYC before a four-day stint at Yoshi's in San Francisco. The format of the band may have changed over the years, and yes - Pedrito Calvo is not scheduled to appear with them after all - but no matter: el tren always delivers. Any of you naysayers out there will be in for a post-modern Cuban shock; nothing like this 15-piece+ band playing live to knock your socks off!

Get your dancing shoes on - ¡que pronto empieza la fiesta!

UPDATE 12/2/10 @ 1pm ~
As of today 3 of Los Van Van's band members - including director Juan Formell - have not received their U.S. visas. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. Here is a link to the LA Times article.

UPDATE 12/3/10 ~ Looks like the visa snafu has been solved. We shall see...

Chico & Rita Premiere in the U.K.

So the U.S. release of Fernando Trueba's animated film Chico & Rita will have to wait, but at least UK audiences are already in the know as they were treated to the release over the weekend. Here is the UK Trailer of the film:



For all you jazz and Cuban music fans, you will love this film.