LOS VAN VAN

Virtually everything we know about Latin tropical music as we know it has been built upon the Top 40 of a tiny Caribbean island, circa 1959. And that was enough. Cuba's legacy -- the son that became salsa, the montuno that began mambo, the descarga that proved Latinos could jam with the best of jazz -- has shaped the sounds of Puerto Rico, New York, and Latin music all over the world. But Cuba's musical development didn't end with the revolution. On the streets of Havana, even under economic blockade and ruin, the music continues to grow, change, adapt and, above all, swing. Stronger and harder year after year, as Cubans themselves have grown stronger and harder. This is the sound of Van Van, for 30 years Cuba's ultimate dance band. The sound of the party after the revolution. Llegу Van Van.

Feet accustomed to the suave sounds of romantic salsa may not know where to begin with Van Van. But the hips will. "In Cuba, people want to dance," says Van Van mastermind Juan Formell. "If they donХt dance, forget it, they're not going to listen to you." The sound of Havana baking in the premillennial sun is so propulsive, so percussive, that the rhythms seem to hit from all directions at once. Not just the congas, timbales, cowbells, either... the bass is always in your face, the horns blaze and even the violins -- Van Van's got two of 'em -- attack with a relentless rhythm that can't just be contained by the clave. The neck-snapping, lower-level rumble of "Permiso Que Llegу Van Van" (Juan Formell); the to-the-death-duel of soneros, "Eso Damelo A Mi" (Juan Formell); the sticky-sweaty timba funk of "Temba Tumba Timba" (Cesar Pedroso); the rocking history lesson "Somos Cubanos" (Samuel Formell) -- this is Latin music on a rampage.

Where did this incredible music come from? Credit Juan Formell, Van Van's founder and the musical director. Back in 1967, the guitar prodigy was doing time in Elio Reve's orquesta, a classic charanga band of flutes, violins, piano, string bass and percussion. Under Formell's direction (and bass playing), Reve's charanga was reborn as Changui '68 -- with electric guitar and bass augmenting the orchestra. The dainty sounds of the charanga yielded to a new era in Cuban music, and Juan Formell's next move was to ride that wave with a new group, Van Van.

And that was it, really. Because Van Van has become synonymous with Cuban music. They've continued to grow with the tastes of this music-obsessed people -- no matter how heavy, psychedelic, jazzy, sweet, romantic or synthesized Cubans have desired their dance music to be, Van Van have delivered. They were the first Cuban band to incorporate trombones, synthesizers, drum machines, and the now-standard vocal trio into their ever-adapting sound. First the new beat was called songo, the Afro-fusion of Cuban son with ritual Yoruba rhythms and American pop. Then it was called timba, the sound of Havana in the '90s -- where salsa would have gone if Beny More met up with George Clinton. Whatever the name, it's always been the music of Van Van.

As a 30-year-old musical institution, Van Van has seen Cuba's finest musicians rise through its ranks. And that's saying something, in this country where "musician" is a 24-hour job. Much has been made of Cuba's master musicians, the elder generation who live and breathe the very foundation of Latin music. But Van Van is an intergenerational summit, a unique orchestra where masters and disciples share a stage, each sparking off one another's creativity. Pounding the piano with Van Van since their inception, Cesar "Pupi" Pedroso is every bit the master musician. Imposing, fedora-crowned baritone Pedro Calvo has dazzled audiences since the '70s; at his side is Mario "Mayito" Rivera, all of 24 years old and a heartthrob, to boot. While maestro Formell powers Van Van with his mighty bass lines, his son Samuel answers from the afro-fitted drum kit. "The young musicians are very good, and they have a had big influence on me and on the group," says Formell.

Now, with all things Cuban at the height of international chic, the time is ripe for modern Latin tropical music to get back to Cuba. Llegу Van Van. Says Juan Formell, "Salsa has a lot of Cuban influences, but the salsa groups are more standardized, they follow more or less the same lines, the same tunes and sounds. The Cuban style is more open." Poised as they are for international domination, Formell and Van Van are ready to take their formidable sound to the next level. "It's a fact that Cuban music has exploded worldwide," says Formell. "Cuba is a powerhouse in the development of popular music, and it was about time that it was recognized as such." Like Formell's super-orchestra, its name -- "Van Van" -- the group has continued to go, go, and go. On and on, innovating and expanding the power, scope, and future of Latin music.