Just bought my tickets, they're coming to play 20 minutes away from my place in the middle of guajiroland, Francia del Sur, I could not miss this.
The info says it's "Juan Formell y los Van Van" does it mean Juan will be there? Once in Cuba it was advertised this way and he was not on stage... The program says they will play their greatest hits, so we're going to have Sandunguera again and other nice pieces from their glorious past. (first time I saw them was 21 years ago... frightening...)
If you have seen them with this type of playlist, tell me how it does sound like. In the same place, on other days we'll have Cachao, Candido Fabré, Africando, Willy Colon... got tickets for them all.
Saludos Yves! Did you resolve your catering nightmare?
I didn't go (because I was with Sur Caribe in Guantanamo at the time, jajajaja), but when LVV played in London in December last year, I have heard only positive things about their performance. I am not certain that Juan Formell was there (I think not) but there is no definite information that he has officially retired from touring ... if you get lucky he may be there.
The London Cubans' general impression was that the December 2006 gig was not ground-breaking or experimental or made them go "wow" in any way, they played a fairly middle-of-the-road set with songs mostly from the Llego Van Van/Chapeando/live on the Malecon albums (NOT my favourite LVV era but there you go.) But the musicianship and sound were excellent and everyone had a good time. (I guess it MUST have been good because you can be sure that if it had been mediocre the London Cubans would be describing it as "una pinga" etc.)
Most of their commentary was about Yeni, saying that a) she is a true sonera who can improvise like a champion, and really knows how to work a stage, and that b) she is now very very very fat ("like an elephant", allegedly.)
So that is what you'll see!
check out Despues de Todo on you tube with Yeni singing it in Plaza de la Revolucion.
Antiono linked it here some time ago.
That fat cow/elephant can really sing. I love that song, btw. I downloaded the album version off Limewire, but the youtube live version is much better.
Bonjour Madame Viajera, Monsieur Bogey,
Good to hear from you. About catering, 100 has become a normal quantity for me, soon I'll have to feed 220 persons for 2 weeks...
Sur Caribe in Guantanamo, you're definitely where things happen.
About Van Van I will check if the theory which says Juan Formell is there only for the foreign concerts or the big ones at home is correct.
Yeni has surely lost and gained more weight than a pregnant cow for the past 10 years, when I saw her for the first time she was with NG and was already well in shape, maybe she had to follow a diet when she joined VV.
While you're there, what do you think of the reggaeton invasion? It is surely a negative factor for creativity. I fear it will last and I don't suppose it can evolve a lot. Sometimes it mixes well with other things, listen to caballo viejo on you tube
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=96WXx8XgaqU Basically cumbia and reggaeton have a lot in common.
This is also for you Bogey, there are colombianas
she was with NG?
my cubano friends always cracked jokes about them (I saw them playing live and took a liking to their female singer).
They said the guy who runs that group would change singers every 6 months or so, and they'd always be young and hot.
They'd always refer to them as "el nuevo mango de NG"
amusing to note that Yeni was back in the day... a "nuevo mango" LOL
Via, with Sur Caribe or a sweetheart in the band? ummmm.... sounds like Romance.
Lucky gente who can see cuban groupos perform. If only they could play
in USofA. Enjoy la musica Yves.
Bogs, I thought papaya was notation for the chicas & mango was similar noun for los boys.
Sonrisa2 Wrote:Via, with Sur Caribe or a sweetheart in the band? ummmm.... sounds like Romance.
Lucky gente who can see cuban groupos perform. If only they could play
in USofA. Enjoy la musica Yves.
Bogs, I thought papaya was notation for the chicas & mango was similar noun for los boys.
sweet fruit connotations (such as papaya and mango) will never be used for heterosexual los chicos (at least I've never come across such)
I think papaya is used to refer to las chicas in some other Latin American countries, but in Cuba they really like to use "mango" and derivatives thereof.. like the diminutive manguito.. etc
o.s. I think in Colombia (or maybe it was some other country) they would refer to low lying fruit off a tree, as easy women... forgot the Spanish though but mango in Cuba doesn't mean easy, just means young woman/girl.
Dios Mio....
Papaya (which is also called Fruta Bomba) is used as a synonym for a woman's vagina in Cuba. Get it together Bogey!
I have never heard of Mango being used except in the expression, "Esta cojiendo Mango bajito". Which means you are getting the easy stuff and leaving the hard stuff (which would be the mangos which are up high and difficult to get).
As for the invasion of Reggaeton, unfortunately, the raunchier it is, the better the people seem to like it.
The other night, my step daughter was watching the Novela, El Zorro (a period piece), and she was commenting to me how romantic it was. She was complaining to me that boys just weren't romantic anymore.
I told her, "How can you expect a boy to be romantic when you are dancing to "trillala contra el muro" and all that kind of nasty stuff.
"Traquetea el mango" is heard quite often in today's spoken habanero.
I can imagine a few french translations, but my street english is too bad (not enough hip hop listening) to try it in english.
You say this when you mean something is really impressive, awesome, would say a polite US citizen, anyway, don't try this with your mother in law, except if she's an average centro habanera (we are from un otro barrio).
Actually, it is "le retraquetea el mango". That expression is used when something is incredible or preposterous.
Another is "Cuando el Mango heche dedo". The literal translation is: "When a mango grows fingers". That expression is used either to keep going straight on a long voyage, or when something is impossible.
ah yes.. mango bajito.
that is understood OUTside of Cuba as well (and that's how they refer to easy girls) that's what I meant by low lying fruit. My brain turned to mush momentarily.
if you've never heard mango used that much in Cuba you're simply betraying your age and the age of the people you spent your time with.
even in that video someone attached of the dance competition... the guy in the band refers to one of the dancers as "ese manguito".
that papaya and other sweet fruit are used as synonyms for bollo doesn't surprise me, makes perfect sense matter of fact.
but the guys i hung out with never talked about "papaya", though they would refer to girls as "ese mango" ALL the time.
I guess I'll have to start hanging around with middled aged people
Antonio, avisala si se usa esa palabra en Cuba
Bogey Wrote:ah yes.. mango bajito.
that is understood OUTside of Cuba as well (and that's how they refer to easy girls) that's what I meant by low lying fruit. My brain turned to mush momentarily.
if you've never heard mango used that much in Cuba you're simply betraying your age and the age of the people you spent your time with.
even in that video someone attached of the dance competition... the guy in the band refers to one of the dancers as "ese manguito".
that papaya and other sweet fruit are used as synonyms for bollo doesn't surprise me, makes perfect sense matter of fact.
but the guys i hung out with never talked about "papaya", though they would refer to girls as "ese mango" ALL the time.
I guess I'll have to start hanging around with middled aged people
Antonio, avisala si se usa esa palabra en Cuba
What can you expect from a person who only listens to Cubanisima, Radio Mabia, Mas Canosa jr, Diaz Balar and Iliana Ross-Lehtinen.
In Cuba Papaya = bollo
Mangos bajitos = getting easy things with little effort.
Traquetea el mango = Le ronca los cojones