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MORE FANS THAN FOES COME FOR LOS VAN VAN

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MORE FANS THAN FOES COME FOR LOS VAN VAN Empty MORE FANS THAN FOES COME FOR LOS VAN VAN

Mensaje por Pinkyguy Lun Feb 01, 2010 4:42 pm

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1456425.html

More fans than foes come for Los Van Van
The controversial Cuban dance band Los Van Van performed in downtown Miami Sunday night, attracting fewer protesters than it did during its last visit in 1999.


Juan Formell (Left), director of the Cuban band Los Van Van during a concert celebrated at the James L Knight center in Miami on Sunday night. HECTOR GABINO / El Nuevo Herald Staff
Protestors greet Los Van Van show in Miami Los Van Van performs in Key West Photo
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•Cuban band back in Miami after violent '99 protest
Cuban band back in Miami after violent '99 protest
Cuban salsa stars Los Van Van drew hundreds of protesters and thousands of fans to their first concert in Miami since protests of a 1999 show turned violent.

The Miami Herald reports that about 350 to 400 protesters were outside the downtown concert venue Sunday, some carrying signs calling the nearly 4,000 concertgoers traitors and communists. Protesters associate the band with Fidel Castro's communist regime.

Fans appeared undeterred. Police say no arrests were made.

•Cuban band back in Miami after violent '99 protest
Cuban band back in Miami after violent '99 protest
Cuban salsa stars Los Van Van drew hundreds of protesters and thousands of fans to their first concert in Miami since protests of a 1999 show turned violent.

The Miami Herald reports that about 350 to 400 protesters were outside the downtown concert venue Sunday, some carrying signs calling the nearly 4,000 concertgoers traitors and communists. Protesters associate the band with Fidel Castro's communist regime.

Fans appeared undeterred. Police say no arrests were made.

•Los Van Van plans concert in Miami
Los Van Van plans concert in Miami
Cuban dance band Los Van Van will return to Miami in January for the first time since more than 3,500 protesters created havoc outside their Miami Arena show in 1999.

The band, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this month, will play the James L. Knight Center on Jan. 31. They will play another show Jan. 28 in Key West. Tickets for the Miami show are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.

Los Van Van was the first group in Cuba to use synthesizers and drum machines in its music, creating a new genre of music called ``songo'' -- soul, disco and go-go music fused with Cuban son. The group won a Grammy for best salsa performance in 1999.

•Los Van Van leave politics behind for Miami, Key West concerts
Los Van Van leave politics behind for Miami, Key West concerts
It is not that Juan Formell, the leader of Los Van Van, Cuba's most famous dance band, doesn't have political views.

It is just that he doesn't come to the United States to promote them, he says.

``We came here to do music, just music,'' said Formell, before the group's concert in Key West Thursday night. They will play the James L. Knight Center Sunday night.

•A thaw? Los Van Van's return to Miami may signal a cultural shift
A thaw? Los Van Van's return to Miami may signal a cultural shift
When famed Cuban dance band Los Van Van performed in Miami on Oct. 9, 1999, thousands of rock- and bottle-throwing demonstrators outside the now-demolished Miami Arena outnumbered the concertgoers inside. The incident capped months of controversy over the band's appearance and reverberated in the national media, branding Miami -- almost as deeply as would the Elián González incident -- as a place where exile passions could turn violent.

What a difference a decade makes. Now a billboard advertising Los Van Van's Jan. 31 concert at the James L. Knight Center looms over the Palmetto Expressway. Ticket sales are going well at the Knight Center, where Van Van was slated to play in 1999 until the group was ousted by Miami politicians, including then-Mayor Joe Carollo. Today Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado who, as a city commissioner in 1999, was an outspoken leader of the opposition to Van Van, is mostly concerned with keeping traffic moving.

``My focus'' Regalado says, ``is to protect the people who wish to
BY CHRISTINA VEIGA AND JORDAN LEVIN
jlevin@MiamiHerald.com
Popular Cuban dance band Los Van Van returned to Miami on Sunday, greeted by enthusiastic fans and angry protesters.

The last time Los Van Van performed in Miami in 1999, protesters outnumbered concertgoers, and rocks and bottles flew.

This time, 350 to 400 showed up to demonstrate, and almost 4,000 showed up for the show at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami. The only things hurled were a few insults. There were no arrests, Miami police said.

Protesters, who associate the band with the Castro regime, crammed together on the sidewalks, waving flags, holding signs and screaming into megaphones as cars full of concertgoers streamed past.

``We're hurt, so we cry out,'' said Juan Antunez, 66, of Kendall, who said he came to Florida in 1961 and served in the U.S. Army during the Cuban Missile Crisis the next year.

``If these were Jewish people, they would be outraged if someone from the Nazi regime came here to do art,'' he said. ``There is no art in a communist regime.''

Concertgoers opened their car windows, smiling mockingly and shouting at the demonstrators. Some blasted Los Van Van music from their car stereos.

Outside, Ivan Sanchez, 68, held up a white poster board with a message condemning local officials for allowing Los Van Van to perform at the Knight Center, which is a public venue. He made a case against the argument that the performance would facilitate cultural exchange.

``They say it's a cultural exchange, but who's going to Cuba?'' asked Sanchez, who lives in Miami. ``It's a one-sided exchange.''

Magda Miranda, who came to Miami from Cuba five years ago, strode past the signs declaring her a ``traitor'' and ``communist.'' As she headed toward the concert hall, she pumped her fists in the air.

``I'm for Van Van,'' she said. ``I don't care about Fidel. I don't care about anyone. ``Viva Van Van.''

Inside the Knight Center, the close to 4,000 concertgoers were as excited as music-lovers at any other show.

Mike Barry, 33, a Cuban émigré who also attended the 1999 show, shrugged at the difference between then and now. ``It's not like last time.'' he said. ``I think the community has changed a lot.''

His friend Joe Rose, 44, a U.S.-born Cuban American, said he was purely a fan of Van Van's music.

``It's great music,'' he said. ``I respect the way [the protesters] think, but they've got to respect the way I think, too. I bet the people out there have Van Van CDs, too. Their music is that good.''

Debbie Ohanian, who produced the 1999 Van Van concert, said she was not disturbed by the sight of the 350 to 400 protesters this time, as opposed to 3,000 at the first show. ``In 10 years there'll be 30 protesters,'' she said.

Just the same, police maintained a vigilant presence outside the Knight Center. It took concertgoers about 15 minutes to make their way through security.

The band took the stage at 7:30 p.m. They made no speeches, and launched directly into their first song, their latest hit, Arrazando.

Los Van Van was to return to Cuba from Miami after its two-show Florida tour; they played in Key West on Thursday. A more-extensive U.S. tour is planned for this spring.

Pinkyguy
TROLL/PEDERASTA - EVIDENCIADO EN POST del Martes Feb 02, 2010 - 12:58 am
TROLL/PEDERASTA - EVIDENCIADO EN POST del Martes Feb 02, 2010 - 12:58 am

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