First Cuban International Timba Festival Extends its Program. The 1st International Timba Festival… forever Formell is extending its program this Sunday to pay tribute to Cuban musician Juan Formell, founder in this country of the popular Los Van Van orchestra. The beginning of the event, August 2, coincided with the anniversary of the birth of the founder and director of the legendary band known, inside and outside Cuba, as ‘the train of Cuban music’. Formell died on May 1, 2014, at the age of 74, and was one of the most respected creators of popular dance music in the region. The summer rains forced the postponement of some concerts of the festival and therefore the closure of the event will no longer occur this Sunday, as scheduled, but on Monday, with a big concert starring Los Van Van and several guests on the Malecon seafront, in Havana. The First Timba Festival… forever Formell is hosted by the Ministry of Culture and the Cuban Music Institute, along with other entities of the Cuban cultural system. Those accredited to the event are enjoying a tour of Havana this Sunday, a city almost 500 years old, and a visit to Areito Studios, which houses the Los Van Van recording history.
