Neither Janie nor I remember very much about this concert, other than attending it.
I can see some e-mail correspondence with The Roundhouse, as I had booked a package to include VIP bar (whatever that might have meant), but they decided not to have a VIP bar that night so refunded some of my money.
Quite right – the idea of a VIP bar is not very Castro-Cuban, is it?
We heard recordings of and bought some Los Van Van music while we were on holiday in Cuba in 2007 (which I shall Ogblog in the fullness of time).
I can’t really recall why, but the concert at The Roundhouse didn’t quite send us. I think we expected something a bit livelier and Janie had such wonderful memories of dancing at Casa de la Trova etc. when in Cuba…
…of course it wasn’t going to feel like that…
…although this write up from 2009 and enticing video promised plenty – click here.
(If the above link doesn’t work, the text at least is scraped to here).
So I’m not entirely sure why this wasn’t more memorable for us…but it wasn’t. Just as well there is a vid from the previous year’s concert, then.