Born in Havana on August 2, 1942, Juan Formell stood out for his work as a composer, bassist, arranger, singer, conductor and record producer.

He was the founder and director for more than four decades of the legendary Los Van Van orchestra, described as the train of popular music in our country.

Formell was a worthy ambassador of Cuban music and teacher of several generations of musicians, many of whom began or were in the orchestra that he created and later founded other groups that also achieved notoriety.

He was the author of a large number of songs that uniquely recreated the life of the Cuban people.

Formell did his first musical studies with his father, who was a flutist, pianist and arranger, and later continued in a self-taught way.

In his training as a composer and bass guitar player, he had the guidance of prestigious Cuban musicians, among whom were Félix Guerrero, Rafael Somavilla, Armando Romeu, Antonio (Tony) Taño and Orestes Urfé.

During the initial stage of his work in the musical sphere in Cuba, he was part of several groups, among which were those of Pedro Justíz, Peruchín, Guillermo Rubalcaba, and Carlos Faxas, where he began as an orchestrator and composer.

His creations achieved renown in the voice of the outstanding singer Elena Burke, such as Y ya lo sé, De mis memorias, Lo material and Yo soy tu luz, had an impact on the national scene.

Later, Formell's incorporation in 1967 to the Elio Revé orchestra was very important for Formell, in which he made valuable stylistic and structural contributions to the Cuban charanguera orchestras.

Other creations of his such as El martes, Yuya Martínez, Qué bolá, Qué bolón, La flaca, Te lo gastaste todo and El jueves achieved great popularity.

During those years Formell maintained his work with Elena Burke and also resumed the practice of interpreting his works alone with the guitar as he had done in his first artistic presentations when he was still an amateur troubadour.

In the final stage of 1969 when Formell created the Van Van, with which he continued and expanded his creative work full of research and experimentation, fundamentally based on the maximum use of the expressive resources of Son. That was how, together with the also prominent musician José Luís Quintana, known as changuito, the Songo emerged, a new rhythm that was decisive in his later creation.

In 1981 he included the trombones in his charanga to reinforce the central register of his orchestra. Along with his work in dance music, Formell maintained his creative work within the line of the song and set poems by Nicolás Guillén to music, wrote music for the theater and for the cinema he composed the soundtrack of Los pájaros tirándole a la escopeta.

In addition, he made countless presentations as an author and performer at national events promoted by cultural institutions and international tours in different parts of the world.

Multiple awards and recognitions were given to him in Cuba and abroad.

Juan Formell passed away on May 1, 2014 in Havana, but beyond his physical disappearance he continues and will continue to be a source and sound legacy for all generations of Cuban musicians. And it is that Formell, in addition to occupying a relevant place in the musical history of Cuba, is still there in the Van Van, now under the direction of his son Samuel.