Vanvanero Juan Carlos Formell Dies on Stage in New York

May 27, 2023

Juan Carlos Formell, member of the group Los Van Van, eldest son of Juan Formell, has died at age 59 after collapsing during a concert.

The musician died as a result of a heart attack he suffered right after leaving the stage.

Shock in the music world following the death of Juan Carlos Formell, bassist of the historic Cuban group Los Van Van.

The death of the Los Van Van musician
The death of the musician, son of Los Van Van founder Juan Formell, has been confirmed by the Cuban Institute of Music through a statement they released.

⚠️⚠️Very strong images... Juan Carlos Formell bassist of Los Van Van begins to feel ill during a concert performance in New York, leaves the stage and dies shortly after from a heart attack RIP. pic.twitter.com/BwlHxQQGDH

— Mag Jorge Castro?? (@mjorgec1994) May 27, 2023

Juan Carlos Formell began to feel unwell on stage during a performance by the group at the Lehman Center in The Bronx, which forced the concert to be interrupted, although just half an hour later, the show was resumed with another bassist in his place. Meanwhile, Formell was taken to a nearby hospital.

Born in Havana in 1964, the musician studied at the Alejandro García Caturla and Amadeo Roldán conservatories in Havana and completed his training at Cuba's National School of Art, before moving to New York in 1993.

The Cuban Institute of Music highlighted his distinctive style as an accompanying instrumentalist for several figures in Cuban jazz such as Emiliano Salvador, Guillermo Fragoso and Joseíto González, director of the Rumbavana Orchestra.

Guitarist, bassist and composer, Formell recorded his album 'Songs from a Little Blue House' in 1999, which was nominated for a Grammy and was the first of several solo albums. Following his father's death in 2014, he took up his legacy and joined Los Van Van as a bassist.