The Cuban orchestra Los Van Van announced on Saturday that it will continue with its current tour despite the death of its bassist, Juan Carlos Formell, after a performance in New York.

"To our fans we inform you that the tour in the United States continues, we will be paying tribute to Juan Carlos in each presentation, in each musical note, in each Vanvanero choir as Juanca would have wished," the group said through its Facebook account.

In the message, Los Van Van expressed their "great sadness" for the death of Formell, 59, who died in New York as a result of a heart attack, as confirmed by the Cuban Institute of Music.

"Everyone who ever knew them knows how special he was as a human being, as a professional and as a musician. We are all destroyed by this news. We are left with the joy that his last moments were on stage giving everything for our music, for our family, for Los Van Van and for their fans, "said the group.

Formell had to leave on Friday night a concert that Los Van Van offered at the Lehman Center in the Bronx, which was temporarily interrupted and then resumed a half hour later with another bassist.

The musician was one of the sons of the group's founder Juan Formell and had taken over in the legendary band after his death in 2014.

The Cuban group performed Friday in New York as part of a tour of the United States marked by problems, as the band was forced to initially postpone that concert due to visa difficulties and cancel another performance in Miami.

The calendar takes them this weekend to the Californian cities of San Francisco and San Diego and then, starting June 3, to Europe, where they will have stops in several countries, including Spain.

(Information from EFE)