Rubén Blades

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Rubén Blades.
Rubén Blades.

Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948) is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor and politician. As songwriter, Blades brought the lyrical sophistication of Central America nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova to salsa, creating thinking persons' dance music.

He remains wildly popular in Panama and much admired throughout Latin America, and he managed to attract 20% of the vote in his failed attempt to win the Panamanian presidency in 1994. In September 2004, he was appointed minister of tourism by Panamanian president Martín Torrijos.

Blades is completely bilingual, working both in English and Spanish. His surname is either pronounced in its original English form or using Spanish phonemes; his family uses the English one.

Blades has composed dozens of musical hits, the most famous of which is "Pedro Navaja", a song about a panderer whose day to die has come.

Blades's father is a percussionist-turned-detective and his mother was a singer and radio performer. His grandfather, Reuben Blades, was an English-speaking native of St. Lucia who came to work on the canal, as he tells in the song West Indian Man on the album Amor y Control ("That's where the Blades comes from.") (1992)

After obtaining degrees in political science and law at Panama's Universidad Nacional, Blades worked at the Bank of Panama as a lawyer. In 1974, Blades moved to the United States, staying temporarily with his exiled parents in Miami before moving to New York City. Blades began his musical career in New York writing songs while working in the mailroom at Fania Records, and soon was working with salseros Ray Barretto and Larry Harlow. Shortly thereafter Blades started collaborating with trombonist and band leader Willie Colón, and they recorded several albums together. Their album Siembra (1978) became the best-selling salsa record in history.

After 1980, Blades tried to terminate his contract with Fania, but he was contractually obliged to record several more albums. These are generally considered toss-offs and Blades himself told his fans to avoid them, with the exception of Maestra Vida, which could be considered the first Latin American opera. When he was free of his contractual obligations, Blades signed with another label, Elektra, and assembled a top-notch band (known variously as Seis Del Solar or Son Del Solar) and recorded a number of albums with them.

In the early 1980s, Blades began his career in films as a composer of soundtracks.

In 1982, Blades got his first acting role in The Last Fight writing the title song as well as portraying a singer-turned-boxer vying for a championship against a fighter who was played by real life world champion boxer Salvador Sánchez.

In 1985, Blades gained widespread recognition as co-writer and star of the independent film Crossover Dreams as a New York salsa singer willing to do anything to break into the mainstream. This same year he earned a master's degree in international law from Harvard University. He was also the subject of Robert Mugge's documentary The Return of Ruben Blades, which debuted at that year's Denver Film Festival. During the 1990s, he acted in films, mounted his unsuccessful presidential bid, founding the party Movimiento Papa Egoró, and continued to make salsa records.

His many film appearances include The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Two Jakes (1990), Mo' Better Blues (1990), and Devil's Own (1997). In 1999, he played Mexican artist Diego Rivera in Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock.

In 1997, Blades headed the cast of singer/songwriter Paul Simon's first Broadway musical, The Capeman, based on a true story about a violent youth who becomes a poet in prison. In the 2003 film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, starring Johnny Depp, Antonio Banderas, and Willem Dafoe, he played the role of a retired FBI agent.

Blades' 1999 album Tiempos which he made along with musicians from the costarican groups Editus and Sexteto de Jazz Latino, represented a break from his salsa past and a rejection of commercial trends in Latin music.

Some might say that "his biggest mistake was releasing an English-language album in 1988 in the wake of his 1987 Grammy for Escenas" [sic] but in fact, he tends to avoid commercial choices. After winning his first Grammy for Escenas in 1986 he recorded the album Agua de Luna based on the short stories of Gabriel García Márquez in 1987. The next year he released the English language collaboration with rock artists Sting, Elvis Costello, and Lou Reed the same year as Antecedente, another Grammy winner. In 2003 he followed the World Music Grammy winner Mundo with a web site free download project. As he said in 2005 when receiving the ASCAP Founders Award about his non-commercial choices, "That's the way I think."

Blades is the personification, or at least the [Latin] American version, of the Renaissance man, and has continually strived to sharpen his skills (which are considerable), and to keep on the cutting edge of music. He has recorded with numerous up-and-coming younger artists in both supportive and feature roles.

In 2004 he put his artistic careers on hold when he began serving as Minister of Tourism of Panama.

Contents

[edit] Discography

  • Con Los Salvajes Del Ritmo - panamenian orchestra
  • From Panama to New York (1970) - Rubén Blades & la Orquesta de Pete Rodriguez
  • Barretto - with Ray Barretto orchestra (1975)
  • La Raza Latina - Salsa Suite with Lary Harlow and his orchestra Harlow (1977)
  • Fania All Stars Tribute To Tito Rodríguez (1976)
  • Metiendo Mano (1977) - Rubén Blades & Willie Colón
  • Fania All Stars Spanish Fever (1978)
  • Siembra (1978) - Rubén Blades & Willie Colón
  • Fania All Stars Crossover (1979)
  • Bohemio y Poeta (1979) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation)
  • Maestra Vida: Primera Parte (1980) - Rubén Blades (produced by Willie Colon)
  • Maestra Vida: Segunda Parte (1980) - Rubén Blades (produced by Willie Colon)
  • Fania All Stars Commitment (1980)
  • Canciones Del Solar De Los Aburridos (1981) - Rubén Blades & Willie Colón
  • The Last Fight (1982) - Rubén Blades & Willie Colon
  • El Que La Hace La Paga (1983) - Rubén Blades
  • Buscando América (1984) - Rubén Blades & Seis del Solar
  • Mucho Mejor (1984) - Rubén Blades
  • Crossover Dreams (1985) soundtrack
  • Escenas (1985) - Rubén Blades y Seis de Solar
  • Doble Filo (1986) - Rubén Blades
  • Agua de Luna (1987) - Rubén Blades y Seis del Solar
  • Antecedente (1988) - Rubén Blades
  • Nothing But the Truth (1988) - Rubén Blades
  • With Strings (1988) Rubén Blades
  • Live! (1990) Rubén Blades y Son del Solar
  • Caminando (1991) - Rubén Blades y Son del Solar
  • Best of Ruben Blades (1992) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation)
  • Amor Y Control (1992) - Rubén Blades y Son Del Solar
  • Poetry: The Greatest Hits (1993) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation)
  • Poeta Latina (1993) - Rubén Blades (UK Fania compilation)
  • Mucho Mejor [Westwind] (1995) - Rubén Blades
  • Tras La Tormenta (1995]]) Rubén Blades & Willie Colon
  • La Rosa de Los Vientos (1996) - Rubén Blades
  • Greatest Hits (Rubén Blades album) (1996) - Rubén Blades y Seis del Solar (Elektra compilation)
  • Sus Más Grandes Exitos (1998) - Rubén Blades ( Fania compilation)
  • Tiempos (1999) - Rubén Blades y Editus
  • Sembra Y Otros Favoritos Salsa Para Siempre (2001) - Rubén Blades & Willie Colon (Fania compilation)
  • Best (2001) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation)
  • Salsa Caliente De Nu York (2002) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation)
  • Mundo (2002) - Rubén Blades y Editus Ensemble
  • rubenblades.com/cd (2003) Rubén Blades etc (download project)
  • Una Decada (2003) - Rubén Blades (Sony compilation)
  • Experencia Ruben Blades (2004) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation)
  • Lo Mejor, Vol. 1 (2004) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation, import as O Melhor Vol. 1)
  • Lo Mejor, Vol. 2 (2004) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation, import as O Melhor Vol. 2)
  • Across 110th St. (2004) - Spanish Harlem Orchestra featuring Rubén Blades
  • Maestro de la Fania (2005) - Rubén Blades (Fania compilation)

[edit] Filmography

[edit] External links

Panama

 This Panamanian biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../r/u/b/Rub%C3%A9n_Blades_78f3.html"