Rubén Blades facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rubén Blades
Blades in 2019
Born	Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (1948-07-16) July 16, 1948 (age 76) Panama City, Panama
Occupation	Musician singer composer actor activist politician
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Luba Mason ​ (m. 2006)​
Musical career
Origin	New York City
Genres	Salsa Latin jazz Latin pop world Latin rock Pop rock
Instruments	Vocals maracas guitar
Labels	Fania Elektra Sony Columbia
Associated acts	Willie Colón Fania All-Stars
Minister of Tourism of Panama
In office 2004–2009
President	Martín Torrijos

Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known as Rubén Blades, is a famous Panamanian musician, singer, and actor. He also works as an activist and politician. He is best known for his salsa and Latin jazz music.

Rubén Blades is a talented songwriter. He writes songs that make people think, often with political messages. Some of his most famous songs are "Pedro Navaja" and "El Cantante". He has won many awards, including twelve Grammy Awards and eleven Latin Grammy Awards.

His acting career started in 1983. He has been in many movies like Crossover Dreams (1985), Predator 2 (1990), and Safe House (2012). He was also a main character, Daniel Salazar, in the TV show Fear the Walking Dead from 2015 to 2023.

In 1994, Blades tried to become the president of Panama. He didn't win, but he got a lot of votes. Later, in 2004, he became the Minister of Tourism for Panama for five years.

Early Life and Family

Rubén Blades was born in Panama City, Panama. His mother, Anoland Díaz, was a Cuban musician and actress. His father, Rubén Darío Blades Sr., was a Colombian athlete and musician. Rubén also has a younger brother, Roberto Blades, who is a musician too.

His family has roots from different places. His mother's great-uncle was involved in the Cuban fight for freedom. His grandfather, Rubén Blades, came to Panama from St. Lucia to work as an accountant. Rubén Blades talks about his grandfather's journey in his song "West Indian Man."

When he was young, Rubén Blades sang in a band called Los Salvajes del Ritmo. He was also a songwriter and guest singer for Bush y sus Magníficos. He was very inspired by the music of Joe Cuba and Cheo Feliciano.

Music and Acting Career

Starting Out: 1970s–1980s

Rubén Blades studied political science and law at the University of Panama. He even worked at the Bank of Panama while he was a student.

His first recording in the U.S. was an album called De Panamá a New York in 1970. After that, he went back to Panama to finish his degree.

In 1974, he moved to New York City. He started working at Fania Records, a famous salsa music company. Soon, he was working with well-known salsa musicians like Ray Barretto and Larry Harlow. He also began working with trombonist Willie Colón. They made several successful albums together.

One of Blades' first big hits was "Pablo Pueblo" in 1977. It was a song he wrote about a working-class father. This song later became a theme for his political campaigns. He also wrote "Plantación Adentro," which was popular in many Caribbean countries. He wrote and sang other hits like "Paula C" and "Juan Pachanga."

In 1978, Blades wrote "El Cantante". Willie Colón suggested that Héctor Lavoe sing it, because Lavoe was known as "the singer of singers." Lavoe recorded it, and it became his most famous song.

The album Siembra (1978), which Blades made with Willie Colón, became the best-selling salsa album ever. It sold over 3 million copies! A very famous song from that album is "Pedro Navaja". This song tells the story of a street thug. Blades even wrote a follow-up song called "Sorpresas" in 1985, which revealed that Pedro had survived.

Blades was not happy with his record company, Fania, and decided to leave.

In 1981, he released the song "Tiburón" with Willie Colón. This song spoke out against military actions by the United States in Latin America. Because of its political message, it wasn't played much on the radio in the U.S. Blades said he was "out of the radio for fifteen years" because of this song. He saw "Tiburón" as an anti-imperialist song.

In 1982, Blades got his first acting role in the movie The Last Fight. In 1985, he starred in Crossover Dreams, playing a salsa singer trying to become famous. He also started writing music for movie soundtracks. In the same year, he earned a master's degree in international law from Harvard Law School.

In 1984, Blades signed with Elektra Records and formed a new band called Seis del Solar (later Son del Solar). Their first album, Escenas (1985), won Blades his first Grammy Award. He then released Agua de Luna in 1987, which was inspired by stories from writer Gabriel García Márquez. In 1988, he released Nothing But the Truth with rock artists like Sting and Elvis Costello. He also released Antecedente in 1988, which won another Grammy Award.

Later Years: 1990s–Present

During the 1990s, Rubén Blades continued to act in movies and make music. In 1990, he released Poetry: the Greatest Hits, which showed his political ideas in music.

In 1994, he ran for president of Panama but was not elected. The album La Rosa de los Vientos came after this experience. He also made award-winning music like Pena and Amor y Control. In 1997, Blades was in a Broadway musical called The Capeman, written by Paul Simon.

He appeared in many films, including The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), Predator 2 (1990), and Cradle Will Rock (1999), where he played Mexican artist Diego Rivera. He also appeared in an episode of The X-Files. In the 2003 movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico, he played a retired FBI agent.

Blades' 1999 album Tiempos was different from his usual salsa music and won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album. In 2001, he was added to the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. His 2002 album Mundo mixed music from different cultures and won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.

From 2004 to 2009, Blades took a break from his artistic career to serve as Panama's Minister of Tourism. In 2007, he started an online TV show called Show de Ruben Blades (SDRB). In 2005, he received an honorary degree from the Berklee College of Music.

In 2011, Blades received the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for his work against hunger. In 2015, his album Tangos won a Grammy Award.

From 2015 to 2023, Blades played Daniel Salazar in the TV series Fear the Walking Dead. In 2017, he sang in the charity song "Almost Like Praying" to help victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

In 2021, Blades was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year for his amazing contributions to Latin music and his activism. In 2024, he received an honorary degree from Princeton University.

Personal Life

Rubén Blades has a Law degree from the University of Panama and a master's degree in International Law from Harvard University.

He is married to singer Luba Mason.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Live albums

Compilation albums

Awards and Nominations

Grammy Awards

Latin Grammy Awards

Note: At the 4th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Mundo also received a nomination for Best Engineered Album, which went to engineers Walter Flores, Oscar Marín, Daniela Pastore and Edín Solís.

Images for kids

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  Blades performing

See also

In Spanish: Rubén Blades para niños