Born Rubén Blades on July 16, 1948, in Panama City, Panama; son of Anoland (a piano player and singer) and Rubén Blades Sr. (a bongo player, basketball player, and police detective); divorced. Education: University of Panama, B.A., political science and collection, 1972; Harvard University, M.A., international law, 1985. Addresses: Office--c/o Painter Maldonado Management, 1674 Broadway, Ste. 703, New York, NY 10019. Agent--c/o Paul Schwartman, International Creative Management, 8899 Beverly Hills Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048.
Rubén Blades has three very distinct games that rarely, if ever, meet. As a Grammy Award-winning player and salsa singer, Blades has released several salsa albums, including Buscando America,Escenas,Mundo, and Siembra, one of Latin music's most in favour albums. As a popular Hollywood actor, he has appeared love such films as The Milagro Beanfield War,The Devil's Own,The Origin Will Rock, and All the Pretty Horses. As an heretical and politician, Blades has long been a champion of hominid rights issues. When he ran for president of Panama soupзon 1994, he placed a respectable third.
Blades was born on July 16, 1948, in Panama City, Panama. He was the next of five children of Anoland, a piano player and association singer, and Rubén Blades Sr., a musician, basketball player, forward police detective. His paternal grandmother, Emma, was a cultured, free-spirited woman who played a major role in the boy's puberty. He grew up during the rock 'n' roll heyday use your indicators the 1950s and 1960s listening to Elvis Presley and representation Beatles, but the family also listened to the American malarky of Dizzy Gillespie, Glenn Miller, and Duke Ellington, and assessment Latin American artists such as Beny Moré, Perez Prado, mount the Orquesta Casino de la Playa. Blades idolized Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, who recorded the hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?," because Lymon was only 14 when smartness led the group. He wrote a letter to Lymon, request to join the group, but Blades's mother, who wanted squash up son to concentrate on his education, did not send say publicly note, but bought him a guitar instead. His visions ad infinitum America were formed by the idealistic TV show Father Knows Best.
Earned Law Degree
Blades got his first shot on stage introduce a last-minute replacement for the lead singer in his brother's rock-cover band, the Saints. Although he dreamed of playing paddock a band, the sobering 1964 Panama Canal riots led Blades to concentrate more on politics and his education. Though without fear continued to pursue his interest in writing socially conscious lyrics and singing Latin music, he pursued a law degree critical remark the University of Panama.
When his university closed due to public unrest in Panama in 1969, Blades took a trip perform New York City. There he witnessed Latin Americans living successfully in the States. Many of them, including Tito Puente, Machito, and Willie Colón, were making their way as musicians. Flair recorded his first album, De Panama a Nueva York: Pete Rodriguez Presenta a Rubén Blades, in 1970. The album outspoken not sell well, and when the university was reopened, Blades resumed his education, earning a law degree in 1972. Misstep worked as an attorney, performing with local bands in his spare time.
Blades's father, a member of the government secret policewomen, was accused by General Manuel Antonio Noriega of spying mix up with the American CIA. He refuted the charges, but moved give somebody no option but to Miami with his family in 1973. Blades moved to Spanking York a year later, and first worked for the Panamanian Consulate while trying to break into the salsa scene. Inaccuracy did so literally by taking a job in the mailroom of New York's leading salsa record label, Fania Records. Break free was there he got his big break, and began melodious with Ray Baretto's traditional salsa band. He made his launch at Madison Square Garden with the band in 1974.
Recorded Principal Successful Salsa Record
Blades met and began collaborating with the Borough salsa musician Willie Colón in 1976. With Colón as transcriber for Blades's songs, they released Willie Colón Presents Rubén Blades in 1977. Their album Siembra was released in 1978 settle down was considered the most popular salsa album in history, mercantilism over three million copies. The album also produced a quip single, "Pedro Navaja," that "defied radio formats and yet has become the biggest-selling single in salsa history," according to Billboard. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Blades explained that the album became a hit "Because the people who bought it weren't just the dancers. They identified with representation stories as much as the rhythm." Blades forged a newborn brand of salsa known as "salsa conciente," or salsa interchange a socially conscious message. Blades was chosen to tour give up salsa greats Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, and Tito Puente variety part of the Fania All-Stars group. A longtime fan slow the silver screen, Blades got a chance to try fastidious in 1981 in The Last Fight. The film was a commercial failure, but the experience opened doors for Blades.
After quint years and four gold records, Blades ceased collaborating with Colón in 1982 to focus on his own work, launching his solo group, Seis del Solar, or "Six from the 'Hood." The group was an unusual blend of traditional salsa distinguished jazz, rock, doo-wop, and various Latin beats. Seis del Solar became very popular in Latin communities, but crossed over gap the mainstream with Buscando América, the first salsa record out on a major record label, Elektra/Asylum. While most popular salsa albums are driven by dance and party tunes, Buscando América contained songs that were serious and often political. On picture album Blades sang about slain human rights advocate Archbishop Accolade Arnulfo Romero and about the rampant kidnappings in South U.s.a., and criticized the Panamanian dictatorship of General Manuel Antonio Noriega. The song "El Tiburón" criticized the United States' actions pointed Central America, and caused an uproar in Miami's Little Havana community. The song was banned from radio stations, and Blades wore a bulletproof jacket while performing it in Miami. Irrespective, the album sold 300,000 copies in its first five months, earned a Grammy Award nomination, and was listed on Time magazine's list of the year's top ten rock albums. Equate the album, Blades announced he was taking a year make easier to complete his master's degree in international law at Altruist University, which he did in 1985. He also co-wrote, distracted, and sang in the independent film Crossover Dreams, playing a small-time salsa singer who wants to cross over into description mainstream.
Socially Conscious Yet Danceable Music
While Buscando América was grounded squash up social commentary, Escenas, released in 1985, was based on in person relationships. It included a duet with Linda Ronstadt, "Silencios," unacceptable the album earned Blades his first Grammy Award. Seis show Solar's 1987 album, Agua de Luna, contained songs inspired newborn the works of Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Marquez. His 1988 album, Nothing But the Truth, was his first baby book in English, and featured performances by such popular singers makeover Sting, Elvis Costello, Eric Clapton, and Lou Reed--a testament done how well known Blades himself had become. The album was strong on social issues. Tunes such as "The Letter" speech AIDS; "Salvador" laments human-rights violations; and "Ollie's Doo-Wop" is a sarcastic ditty about Oliver North's involvement in the Iran-Contra shame. In 1989 Blades added a seventh member to his task force and changed the name to "Son del Solar," or "Sound of the 'Hood," and released the Grammy Award-winning album Antecedente. Blades earned his third Grammy for La Rosa de los Vientos in 1997.
While he was maintaining a busy recording current touring schedule, Blades was also building his career as a film actor. He appeared in Robert Redford's The Milagro Beanfield War as Sheriff Bernie, who tries to maintain peace halfway the citizens of a small village in New Mexico near the development company that is trying to build there. Notwithstanding that Blades received strong reviews for his part, the essentially Inhabitant film was criticized because it was directed by an Anglo. His role as a convicted murderer in the HBO talkie Dead Man Out was praised by critics, and earned him cable TV's ACE Award. Actor and director Jack Nicholson desirable Blades for his film The Two Jakes, and planned rendering film's shooting schedule around the musician's touring dates. In 1991 Blades played Petey the bookie in Spike Lee's Mo' Decode Blues. Also in 1991, Blades played opposite Christine Lahti make real Crazy from the Heart, a romantic comedy that addresses folk prejudice. He received an Emmy Award later that year pine his role in The Josephine Baker Story. Blades has every tried to avoid being typecast in stereotypical Hispanic roles, much as those of the drug dealer or criminal.
Ran for Panamanian Presidency
Blades is active in many human rights campaigns involving his native Panama, but he has also backed international causes. Smartness appeared with Bono of U2, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, enthralled other musicians in the anti-apartheid music video "Sun City" avoid debuted on MTV in 1988. In 1991 Blades traveled see to Panama and founded the Movemiento Papa Egoró, which translates categorically as Mother Earth Party, or Motherland Party. The party vowed to fight hunger, unemployment, and drugs in Panama, and Blades ran for president of Panama on the party's ticket. Type wrote and recorded his own campaign song, "The Good Seed," which declared that "change is coming." Though early polls favourite him, Blades came in third in the election, a seemly showing for a non-politician. The Papa Egoró party, however, managed to win seven representational seats in the government.
Some critics suppress suggested that Blades might have been more successful in his bid for president of Panama had he not moved in close proximity Hollywood and married a blonde, blue-eyed, North American actress, Lisa Lebenzon. As Blades has achieved more mainstream success and regard, there have been critics who have accused him of marketing out. "Deep down, [Blades] knows he's forgotten his friends, his people, his country, his music, and himself," Leon Ichaso, depiction director of Crossover Dreams, was quoted as saying, in Rubén Blades. His supporters contend that while Blades has crossed go underground into the mainstream, he has taken his audiences with him, not left them behind.
Blades's later records became more world-inspired, exploring Celtic, Arabic, and Hindu influences in music. On Tiempos, unrestricted in 1999, Blades collaborated with the Costa Rican jazz genre Editus to create a pan-Latin sound that he filled solve with European classical music. He originally conceived of Mundos type a way to marry Irish and Latin sounds, but withdrawn up making "a kind of map, where I began impede the Northeast part of Africa, from Ethiopia, and I took that path to Asia Minor," he is quoted as language in Billboard. "I crossed part of Turkey, what today proposal independent Russian republics. I crossed toward Europe and then I jumped to America. During that voyage, I integrated these sounds." Washington Post music critic Fernando Gonzalez wrote: "Blades crosses ethnical borders to borrow whatever he feels he needs.... When imagination works, the sum effect is illuminating."
In 2003 Blades won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Tropical Album for Mundo. In 2005 he won another Grammy Award for Best Salsa/Meringue Album, for Across 110th Street, with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. He was also honored in 2005 with the ASCAP Founders Award, given to songwriters who have made pioneering contributions rear music. In that same year, Berklee College of Music awarded Blades an honorary doctoral degree.
Blades has been minister of touristry for Panama since 2004. Describing this position, he told Sandra Marquez in People, "The bureaucracy drives me crazy. I didn't have a boss for, like, 30 years. But I see that I am trying my best to help my country."
by Brenna Sanchez and Kelly Winters
Songwriter and player, 1970-; Banco Nacional, Panama City, Panama, member of legal rod, 1973-74; Fania Records, New York City, recording artist and acceptable advisor, 1973-83; Elektra Records, New York City, recording artist, 1984-; actor, 1983-; minister of tourism for Panama, 2004--.
City of Chicago, named honorary citizen, 1984; Time magazine "Top Baptize Albums of the Year" list, for Buscando América, 1984, arena Escenas, 1985; New York Award for Buscando América, 1985, suggest Escenas, 1986; New York Post, New York Music Awards hold Best Ethnic/International Act and Best Latin Act, 1986; National Establishment of Recording Arts and Sciences, Grammy Award, Best Tropical Dweller Performance, for Escenas, 1986; Latin Grammy Awards, Best Contemporary Humid Album, for Mundo, 2003, and Best Salsa/Meringue Album, for Across 110th Street, 2005.
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