Rubén Blades is a singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and lawyer. He was born in Panama City, Panama. His mother is the Cuban Anoland Bellido de Luna, who is an integral artist: actress and singer of boleros and her father are the Colombian Rubén Blades Bosques, athlete and percussionist. He was raised in a family of artists. He always grew up surrounded by a lot of attention and love. Since childhood, Blades was close to music. Usually, his home radio was on all day. So, Blades was always aware of all musical styles and classics. He also developed a great appreciation for reading since his paternal grandmother was a feminist poet.
About Ruben Blades
- Real Name: Ruben Blades Bellido de Luna
- NickName: Blades, El Cantante de los Cantantes (the singer of singers)
- Profession: Actor, Singer and Songwriter
- Date of Birth: July 16, 1948
- Net Worth: 15 million US dollars
- Height: 5 feet 9 inches
- Weight: 70 kg
- Spouse: Luba Mason
- Parents: Ruben Dario Blades, Sr. (Father), Anoland Diaz (Mother)
- Star Sign: Cancer
- Wiki Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rub%C3%A9n_Blades
- Facebook profile or page: https://www.facebook.com/Ruben.Blades.Oficial/
- Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/rubenblades
- Official Website: http://rubenblades.com/
Earlier life of Ruben Blades
At 15 years of age, he witnessed the massacre of civilians, especially students, by US soldiers and policemen who guarded the Panama Canal in January 1964. This fact markedly marked the young Blades who, from that moment, began to question the sociopolitical situation of your country. His parents advised him to advance his studies. So, he managed to graduate from the Law degree in Panama. Years later, he began his career as a singer at age 18 with the group Los MagnÃficos. Its popularity begins in 1970 when it also begins to compose and publishes the full-length album From Panama to New York/From Panama to New York, with Pete RodrÃguez.
Keep reading: Angry Young Man Amitabh Bachchan Net Worth and Lifestyle
Previously he had made collaboration on a record with the Panamanian group Los Salvajes del Ritmo. The public was impressed by the similarity of his voice timbre with that of singer José Cheo Feliciano. Looking for the opportunity to enter the musical environment, he sought work at the Fania record company. This allowed him to get in touch and meet the most important figures of the record label, such as Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz, Ismael Miranda, Roberto Roena and Bobby RodrÃguez. At that time, Ray Barreto, was in search of a vocalist to take up a position in his orchestra, encouraged to audition and was quickly accepted.
Career and awards
He was on the recording of the records Barreto (1975) and Tomorrow Barreto Live (1976). He also recorded two songs by his author El cazangero (1975) with Willie Colón, and Juan Pachanga (1977) with the Fania All Stars and made the choirs of many record productions of the Fania label. Then, he began to mix with important characters like Willie Colón, recorded several hits. With that, he was recognized massively. The first album released became a salsa classic: Putting Hand! (1977). Ruben Blades brought a fresh voice to salsa using it as a means to introduce social-type content. Especially referring to Hispanic immigrants in New York.
A year later Rubén Blades, composes the album entitled Siembra in 1978, one of the best selling albums within the genre and considered a masterpiece in its musical composition and lyrical content. The album established new paradigms in the artistic and commercial field for its message of cultural pride, social justice and political liberation to Latinos living in the Americas. They suffered a time of discrimination and political oppression. For example, Pedro Navaja was a social chronicle of antiheroes of the city of New York: his characters: the malandro, the prostitute and the drunk recreate the violent reality of the nights of an average city.
The theme of more than 7 minutes has given rise to plays, operas-sauces and has served as the basis for semiotic-literary analysis. Another of his great themes is Plastic, a subject that criticizes many of the values ​​of materialism, frivolity and spiritual poverty of those who have the power. Similarly, it is a tribute to the common people. Blades also ventured into the son montuno thanks to the teachings of his mother. In his subjects, he has made mention of Afro-indigenous rituals, Latin American cultural and racial miscegenation.
Music
We must indicate that Siembra is the resonant epilogue of the album in the musical, poetic and philosophical. This musical production remains a testament to the consonance of artistic principles, cultural pride and commercial success. In 1980 Rubén Blades published his third studio album with Willie Colón titled Master Life a double album.
Its themes have really been classified as “conscious or intellectual sauce.” He received great news for his musical career that was the Grammy Award nomination of the album “Songs of the solar of the boring” (1981), Rubén Blades completes a cycle of four albums, in which he is positioned as the main reference of the sauce. A year later, he released his fifth studio album “The Last Fight.” It was not very popular, but it had two outstanding themes: I can live on love. The song recorded by Bobby RodrÃguez in his 1976 album. After that, Blades broke away from Willie Colón’s orchestra and worked in a homonymous low budget film where Blades, debuting in acting.
From now on came musical commitments with Fania: The one who pays her (1983), Much Better (1984), With strings (1987) and Double Edge (1987) had the classic trombones sound of the Willie Colón orchestra. Then, he decided to start devoting more time to his solo career. His last work with the Fania All Stars was in the Tito RodrÃguez Tribute, “The Boys of Bethlehem.” Later, his song “Pedro Navaja” became a great international success and positioned him as one of the greats of salsa. As a result, in 1996, he received the Grammy Award for the best tropical Latin artist.
Net worth
Ruben Blades is 71 years old. He started his career in 1974 which is 46 years passed. In his total career, we estimated Ruben Blades net worth is about 15 million US dollars. He took an unexpected turn in his life when he began to enter more seriously in the cinema. Also, he worked on Critical Condition (1987), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), and The Two Jakes. He won a Grammy award again in 2015 with his Tangos.
In this same year, he was chosen to play Daniel Salazar in the television series Fear the Walking Dead. By 1994 he was president of the Papa Egoro movement in Panama. Then, he was a candidate in the 1994 presidential elections in which he was in third place. In the presidential term of MartÃn Torrijos, he was appointed Minister of the Tourism portfolio. Their proposals were based on the promotion of ecotourism in the Panamanian jungle and increased crossing of ships through the Canal.
After Marriage life
He has been married to actress, singer, songwriter and dancer Luba Mason, whom he met during the production of The Capeman. Ruben Blades has had an important record work, both in orchestras and soloist, throughout his musical career. We will mention the most important: Barreto (1975), Metiendo Mano (1977), Siembra (1978), Songs of the Solar of the Bored (1981), The One Who Pays It (1983), Much Better (1984), Double Edge (1987), Live! (1990), Love and Control (1992), The Rose of the Winds (1996), Concepts (2003), the most recent is Salsa Big Band (2017).
