Panama salsa 1980s ▶ 646K subscribers

Rubén Blades

Rubén Blades is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer and actor who is also active as a politician and activist. Performing most often in salsa and Latin jazz, he is celebrated for bringing literary depth to dance music.

Origins

Active since 1970, Blades drew on Central American nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova, infusing salsa with lyrical sophistication and politically inspired themes to create what has been called "thinking persons' dance music."

The sound

His salsa and Latin jazz are marked by experimental tempos and storytelling lyrics, treating the dance floor as a place where serious ideas could move alongside the rhythm.

Legacy

Blades has written dozens of hits and earned wide acclaim, with twelve Grammy Awards from twenty-one nominations and twelve Latin Grammy Awards, cementing his stature as one of salsa's great composers.