Rubén Blades (born July 16, 1948) is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter,… Read Full Bio ↴Rubén Blades (born July 16, 1948) is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, actor and politician. As songwriter, Blades brought the lyrical sophistication of South American nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova to salsa, creating thinking persons' dance music. He remains wildly popular in that country 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 most famous song 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. 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 with the 12-piece Costa Rican band Editus, 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 Garcia Marquez 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."
In 2004 he put his artistic careers on hold when he began serving as Minister of Tourism of Panama.
Source: Wikipedia®
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. 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 with the 12-piece Costa Rican band Editus, 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 Garcia Marquez 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."
In 2004 he put his artistic careers on hold when he began serving as Minister of Tourism of Panama.
Source: Wikipedia®
Bonus Track: Símbolo
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
Never know how much I love you, you'll never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me, I get a feeling that I can hardly bear
You give me fever, when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night.
Sun lights up the daytime, moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name, and you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever, when you kiss me, fever all through the night
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night.
Everybody's got the fever, that is something that you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing, fever started long ago.
Romeo quiso a su Julieta, y ella
Cuando él se abrazó con ella, su cuerpo se estremeció
Y le dio fiebre, fiebre me da tu mira
Fiebre, fiebre
Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affair
But when her Daddy tried to kill him, she said ""Daddy, oh, don't you dare""
He gives me fever in the morning, fever all the night
Fever, fever, fever, I'm his Missus, treat him right
Now you've listened to our story,
Here's the point that we have made
Chicks were born to give you fever
Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
They give you fever - when you kiss them, fever if you live and learn
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
Tú me pone contenta aunque la calle te dura
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
Esa fiebre de mi amor Lubita si no te mata de Cuba
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
En la mañana y en la noche, me una fiebre segura
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
Tu nombre es Luba, rima con Cuba
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura
When you put your arms around me, I get a feeling that I can hardly bear
You give me fever, when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night.
Sun lights up the daytime, moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name, and you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever, when you kiss me, fever all through the night
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night.
Fever isn't such a new thing, fever started long ago.
Romeo quiso a su Julieta, y ella
Cuando él se abrazó con ella, su cuerpo se estremeció
Y le dio fiebre, fiebre me da tu mira
Fiebre, fiebre
Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affair
But when her Daddy tried to kill him, she said ""Daddy, oh, don't you dare""
He gives me fever in the morning, fever all the night
Fever, fever, fever, I'm his Missus, treat him right
Now you've listened to our story,
Here's the point that we have made
Chicks were born to give you fever
Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
They give you fever - when you kiss them, fever if you live and learn
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
Tú me pone contenta aunque la calle te dura
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
Esa fiebre de mi amor Lubita si no te mata de Cuba
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
En la mañana y en la noche, me una fiebre segura
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura,
Tu nombre es Luba, rima con Cuba
Esa fiebre que me da, sabrosura
The lyrics of Rubén Blades's song "Bonus Track: Símbolo" primarily revolve around the theme of fever, using it as a metaphor for intense passion and desire. The song starts off with the singer expressing their deep love and care for someone, describing the overwhelming feeling they get when that person embraces them. The mention of fever signifies the physical and emotional heat that this person brings into their life, causing a sensation that is almost unbearable.
The verses continue to explore this idea of fever and its universal nature. The lyrics suggest that everyone experiences this fever, emphasizing that it is not a new phenomenon and has been present throughout history. This is exemplified through the mentions of Romeo and Juliet, Captain Smith and Pocahontas, and even a nod to the innate ability of women (or "chicks") to ignite this fever in others.
The Spanish lyrics further enhance the sensuality and passion of the song. They describe how this fever makes the singer happy and content, despite the challenges they face in life. The allusion to Cuba adds a cultural and geographical element to the song, further emphasizing the intensity of the fever.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Eddie Cooley, John Davenport
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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