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®
Como un Huracán
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hiso pedazos de la fe
Solo quede en la telaraña
De los errores del ayer
Ella huracan y yo mentira
Que formula para peder
Lo que se quiere nos se olvida
Mas no habra nunca odio tan cruel
Y hace del presente la extension
De un amor feroz y equivocado
Que aun lastima nuestro corazón
Quiero incendiar nuestro pasado
Y hacerlo desaparecer
Ver a la luz de la candela
Los errores de mi ayer
Convertirse en polvo y en ceniza
Dando tranquilidad a mi ser
Ver como el recuerdo cicatriza
Pero no la herida que es Ud.
Como un huracan llego
Como un huracan se fue
Lo que se amo jamas se olvida
Aunque no pueda volver
Me dejo entre telarañas
De las memorias de ayer
Como un huracan llego
Como un huracan se fue
Dicen que no hay mal
Que por bien no venga
Yo no lo puedo creer
Como un huracan llego
Como un huracan se fue
Falso amor le di mi vida
Y hoy no lo puedo creer
Como un huraca llego
Como un huracan se fue
Prenderle fuego a mi pasado
Verlo desaparecer
Como un huracan llego
Como un huracan se fue
Y a la luz de la candela
Reirme mas no poder jajajaja
Como un huracan llego
Como un huracan se fue
Huracan de viento amargo
Ven y azotame otra vez
Como un huracan llego
Como un huracan se fue
El recuerdo cicatriza
Pero no el amor de ud
Un viento amargo
Va por mi vida
Haciendo estragos
Y habriendo heridas
Tu pecadora
Y yo arrepentido.
In Rubén Blades's song 'Como un Huracán', the lyrics depict a painful story of a devastating relationship. The singer talks about how his partner's harsh words destroyed his faith and left him stuck in past mistakes. He compares his partner to a hurricane, and himself to a lie, which is a formula for losing what they both wanted. Despite the pain, he acknowledges that there's no hate as cruel as the one that stems from the past, and the present can be an extension of the vicious, misguided love that still hurts their hearts.
The singer wants to burn their past and make it disappear forever. He wishes to see the errors of his past, turn into ashes, and bring tranquillity to his soul. He wants to see the memories of the past become a thing of the past, but he also acknowledges that the love will remain, and it's hard to forget. He concludes by accepting the bitter truth that he gave his life to false love, leaving him incredulous of how he could give his all to a love that wasn't genuine.
Overall, the lyrics of 'Como un Huracán' explore the complexities of love, heartbreak, and the need to move on from a past that keeps hurting.
Line by Line Meaning
Me destrosos con sus palabras
Their words destroyed me emotionally
Hiso pedazos de la fe
Their words shattered my faith
Solo quede en la telaraña / De los errores del ayer
I am stuck in the web of my past mistakes
Ella huracan y yo mentira / Que formula para peder
She is a hurricane and I am a liar, a formula for loss
Lo que se quiere nos se olvida / Mas no habra nunca odio tan cruel / Que el que se proyecta del pasado / Y hace del presente la extension / De un amor feroz y equivocado / Que aun lastima nuestro corazón
What we love, we never forget. But there is never a crueler hatred than the one projected from the past and extended into the present. A fierce and misguided love that still hurts our hearts
Quiero incendiar nuestro pasado / Y hacerlo desaparecer / Ver a la luz de la candela / Los errores de mi ayer / Convertirse en polvo y en ceniza / Dando tranquilidad a mi ser / Ver como el recuerdo cicatriza / Pero no la herida que es Ud.
I want to burn our past and make it disappear. See by candlelight the mistakes of my past become ash and dust, bringing peace to my soul. Watching the memory fade, but not the wound that is you.
Como un huracan llego / Como un huracan se fue / Lo que se amo jamas se olvida / Aunque no pueda volver / Me dejo entre telarañas / De las memorias de ayer
They came like a hurricane, and left like one too. What was loved is never forgotten, even if it can't return. They left me entangled in the web of yesterday's memories
Dicen que no hay mal / Que por bien no venga / Yo no lo puedo creer
They say that all bad things bring something good. I cannot believe that
Falso amor le di mi vida / Y hoy no lo puedo creer
I gave my life to a false love, and today I cannot believe it
Prenderle fuego a mi pasado / Verlo desaparecer / A la luz de la candela / Reirme mas no poder jajajaja
I want to set fire to my past and watch it disappear. Laughing uncontrollably in the light of the flame
Huracan de viento amargo / Ven y azotame otra vez
Bitter wind of the hurricane, come and strike me again
El recuerdo cicatriza / Pero no el amor de ud
The memory may heal, but not my love for you
Un viento amargo / Va por mi vida / Haciendo estragos / Y habriendo heridas / Tu pecadora / Y yo arrepentido.
A bitter wind goes through my life, causing chaos and reopening wounds. You are the sinner, and I am repentant.
Writer(s): Ruben Blades
Contributed by Amelia K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.