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®
El Cazanguero
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga, a
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga
Na, na, na
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga
Apúrate chino Juan que a la fila llaman ya
No te quedes tan atrás
Haga sol o llueva o truene
A ala siembre ay que cuidar
Que no vengan las cazangas
Tanto esfuerzoa mal lograr
Tanto esfuerzo a mal lograr
Tanto esfuerzo a mal lograr
Na, na, na
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga
Na, na, na
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga, a
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga, a
Ay apura Chino Juan que a la fila llaman ya
Aja, aja
Sale la cazanga en Coiba temprano de madruga
Aja, aja
Cuantos hombres te han llorado campamento central
The lyrics to Rubén Blades's song El Cazanguero describe the lament of a cazanguero (a laborer who harvests cazanga, a type of root vegetable) in Coiba, an island off the coast of Panama. The cazanguero urges his colleague, Chino Juan, to hurry up and join the line of workers before it's too late. The guard warns that this time, he cannot fall behind. The cazanguero laments that the crop must be cared for regardless of weather or conditions, in order to avoid the cazangas going to waste after all their effort. The repetition of "Na, na, na" reinforces the sadness in the cazanguero's voice.
The song sheds light on the often-overlooked labor and struggles of cazangueros, who work hard regardless of the weather and the risks they face. The guard's warning highlights the importance of punctuality and efficiency in the industry, where time is of the essence. The cazanguero's lament illustrates the dedication and determination of this underappreciated profession.
Line by Line Meaning
Na, na, na
This line serves as an introductory sound and has no literal meaning.
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga, a
This is the lament of the cazanguero, a slang term for a farmer, in Coiba during the early morning hours.
Na, na, na
This line serves as a repetitive sound and has no literal meaning.
Apúrate chino Juan que a la fila llaman ya
The guard is urging Juan, who is likely a fellow farmer, to hurry up and join the line to begin work.
Dice el guardia que esta vez no
The guard says that this time, Juan cannot afford to be left behind.
No te quedes tan atrás
The guard further warns Juan to not get left behind or fall behind the others.
Haga sol o llueva o truene
Regardless of the weather, the work must be done.
A ala siembre ay que cuidar
The crops, and the labor put into growing them, must be carefully tended to and protected from potential harm.
Que no vengan las cazangas
The farmer hopes to avoid the cazangas, pests that could ruin the crops and undo all the hard work put into them.
Tanto esfuerzoa mal lograr
All the hard work put into the crops could be for nothing if the cazangas come and destroy everything.
Tanto esfuerzo a mal lograr
The repetition of this line emphasizes the potential for everything to be ruined despite all efforts put in by the farmers.
Na, na, na
This line serves as a repetitive sound and has no literal meaning.
Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madruga
This repeats the first line and serves as a reminder of the difficult life and work of a farmer in Coiba.
Ay apura Chino Juan que a la fila llaman ya
This repeats the line from earlier and further emphasizes the urgency and need for speed in order to not be left behind.
Aja, aja
This line serves as a repeated sound and has no literal meaning.
Sale la cazanga en Coiba temprano de madruga
The cazangas, the pests that farmers worry over, emerge early in the morning in Coiba.
Aja, aja
This line serves as a repeated sound and has no literal meaning.
Cuantos hombres te han llorado campamento central
The singer is questioning how many other farmers have also struggled and shed tears over the challenges of farming in Coiba.
Writer(s): Ruben Blades Bellido De Luna
Contributed by Lila S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@macanudobatatudo
EL CAZANGUERO
(Primera composición de Rubén Blades con el sello Fania)
"...Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madrugá’. Apúrate Chino Juan, que a la fila llaman ya, dice el guardia que esta vez no, no te quedes tan atrás”.
“Haga sol o llueva fuerte a la siembra hay que cuidar, que no venga la cazanga a tu esfuerzo a malograr...”.
Coiba es una isla-penal, a la manera de Alcatraz (San Francisco, California) o la Isla del Diablo (Guyana francesa), localizada en el Golfo de Chiriquí, Panamá, que fue instituida como penal en ese país desde 1919 y donde se llevaba a los presos de crímenes violentos y condenas largas a hacer trabajos forzados de agricultura, ganadería y tala de árboles.
Existían unos reos, llamados cazangueros, que estaban encargados de espantar una aves endémicas de la isla, una especie de loros gigantescos, de cabeza y cuello azul y pico y patas negras, llamadas cazangas, que bajaban en bandadas de las montañas, de madrugada, a comerse y arruinar los sembradíos.
Rubén Blades hizo, precisamente, su tesis de grado para ser abogado sobre robo agravado en esa isla-penal. Interesante, ¿no?, la historia de esta canción.
@profeciasdeveladas6035
Esta es la lírica de "El Casanguero":
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaaa
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaaa
na, na, na,
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaaa
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaaa
Apurate chino Juan que a la fila llaman ya,
dice el guardia que esta vez no, no te quedes tan atrás
Haga sol o llueve o truene, a a la siembre hay que
cuidar, que no vengan las casangas, y ver tu esfuerzo
malograr, ver tu esfuerzo malograr.
ver tu esfuerzo malograr.
Na, na, na,
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaaa
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaaa
na, na,na
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaaa
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaaa
Ay apúrate Chino Juan, que a la fila llaman ya.
aja,aja,
Sale la Casanga en Coiba temprano de madrugaa
aja,aja,
Cuantos hombres te han llorado campamento central..
aja,aja,
Cuanto la Madeja trajo ay de aqui hasta Cativá
aja,aja,
Llave cabo, llave cabo, Cabo llave (o sea, que abran las rejas)
aja,aja,
En un brinco pa las doce nos trajeron tortura
aja,aja,
La tristeza de todo preso es no tener la libertad
( ah livia )
weee.......
Es el campamento central, ahií
La familia esta formada la campana sonó ya
aja,aja,
Ay apura, apura, apura, apura, chino Juan.
aja,aja,
Ay llave cabo, cabo llave (abran las rejas por favor)
aja,aja,
La tristeza de todo preso es no tener la libertad
aja,aja,
Tengo una cortinita bien bonita y la vendo barata
aja,aja,
La casanga esta formada en Coiba de madrugaaa
aja,aja,
Un consejo allá en el monte, apréndete a resbalar ( por el monte, o sea, a escaparte)
na, na,
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaa
Es el lamento del casanguero en Coiba de madrugaa!!
Rubén Blades (vocals)
- Willie Colón (vocals, trombone, arranger)
- Elliott Randall (electric guitar)
- Yomo Toro (cuatro)
- Bobby Porcelli (alto saxophone)
- Mario Rivera (baritone saxophone)
- Antonio Montagna, Lew Soloff (trumpet)
- Tom Malone (trombone, tuba)
- Rodgers Grant (piano)
- Milton Cardona (congas)
- Luis "timbalito" Romero (Timbales)
- Jose Mangual Jr. (bongos, percussion)
@evangelinamontenegro6487
Escuchando en el 2024,desde NewYork,saludos 😊
@EladioAntonio-zn2yw
Con ese fenómeno yomologo y ese tema y esta biografia llenamos el estadio olímpico todos un acontesimiento
@user-gs4tg3cc5n
Un tema muy regional panameño la isla de coiba. Cuando era niño escuchaba las historias de los gue regresaban dela isla .con tatuajes perfectos hechos a mano con tintes de plantas y colores mui llamativos y las cortinas hechss de conchas de caracoles hermosas me toco ver una con la cara de cristo que era una obra de arte . Saludos desde panama
@dulcededieu326
Esta canción le doy rating todos los días antes de irme pal trabajo . Tu haces mi día feliz Gracias Rubén !!!! ;) ya me la se de memoria . ;)
@macanudobatatudo
EL CAZANGUERO
(Primera composición de Rubén Blades con el sello Fania)
"...Es el lamento del cazanguero en Coiba de madrugá’. Apúrate Chino Juan, que a la fila llaman ya, dice el guardia que esta vez no, no te quedes tan atrás”.
“Haga sol o llueva fuerte a la siembra hay que cuidar, que no venga la cazanga a tu esfuerzo a malograr...”.
Coiba es una isla-penal, a la manera de Alcatraz (San Francisco, California) o la Isla del Diablo (Guyana francesa), localizada en el Golfo de Chiriquí, Panamá, que fue instituida como penal en ese país desde 1919 y donde se llevaba a los presos de crímenes violentos y condenas largas a hacer trabajos forzados de agricultura, ganadería y tala de árboles.
Existían unos reos, llamados cazangueros, que estaban encargados de espantar una aves endémicas de la isla, una especie de loros gigantescos, de cabeza y cuello azul y pico y patas negras, llamadas cazangas, que bajaban en bandadas de las montañas, de madrugada, a comerse y arruinar los sembradíos.
Rubén Blades hizo, precisamente, su tesis de grado para ser abogado sobre robo agravado en esa isla-penal. Interesante, ¿no?, la historia de esta canción.
@pedroarciniegacardenas5888
Gracias!!!
@davidmathieu8108
Que te puedo decir? Uno como panameño si vive esa canción por lo que representa.
@alejandrosolorzano9547
Mejor explicación imposible.
@oscarceliz3791
Brillante mi hermano! Siempre quise saber el origen de la composición.Abrazos en Agosto del 2020.
@sotomusic9389
Desde que conocí la canción quise conocer a que se refería, soy panameño pero mi conocimiento sobre ese tema es nulo, muy bien explicado, me hace sentir orgulloso!