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 País
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Con sus palabras de cobre
Y por ellos aprendimos
A negar lo que es posible
En mi tierra los ladrones, usan corbatas de seda
Y desde plásticas mansiones se reparten
Lo que aún queda, de pobrezas invisibles
En sus almas impermeables, el dolor de otro es obsceno
Con su lógica infranqueable
Todo lo injustificable, lo remiten a los cielos
Los domingos van a misa y en sus
Diarios se publican sus hipócritas sonrisas
Perdonados hipotecan lo que no les pertenece
Y se casan entre ellos para crear a nuevos dueños
Que serán amamantados por unos senos trigueños
Que jamás son consultados
En sus palabras de acero y en sus almas impermeables
El que es pobre es responsable, por que nació sin dinero
El dolor de otro es obsceno
(Uh)
Con sus plásticas sonrisas y en sus domingos de hielo
Estos dueños de mi tierra
De maldad enriquecidos, hipotecan a los cielos
El país nunca fue pobre
Otros lo han empobrecido y somos todos responsables
Por haberles permitido, el que eructen nuestros sueños
Donde compran si no vendes
Se derrota el que se vende
Te derrotan si te vendes
Nos derrotan si te vendes
Se derrota el que se vende
The lyrics of Rubén Blades's song "El País" address the issue of poverty and inequality in his home country. He starts by asserting that his country has never been poor, but rather others have impoverished it through their corrupt actions. The use of words made of copper symbolizes deceit and manipulation. Blades suggests that the people have learned to deny what is possible due to the influence of these corrupt individuals.
He then describes the thieves in his land, who wear silk ties and distribute what little remains of invisible poverty from their plastic mansions. The image of using plastic to describe their wealth highlights its superficiality and artificial nature. These thieves are portrayed as detached from the suffering of others, considering the pain of others obscene. Their unfaltering logic allows them to justify any unjustifiable action by shifting the blame onto the heavens.
Blades criticizes the hypocrisy of these individuals, who attend mass on Sundays and have their false smiles published in the newspapers. They mortgage what is not rightfully theirs, symbolizing their exploitation and abuse of power. Furthermore, they marry among themselves to create new owners who will be nurtured by the breasts of women with brown skin, who are never consulted in decision-making processes.
The song emphasizes the steel words and impermeable souls of these corrupt individuals, who blame the poor for their own poverty because they were born without money. The pain of others is seen as something vulgar or indecent. Blades emphasizes the plastic smiles and frozen Sundays of these owners of his land, who have enriched themselves through malice and have mortgaged the heavens.
In the chorus, Blades repeats that the country was never poor, but rather others have impoverished it, and everyone is responsible for allowing them to destroy their dreams. The subsequent lines highlight the negative consequences of selling oneself or one's values, leading to defeat and domination.
Overall, "El País" is a powerful critique of corruption, inequality, and the perpetuation of poverty in society. Blades calls for a collective responsibility to challenge and resist those who exploit and impoverish the nation.
Line by Line Meaning
Mi país nunca fue pobre, otros lo han empobrecido
My country was never poor, others have made it poor
Con sus palabras de cobre
With their words of deception
Y por ellos aprendimos
And because of them we learned
A negar lo que es posible
To deny what is possible
En mi tierra los ladrones, usan corbatas de seda
In my land, the thieves wear silk ties
Y desde plásticas mansiones se reparten
And from plastic mansions they distribute
Lo que aún queda, de pobrezas invisibles
What little remains of invisible poverty
En sus almas impermeables, el dolor de otro es obsceno
In their impermeable souls, the pain of others is obscene
Con su lógica infranqueable
With their impassable logic
Todo lo injustificable, lo remiten a los cielos
Everything unjustifiable, they defer to the heavens
Los domingos van a misa y en sus
On Sundays they go to mass and in their
Diarios se publican sus hipócritas sonrisas
Newspapers publish their hypocritical smiles
Perdonados hipotecan lo que no les pertenece
Forgiven, they mortgage what does not belong to them
Y se casan entre ellos para crear a nuevos dueños
And they marry each other to create new owners
Que serán amamantados por unos senos trigueños
Who will be nursed by dark-skinned breasts
Que jamás son consultados
That are never consulted
En sus palabras de acero y en sus almas impermeables
In their words of steel and in their impermeable souls
El que es pobre es responsable, por que nació sin dinero
The one who is poor is responsible because they were born without money
El dolor de otro es obsceno
The pain of another is obscene
(Uh)
(Uh)
Con sus plásticas sonrisas y en sus domingos de hielo
With their plastic smiles and their icy Sundays
Estos dueños de mi tierra
These owners of my land
De maldad enriquecidos, hipotecan a los cielos
Enriched with evil, they mortgage the heavens
El país nunca fue pobre
The country was never poor
Otros lo han empobrecido y somos todos responsables
Others have impoverished it and we are all responsible
Por haberles permitido, el que eructen nuestros sueños
For allowing them to belch our dreams
Donde compran si no vendes
Where they buy if you don't sell
Se derrota el que se vende
The one who sells is defeated
Te derrotan si te vendes
They defeat you if you sell yourself
Nos derrotan si te vendes
They defeat us if you sell yourself
Se derrota el que se vende
The one who sells is defeated
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Ruben Blades
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dora Duarte
Por siempre Rubén...tus letras son el grito del pueblo......El país Empobrecidos
Daniel Sommariva
Que poderosas palabras de verdad. Tengo mucho respeto por Ruben y los fantásticos músicos que actúan con él. Hay tanta sinceridad en su tono y la historia me golpea en el corazón. Esta es la música real. Bravo.
Rosalinn Bazalar navarro
Grande Ruben!! Siempre cantando verdades😘😘
Chiquipan Mar My
México te abraza Rubén Blades, Maestro ¡Siempre sorprendiendo! Y de forma soberbia. FELICITACIONES! Esto es música, reflejo de la realidad latinoamericana.
cristopher marin
Dios, ojala nunca se calle tu voz, pero si algún día llegara a ocurrir, no te preocupes el eco de tus canciones descansa en nuestro corazón
Chiquipan Mar My
No manches! Gracias por los buenos deseos, ya lo quieres avecindado en el otro barrio.
cristopher marin
@Chiquipan Mar My acaso no sabes que el es inmortal?
Chiquipan Mar My
@cristopher marin Es un GRAN ser humano.
Odemaris Luque
Ese ritmo melancólico y la letra certera hace de esta composición un lamentó del alma por lo que vemos desde dentro en nuestro Panamá y si... en el mundo como tal, corrupción, injusticia... vestida de sonrisas y promesas falsas😢
Aarón Chinchilla
Rubén Blades solo se puede describir con una palabra: GENIO