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®
Ella
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Los afilados bordes de mi angustia de vidrio
Ella, profeta desarmada
Que sin cobrarme nada se enfrenta a mi peligro
Inútil es ante ella mi silencio
Pues oye cada cosa que no digo
Deshoja el argumento en que me escondo
Espejo de un amor hecho distancia
Su rostro es el espacio donde vivo
En el desierto en que mi fe se arrastra
Por ella es que sigo
Ella, que sin rendirse insiste en regalarme
Sueños que mi razón resiste
Ella, que llena con abrazos los cínicos espacios
Donde mi pena existe
Joder, caló, caló!
Ella que a punta de besos lima
Los afilados bordes de mi angustia de vidrio
Ella, profeta desarmada
Que con sus manos de luna va
Enfrentando a mi peligro
Joder! inútil es ante ella mi silencio
Será que escucha las cosas que no digo?
Ella es calma y yo, pura tormenta
Ella, moneda y yo, un mendigo!
Lo que olvidé una vez ella lo encuentra
Y con profunda honradez me lo devuelve
Y aunque soy acertijo que atormenta
Ella me resuelve!
Redondo laberinto, el de la duda
Los pasos se convierten en castigo
En vez de intimidarla mi amargura
La bebe conmigo!
Ella, la sombra de mi sombra
La voz de mis palabras
La sangre de mi herida
Ella, que cada día me asombra
Con sus ojos de escuela
Que nutren e intimidan!
The song "Ella" by Ruben Blades is a beautiful tribute to a woman who has completely captured the heart of the singer. The lyrics start by describing how this woman with her kisses smooths the sharp edges of his glass anxiety. She comes across as a disarmed prophet who, without any expectations, meets his danger. The singer seems to be at loss without her and his silence is of no use as she hears everything he does not say, revealing the hiding places where he conceals himself. The woman's face is the space where he resides, and he continues to follow her even in the tough times.
The second verse praises the woman's unwavering commitment to the singer, even in his moments of wavering commitment to their relationship, and she continues to fill the cynical spaces where his sorrows evolve with her hugs. Despite her being the calm in his storm, he cannot help but feel like a beggar compared to her, and he admires her ability to smooth the edges of his pain with her kisses.
The lyricist employs a range of literary devices throughout the song. There are metaphors (the woman's kisses are like sandpaper to his rough edges), personification (his anxiety has the ability to cut him), and alliteration (the words "caló, caló"). The feelings that are expressed throughout the track are raw and authentic, showcasing Ruben Blades' ability to express his emotions via poetic lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Ella, que con sus besos lima
Los afilados bordes de mi angustia de vidrio
She, who with her kisses smooths out
The sharp edges of my glass-like anguish
Ella, profeta desarmada
Que sin cobrarme nada se enfrenta a mi peligro
She, an unarmed prophet
Who faces my danger without charging me anything
Inútil es ante ella mi silencio
Pues oye cada cosa que no digo
My silence is useless before her
For she hears everything I don't say
Deshoja el argumento en que me escondo
Hasta dar conmigo
She strips away the argument in which I hide
Until she finds me
Espejo de un amor hecho distancia
Su rostro es el espacio donde vivo
Mirror of a love made into distance
Her face is the space where I live
En el desierto en que mi fe se arrastra
Por ella es que sigo
In the desert where my faith drags itself
It is because of her that I continue
Ella, que sin rendirse insiste en regalarme
Sueños que mi razón resiste
She, who without giving up insists on giving me
Dreams that my reason resists
Ella, que llena con abrazos los cínicos espacios
Donde mi pena existe
She, who fills with hugs the cynical spaces
Where my sorrow exists
Ella que a punta de besos lima
Los afilados bordes de mi angustia de vidrio
She, who with a barrage of kisses smooths out
The sharp edges of my glass-like anguish
Ella, profeta desarmada
Que con sus manos de luna va
Enfrentando a mi peligro
She, an unarmed prophet
Who with her hands of moon goes
Facing my danger
Será que escucha las cosas que no digo?
Joder! inútil es ante ella mi silencio
Does she hear the things I don't say?
Fuck! My silence is useless before her
Ella es calma y yo, pura tormenta
Ella, moneda y yo, un mendigo!
She is calm and I am pure storm
She, a coin and I, a beggar!
Lo que olvidé una vez ella lo encuentra
Y con profunda honradez me lo devuelve
What I forgot, she finds it
And with deep honesty returns it to me
Y aunque soy acertijo que atormenta
Ella me resuelve!
And even though I am a tormenting riddle
She solves me!
Redondo laberinto, el de la duda
Los pasos se convierten en castigo
Round labyrinth, that of doubt
Steps become punishment
En vez de intimidarla mi amargura
La bebe conmigo!
Instead of intimidating her, my bitterness
She drinks with me!
Ella, la sombra de mi sombra
La voz de mis palabras
La sangre de mi herida
She is the shadow of my shadow
The voice of my words
The blood of my wound
Ella, que cada día me asombra
Con sus ojos de escuela
Que nutren e intimidan!
She, who amazes me every day
With her school-girl eyes
That nurture and intimidate!
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: RUBEN BLADES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind