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®
Fue Varón
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Esta mi señora adentro el momento a llegado ya
Y yo nervioso fumando, a todos los santos rezando
Pidiéndole a dios clemencia, que me ayudara la ciencia
Pa' que no pasara na
De pronto se abrió una puerta y de ella salio el doctor
Me miro directo a los ojos y así me dijo el doctor
No se apure caballero que están bien y fue varón
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
Y hubo que ponerme sales y hasta hubo que untarme alcohol
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
La cuenta va por 500 pesos y aquí no se fía señor
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
No no no no no no no se apure usted, no se apure usted
No se apure usted, no se apure usted
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
Por ahora han nacido 4 todavía le faltan 2
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
No se apure caballero que están bien y fue varón
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
Esta noche me emborracho y me engalo bien engalao
Por que el nene fue varón
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
El niño nació de día y hoy brilla mas lindo el sol
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
Fue varón y desde chiquito le voy a enseñar los trucos
Des basketball
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
Si hubiera sido niña también la Maria
Pero fue varón como yo quería
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
Cuando ese niño nació todo e mi ser se alegro
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
El nene hablo, el nene hablo
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
Me dicen papa, ami todos me dicen papa, me dicen papa
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
Hay señores que alegría se ha botado la María con un varón
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
The lyrics of Rubén Blades's song "Fue Varón" tell the story of a nervous father waiting in the hospital for his child to be born. He is anxiously smoking and praying to all the saints, asking for God's mercy and the help of science to ensure that everything goes well. Suddenly, the doctor comes out of a door and looks directly into the father's eyes. He calmly tells him not to worry because his wife and child are doing fine, and it's a boy. The father is so overwhelmed with joy that he nearly falls to the ground. He is given salts and alcohol to revive him from the shock.
The song portrays the emotions and anticipation of a father awaiting the birth of his child. The father's nervousness and anxiety are palpable throughout the lyrics, as he prays and hopes for a smooth and healthy delivery. When he hears the doctor's news that his baby is a boy, his joy is so overwhelming that he nearly faints. The lyrics also hint at the financial burden of childbirth, as the father is informed of a bill of 500 pesos and is asked to pay immediately.
Overall, "Fue Varón" is a celebration of the birth of a son, capturing the rollercoaster of emotions experienced by a father in the delivery room.
Line by Line Meaning
Estoy nervioso esperando en la sala del hospital
I am feeling anxious as I wait in the hospital waiting room.
Esta mi señora adentro el momento a llegado ya
My wife is inside, and the moment has finally arrived.
Y yo nervioso fumando, a todos los santos rezando
I am anxiously smoking and praying to all the saints.
Pidiéndole a dios clemencia, que me ayudara la ciencia
I am pleading to God for mercy and hoping that science can assist me.
Pa' que no pasara na
So that nothing bad would happen.
De pronto se abrió una puerta y de ella salio el doctor
Suddenly, a door opened and the doctor came out.
Me miro directo a los ojos y así me dijo el doctor
He looked directly into my eyes and said to me.
"No se apure caballero que están bien y fue varón"
"Don't worry, sir, they are fine and it was a boy."
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
I almost fell to the ground when the doctor told me.
Y hubo que ponerme sales y hasta hubo que untarme alcohol
They had to give me smelling salts and even rub alcohol on me.
La cuenta va por 500 pesos y aquí no se fía señor
The bill amounts to 500 pesos, and no credit is allowed here, sir.
No no no no no no no se apure usted, no se apure usted
No no no no no no, don't worry, don't worry.
Por ahora han nacido 4 todavía le faltan 2
So far, four have been born, and you still have two left.
Esta noche me emborracho y me engalo bien engalao
Tonight, I will get drunk and celebrate with great joy.
Por que el nene fue varón
Because the baby was a boy.
El niño nació de día y hoy brilla mas lindo el sol
The child was born during the day, and today the sun shines even brighter.
Fue varón y desde chiquito le voy a enseñar los trucos
It was a boy, and I will teach him tricks from a young age.
Des basketball
Especially basketball.
Si hubiera sido niña también la Maria
If it had been a girl, we would have named her Maria as well.
Pero fue varón como yo quería
But it was a boy, just as I wanted.
Cuando ese niño nació todo e mi ser se alegro
When that child was born, my whole being filled with joy.
El nene hablo, el nene hablo
The baby spoke, the baby spoke.
Me dicen papa, ami todos me dicen papa, me dicen papa
They call me 'Dad,' everyone calls me 'Dad,' they call me 'Dad.'
Hay señores que alegría se ha botado la María con un varón
Oh gentlemen, what joy Maria has given birth to a baby boy.
Casi me caigo en el suelo cuando me dijo el doctor
I almost fell to the ground when the doctor told me.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Ruben Blades
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind