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®
Manuela
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lleva rumbo de la iglesia
Cuelga en su mano el rosario
Y en los labios, la plegaria que repite día a día
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
El ayer atrás quedó y el sueño aquél en la piel se le arrugó
Y va pasando Manuela, y hoy, cuán doloroso es su andar
Pasa, vestida de negro
Yo la contemplo en silencio
Y pienso en las cosas que aún espero
Y al escuchar su plagiaria, por dentro sentí algo extraño
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Lleva rumbo de la iglesia
Cuelga en su mano el rosario
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Y en los labios, la plegaria que repite día a día
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Esa doña que va en negro, es mi abuelita pasando
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Y tuve un presentimiento por dentro sentí algo extraño
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
La piel la piel la piel la piel le ha arrugado el sueño de un ayer lleno de engaño
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Madruga campana y doña, rosario y cantar de gallo
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Ya pasada de setenta la señora va pasando
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Ay, que destino caballeros, llegar a viejo llorando
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Va caminando la doña encobrada por los años
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Entre sombras y fantasmas la Manuela va rezando
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Ya pasada de setenta y encobrada por los años
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Lleva rumbo pa' la iglesia y la plegaria va en los labios
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Madruga madruga madruga campana y doña, rosario y cantar de gallos
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Que destino caballeros, llegar a viejo llorando
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Avanzando entre las sombras la señora va pasando
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Yo yo, yo yo parado allá en la esquina ay me le quedo mirando
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Y tuve un presentimiento por dentro sentí algo extraño
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Ay Manuela de la noche yo comprendo tu quebranto
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Pasa vestido de negro señores, cuelga en su mano un rosario
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Y en los labios la plegaria que repite día a día
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
Rubén Blades's song Manuela is a poignant portrayal of an elderly woman named Manuela who walks with a heavy heart towards the church, holding her rosary, and chanting her prayers, seeking help from Ña María in her final years. The lyrics describe her as over seventy, bent with age, dress in black, and accompanied only by the morning darkness. Her steps are heavy, and her burden is heavy, as she walks alone, reminiscing about the dreams she once had that have wrinkled on her skin. Her past is gone, leaving only painful memories, regrets, and unfulfilled hopes.
As Blades's song continues, he watches Manuela with a heavy heart and thinks about his own aspirations as he listens to her prayers, feeling something strange within him. The song portrays Manuela as a lonely figure, whose only companion is the darkness and her faith. The song ends with Blades acknowledging that he cannot fathom the destiny of Manuela, a crying old lady.
Manuela is an emotional and reflective song that portrays the struggle of aging and loneliness. It delves deep into the human experience of growing old and being left alone with one's thoughts.
Line by Line Meaning
Ya pasada de setenta y encorvada por los años camina la doña
An elderly woman walks with a hunched posture, having lived for over seventy years.
Lleva rumbo de la iglesia
She is headed towards the church.
Cuelga en su mano el rosario
In her hand hangs a rosary.
Y en los labios, la plegaria que repite día a día
She repeats her daily prayer on her lips.
Ayúdame Ña María en estos últimos años
She beseeches for help and support in her remaining years.
El ayer atrás quedó y el sueño aquél en la piel se le arrugó
Her dreams of the past have now wrinkled on her skin and are long gone.
Y va pasando Manuela, y hoy, cuán doloroso es su andar
Manuela walks on, and her painful gait is evident today.
Su amiga la madrugada la acompaña en su penar
She is accompanied in her sorrow by her friend, the dawn.
Pasa, vestida de negro
She passes by, clad in black.
Yo la contemplo en silencio
I silently observe her.
Y pienso en las cosas que aún espero
I think about the things I still hope for.
Y al escuchar su plegaria, por dentro sentí algo extraño
Upon hearing her prayer, I felt something strange within me.
Esa doña que va en negro, es mi abuelita pasando
The elderly lady in black is my grandmother passing by.
La piel la piel la piel la piel le ha arrugado el sueño de un ayer lleno de engaño
The skin, the skin, the skin, the skin, wrinkles with the dreams of a past full of deception.
Madruga campana y doña, rosario y cantar de gallo
The morning bell tolls and the lady, with her rosary, sings with the rooster.
Ay, que destino caballeros, llegar a viejo llorando
What a fate, gentlemen, to grow old and weep.
Va caminando la doña encobrada por los años
The lady walks on, burdened by her years.
Entre sombras y fantasmas la Manuela va rezando
Manuela prays amid the shadows and phantoms.
Yo yo, yo yo parado allá en la esquina ay me le quedo mirando
I, I, stand at the corner, and watch her pass by.
Ay Manuela de la noche yo comprendo tu quebranto
Oh Manuela of the night, I understand your pain.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Ruben Blades
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind