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®
Mi Favorita
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
pues voy a confesarte,
lo que llevaba por dentro....
que me quemaba el pecho,
y no me atreví a decir.
Es este amor especial.....
que por ti siempre he sentido,
quizás sin saberlo,
y me hacías cantar.
Todo ese candor que tiene tu mirada.....
hacen que de pronto no pueda retener,
esa gran pasión que para ti guardaba,
hace mucho tiempo dentro de mi ser.
Quiero conquistarte.... para ser tu dueño,
y así entregarte todo mi corazón.
Y es que tú... con tu bella sonrisa....
eres todo un sueño de amor....
eres mi favorita.
Todo es para ti niña bonita,
porque tú eres la favorita.
Con esos ojos y esa sonrisa,
porque tú eres la favorita.
The lyrics of Ruben Blades's Mi Favorita convey a message of love and happiness. The singer, who had been keeping his love for the subject of the song bottled up inside, has now chosen to confess his love for her. He believes it is a special kind of love that he has always felt for her, and now, he wants to win her heart by giving her his. The song speaks of how the subject of the song, through her radiant smile and beautiful eyes, has captured the attention, passion, and love of the singer. He wants to make her his own and give her everything he has to offer.
The lyrics strike a chord with anyone who has experienced deep and intense feelings of love, passion, and infatuation. They beautifully express the desire to share one's heart with another, and to bask in the warm glow of affection and devotion. The melody and rhythm of the song build in intensity, matching the passion and intensity of the feelings being expressed. In addition, the accompanying music video more than compliments the lyrics, bringing them to life in a vivid and captivating manner.
Line by Line Meaning
Hoy yo me siento feliz....
Today, I feel happy because I am finally going to confess what I have been holding inside, which has been burning my chest for so long that I never dared to say it.
Es este amor especial.....
This is a special love that I have always felt for you, and you were unintentionally the reason for it, making me sing with joy.
Todo ese candor que tiene tu mirada.....
The innocence and purity in your eyes make me lose control of myself, and release the passion that has been inside of me for such a long time.
Quiero conquistarte.... para ser tu dueño,
I want to win your heart and become your one and only, to give you all of my love that I have been holding back for so long.
Y es que tú... con tu bella sonrisa....
It is because of your beautiful smile that you have become the dream that I have always wanted to fulfill and my favorite person.
Todo es para ti niña bonita,
Everything I have to offer is for you, my beautiful girl.
porque tú eres la favorita.
Because you are my favorite person, with your stunning eyes and smile that have captured my heart.
Contributed by Makayla R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
gitano27
Este es uno de los dos temas de autoría de Osvaldo Ayala en Rosa de los Vientos. El otro es Eres mi Canción.
Diana Ojeda
Muy hermoso tema me gusta
Diana Ojeda
Hermosa canción de Rubén blades
Fernando Barros
Tiene todas las trazas musicales de un vallenato, pero, no descuento, que también sea originario de Panamá, recordemos que es zona influenciada por culturas similares.
Raúl Quiroz
Esto sonaba al final de un casette infantil que tenia
El sabueso IV Hotdog
No es vallenato, es la cumbia típica panameña
elbichon11
Es un pindin o tipico panameño no propiamente un vallenato, por que hay 2 ritmos en la misma canción un paseo y una cumbia, este tipo de composiciones son caracteristicas de ese estilo musical panameño. te puedes dar cuenta del cambio al 2:07. este género es primo del vallenato y se parecen mucho pero no son lo mismo. saludos
PEY0T3
es del valle de panamá!! jajajaja
aquilez311
esta por la linea de pasebol es similar
Roque Lorenzo
No es vallenato, es Pindin, Musica Tipica Panameña, compuesta y con la ejecución del arcordeon del Escorpión de Paritilla, Olvaldo Ayala