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®
Muevete
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Va nuestra canción como un saludo
Para los que defienden su derecho
A libertad y usan la razón como su escudo
No hay bala que mate a la verdad
Cuando la defiende la razón
Reunámonos todos para acabar con la maldad
Casi todos buscamos siempre la comodidad
Esto ha sido así toda la vida
El que va adelante casi nunca
Mira atrás para ayudar al que lo pida
Pero hay día llegó la necesidad
De seguir un rumbo diferente
En darnos la mano para cambiar la realidad
Depende el futuro de la gente
Allá y aquí, aquí y allá
Si no hacemos algo el mundo, se va a acabar
Muévete mi gente, mueve Panamá
Muévete Puerto Rico, con seguridad
No hay bala que pueda matar la verdad
Para acabar el racismo en Sur África
Lo cantan los niños, y mamá y papá
Para salvar el mundo de tanta maldad
Lo pide la gente en todas las esquinas
Muévete Colombia, Méjico, Argentina
Cuba, Guatemala, oye Costa Rica, Perú y Nicaragua
Que hoy te necesita, Brasil y Bolivia, Chile y Paraguay
¡Ay! Canta Venezuela, canta el Uruguay, Jamaica
Trinidad, Guadalupe, vamos Salvador, ven Martinique
República Dominicana, avanza Ecuador
The lyrics to Ruben Blades & Seis del Solar's song Muevete are a call to action for people to move and stand up against injustice and oppression. The song represents a message of hope, unity, and peace, urging people to work together and use reason as their shield in the fight for freedom. It highlights the universal struggle for human rights and encourages people to unite and take a stand for change.
The first verse of the song connects two seemingly different places, the Caribbean and Soweto in Africa, to show that the struggle for freedom and justice is not limited to any location, but is a universal human experience. The second verse emphasizes that the truth and reason are more powerful than any weapon, and that people can make a difference by coming together to combat evil. The chorus 'Muévete y pon todo el corazón' is a call to action for people to move with all their heart and energy to bring about positive change, with the belief that small actions can make a significant difference.
The third verse talks about how people are always seeking comfort and usually don't look back, but the need for change has come, and people must come together to create a different path. The final verse lists several countries and urges them to move, stand up and be counted for, and make a difference.
Overall, Muevete is an empowering song that inspires people to get up, move, and take a stand for change, reminding us that we all have a role to play in creating a better world.
Line by Line Meaning
Del Caribe a Soweto en África
Our song travels from the Caribbean to Soweto in Africa as a greeting to those who defend their right to freedom and use reason as their shield.
Para los que defienden su derecho
Our greeting is for those who defend their right to freedom.
A libertad y usan la razón como su escudo
They use reason as their shield in the fight for freedom.
No hay bala que mate a la verdad
Truth cannot be killed by bullets.
Cuando la defiende la razón
Truth is defended by reason.
Reunámonos todos para acabar con la maldad
Let's come together to end evil.
Muévete y pon todo el corazón
Move and give it your all.
Casi todos buscamos siempre la comodidad
Most of us always seek comfort.
Esto ha sido así toda la vida
This has been the case all our lives.
El que va adelante casi nunca
The front-runner almost never
Mira atrás para ayudar al que lo pida
looks back to help those who ask.
Pero hay día llegó la necesidad
But there comes a day when the need arises,
De seguir un rumbo diferente
To follow a different path.
En darnos la mano para cambiar la realidad
To join hands in changing reality.
Depende el futuro de la gente
The future of the people depends on it.
Si no hacemos algo el mundo, se va a acabar
If we don't do anything, the world will end.
Muévete mi gente, mueve Panamá
Move, my people, make Panama move.
Muévete Puerto Rico, con seguridad
Move, Puerto Rico, confidently.
Para acabar el racismo en Sur África
To end racism in South Africa.
Lo cantan los niños, y mamá y papá
Children, mothers, and fathers sing about it.
Para salvar el mundo de tanta maldad
To save the world from so much evil.
Lo pide la gente en todas las esquinas
People demand it on every corner.
Muévete Colombia, Méjico, Argentina
Move, Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina.
Cuba, Guatemala, oye Costa Rica, Perú y Nicaragua
Cuba, Guatemala, listen to Costa Rica, Peru, and Nicaragua.
Que hoy te necesita, Brasil y Bolivia, Chile y Paraguay
Today, Brazil and Bolivia, Chile, and Paraguay need you.
¡Ay! Canta Venezuela, canta el Uruguay, Jamaica
Oh! Sing, Venezuela, and Uruguay, Jamaica.
Trinidad, Guadalupe, vamos Salvador, ven Martinique
Trinidad, Guadalupe, let's go, Salvador, come, Martinique.
República Dominicana, avanza Ecuador
Dominican Republic, advance, Ecuador.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: GABRIEL CANDIANI, EDWIN MARAVILLA, IDELFONSO ALCIDES DUVERGE SANCHEZ, MIGUEL LUNA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AliciaLopez-rx8vz
Ruben Blades y Seis del Solar…The BEST! R.I.P. Ralph Irizarry a Master Timbalero 🙏🏼❤️🇵🇷
@raulbecerra134
Para mi... la mejor banda que ha tenido Ruben...el mejor ensamble que he escuchado!
@panayork1632
PANAMÁ , PUERTO RICO Y REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA LA MISMA VAINA....
NO HAY TIERRA COMO ESTAS TRES....
@oscarmunoz8622
y pensar que hoy en día la música latina es Reguetón, estamos perdidos 😱😢
@edwinb9276
CADA VEZ QUE ESCUCHO ESTO Y CUANDO TE DAN LA NOTA, AUNQUE CAMBIASTES LA SITUACIÓN, SE QUE NO LO IVAS A SUPERAR, WILLIE ROSARIO Y LUIS SOTO (SU YERNO), ESTUVIERON ALLI Y PARA MI Y MI FAMILIA, FUE UN SENTIMIENTO, QUE ELLOS NO LO CREIAN. YO ESTUDIE JUNTO CON LA HIJA DE WILLIE, SOTO, CORCHADO Y DEMAS. PARA MI, AUNQUE TU NO PUDISTES ESTAR, POR COMPROMISOS, MI QUERIDA VIEJA, SE FUE AL CAMPO SANTO, CON TU MUSICA, LA CUAL ELLA, PIDIO. NUESTRA FAMILIA, SIEMPRE ESTAMOS AGRADECIDOS DE SU BONDAD Y HUMILDAD, PARA CON NOSOTROS. PRONTO SE CUMPLEN 13 AÑOS Y RUBEN BLADES, TODAVIA DUELE, MI HERMANO.
@edwinb9276
EMPEZO EN PUERTO RICO Y FINALIZO EN PUERTO RICO. LA PERSONA QUE IVA A DISFRUTAR EL CONCIERTO EN PRIMERA FILA Y V.I.P. , FUE MI MADRE, LA CUAL FALLECIO Y RUBEN BLADES NO PUDO ESTAR EN EL VELORIO, POR MOTIVOS Y COMPROMISOS. GRACIAS RUBEN BLADES Y POR MI MADRE QUE SIEMPRE TE ROCORDARÁ Y LOS SANTOS TE CUIDARAN. ASHE
@edwinb9276
MI HERMANITO, NO ESTUVISTES EN CUERPO. PERO EN ALMA Y ESPIRITU, ESTARAS CON ELLA; PUES LA LLEVE,COMO ELLA QUERIA. CON TU MUSICA, ESPECIALMENTE, CANTO A LA MUERTE Y AMOR Y CONTROL. GRACIAS DE CORAZON.
@edwinb9276
NO PORQUE SOY BORICUA Y MUSICO, AQUI HAY QUE PONERSE EL SOMBRERO, PARA DELEITAR Y COMPLACER AL PUBLICO, QUE LE ENCANTA Y PE GUSTA, LA BUENA PRESENTACIÓN DE, LA SALSA. AL QUE NO LE GUSTE, NI SABE ENTENDERLA; GRACIAS DE TODO CORAZON, PUES COMO MUSICO QUE SOY, SOLO TRATAMOS DE LLEVARLES UN POCO DE ALEGRIA, A TRAVES DE LA MUSICA. AGRADECIDOS DEL QUE LA ESCUCHA, APRECIA Y SAB3 DARLE EL VALOR, DE LO QUE REPRESENTA. PARA ESTADO DE SITUACION Y DE SENTIMIENTO, HAY ALGO PARA COMPARTIR.
TODA MUSICA, LLEVA UN PENSAMIENTO. ESCUCHA PRIMERO, ANTES DE DEDICARLA, HA ALGUIEN.
@jhoinerrodriguezzamora166
Ruben es':;;! Dios. :;?? Un. Maestro
De. La. Inspiración mis Respetos ';!!
@edwinb9276
TREMENDO, RESPONSIBLE Y MUCHA DISCIPLINA.
RUBEN BLADES, EL MEJOR,