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®
No Te Duermas
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No te duermas, sonambuleando
No te duermas, no tengas miedo
No te duermas, que están llamando
En el letargo de la locura muere el recuerdo
No existen fechas, no existen horas, sólo momento
No te duermas, niñita anciana
No te duermas, despierta hermana
No te duermas, te estoy mirando
Grité para quebrar la jaula de su tormento
Grité para borrar la huella de su silencio
Ausente del mundo en tus noches de lluvias
Y cantos de grillo, de viajes por selvas de
Sombras que sólo conocen los niños
"Jamás sonreiré", nos dijiste mordiendo tu
Angustia de tierra, mojada con llanto de aurora
Tu ropa, despojo de estrella
"No te duermas", los tres pensamos
No te duermas, dí nuestro nombre
No te duermas, vuelve y despierta
No te duermas, llora o responde
No te duermas, abre los ojos y tú verás
Que amor sin dolor no es amor de verdad
The song "No Te Duermas" by Ruben Blades is a call to wake up and face reality. The singer urges the listener, "don't sleep," and repeats it throughout the song. The lyrics describe the dangers of falling into a state of complacency, where emotions are dulled and memories fade away. The singer speaks to different individuals, including a young girl, an older woman, and a person lost in their own torment, encouraging them to stay awake and engaged with the world. The final line of the song asserts that true love includes both joy and pain.
The repetition of "no te duermas" gives the song a sense of urgency and importance. The singer's call to wake up is both literal and metaphorical - he is urging the listener to be present and aware of what is happening around them, but also to not fall into a state of emotional numbness or complacency. The phrase "en el letargo de la locura muere el recuerdo" (in the stupor of madness, memories die) emphasizes the importance of being aware and connected to one's own experiences and past.
The song's message of staying awake and engaged with the world is relevant to a variety of contexts, from personal relationships to social and political issues. The call to love even in the face of pain and difficulty is a powerful message that resonates with many listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
No te duermas, cuánta amargura
Don't fall asleep, so much bitterness.
No te duermas, sonambuleando
Don't fall asleep, walking in your sleep.
No te duermas, no tengas miedo
Don't fall asleep, don't be afraid.
No te duermas, que están llamando
Don't fall asleep, they are calling.
En el letargo de la locura muere el recuerdo
In the lethargy of madness, memories die.
No existen fechas, no existen horas, sólo momento
There are no dates, no hours, only moments.
No te duermas, niñita anciana
Don't fall asleep, little old lady.
No te duermas, tirada en el patio
Don't fall asleep, lying on the patio.
No te duermas, despierta hermana
Don't fall asleep, wake up sister.
No te duermas, te estoy mirando
Don't fall asleep, I'm watching you.
Grité para quebrar la jaula de su tormento
I screamed to break the cage of their torment.
Grité para borrar la huella de su silencio
I screamed to erase the trace of their silence.
Ausente del mundo en tus noches de lluvias
Absent from the world in your rainy nights.
Y cantos de grillo, de viajes por selvas de
And cricket songs, from journeys through jungle.
Sombras que sólo conocen los niños
Shadows that only children know.
"Jamás sonreiré", nos dijiste mordiendo tu
"I will never smile," you said, biting your
Angustia de tierra, mojada con llanto de aurora
Earthly anguish, wet with dawn tears.
Tu ropa, despojo de estrella
Your clothes, a remnant of a star.
"No te duermas", los tres pensamos
"Don't fall asleep," we all thought.
No te duermas, dí nuestro nombre
Don't fall asleep, say our name.
No te duermas, vuelve y despierta
Don't fall asleep, come back and wake up.
No te duermas, llora o responde
Don't fall asleep, cry or answer.
No te duermas, abre los ojos y tú verás
Don't fall asleep, open your eyes and you will see
Que amor sin dolor no es amor de verdad
That love without pain is not true love.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind