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®
Primogenio
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mientras sueño
Y cruzo el tiempo
Y vuelvo hasta el primer ayer
Entre la luz del primogenio
Me espera la memoria
Que otro vio nacer
Regreso a la primera huella
Cuando la vida comenzaba
En Africa, viaja eleggua
Sobre una estrella
Y abre el camino que conduce
América
El camino lo abre eleggua
Del "Clan de lara", de la tierra de arara
Vida que fluye del africa
Nuestra fuente original
Desde un mundo sin pasado
Sin fronteras ni extranjeros
Cuando todo comenzaba
Cuando no existía el dinero
En mi entraña va el recuerdo
De lo que otro ser sintió
Vertical el horizonte
La espiral que lo formó
Un camino hecho de estrellas
Alumbrando a la distancia
La raiz de un sueño nuevo
Que sólo el que insiste alcanza
La piel es pura geografía
El alma, en cambio, es el proyecto universal
Sangre del mundo que nos cria
Del primogenio ser, la fuente original
El camino lo abrió eleggua
The song "Primogenio" by Ruben Blades explores the idea of time travel, memory, and ancestry. The first line of the lyrics, "Duermo y Despierto mientras sueño," which translates to "I sleep and wake while I dream," is significant because it sets the tone for the rest of the song. It suggests that the singer is experiencing a dreamlike state, where he travels through time and memories.
The lyrics mention "el primer ayer" or the first yesterday, which refers to the start of human life in Africa, the original source of all human existence. The singer mentions the memory that another saw being born, suggesting that he is not the only one experiencing this time-traveling journey. He then speaks of "eleggua" who opens the way for America, referencing the African god of crossroads who is often associated with new beginnings and opportunities.
The song emphasizes the importance of our ancestry and roots, describing them as the "source" and "blood" of our existence. The lyrics contrast the simplicity of the past with the complexity of the present by mentioning a world without borders, foreigners, or money. The message is that by returning to the roots of our existence, we can find a new purpose and discover the universal project of the soul.
Line by Line Meaning
Duermo y despierto
I sleep and wake up
Mientras sueño
While I dream
Y cruzo el tiempo
And I cross time
Y vuelvo hasta el primer ayer
And I go back to the first yesterday
Entre la luz del primogenio
Among the light of the firstborn
Me espera la memoria
Memory awaits me
Que otro vio nacer
That another saw being born
Regreso a la primera huella
I return to the first footprint
Cuando la vida comenzaba
When life began
En Africa, viaja eleggua
In Africa, Eleggua travels
Sobre una estrella
On a star
Y abre el camino que conduce
And opens the path that leads
América
To America
El camino lo abre eleggua
Eleggua opens the path
Del "Clan de lara", de la tierra de arara
From the "Clan of Lara", from the land of the Arara
Vida que fluye del africa
Life that flows from Africa
Nuestra fuente original
Our original source
Desde un mundo sin pasado
From a world without a past
Sin fronteras ni extranjeros
Without borders or foreigners
Cuando todo comenzaba
When everything began
Cuando no existía el dinero
When money didn't exist
En mi entraña va el recuerdo
In my gut goes the memory
De lo que otro ser sintió
Of what another being felt
Vertical el horizonte
Vertical the horizon
La espiral que lo formó
The spiral that formed it
Un camino hecho de estrellas
A path made of stars
Alumbrando a la distancia
Shining in the distance
La raiz de un sueño nuevo
The root of a new dream
Que sólo el que insiste alcanza
That only those who persist reach
La piel es pura geografía
The skin is pure geography
El alma, en cambio, es el proyecto universal
The soul, on the other hand, is the universal project
Sangre del mundo que nos cria
Blood of the world that raises us
Del primogenio ser, la fuente original
Of the firstborn being, the original source
El camino lo abrió eleggua
Eleggua opened the path
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BLADES, FLORES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind