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®
Sebastian
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
El del nuestro se llamaba "Sebastián"
Lavaba carros y hacía de todo un poco
Para ganarse el pan
"Sebastian" tenía una novia imaginaria
Y con ella discutía sin cesar
Se ataba al cuello una capa hecha de trapos
Y corriendo por las calles lo escuchábamos gritar
Sólo las estrellas bastarán
Sólo las estrellas bastarán"
En cada loco hay, por lo menos, un sueño
Ser amado era el ideal de "Sebastian"
Con papel, lata, cartón y mucho empeño
Comenzó su plan
Por amor alucinando, implacable
Fue creando la más grande super nave espacial
Para irse con su novia
"De nuestro barrio de mierda hacia el mundo sideral"
En cada sueño hay, por lo menos, un drama
Y en angustias se enredaba "Sebastian"
Una noche, cuando con el cielo hablaba
Sobre el horizonte vio una luz cruzar
Feliz gritó, "espérame"
Y lo vi correr lanzándose en el mar
Tratando aquel destello recobrar
Porque "Sólo las estrellas bastarán
Sólo las estrellas bastarán!"
Sobre la arena sucia de la playa del mercado
Hay una vaina que parece un proyectil
De sus alas cuelga una capa de trapos
De su sombra, una soledad sin fin
Su novia imaginaria aún lo espera
En las noches hace guardia, frente al mar
Nadie la conquistará
A ninguna otra ilusión se entregará
Fiel al loco que le dió la Eternidad
Porque sólo las estrellas bastarán
Sólo las estrellas bastarán
Sólo las estrellas bastarán
The lyrics of Rubén Blades's song Sebastian talk about a man named Sebastian who was known as the crazy person in his neighborhood. He performed odd jobs like washing cars to earn a living but had an imaginary girlfriend with whom he would argue constantly. Sebastian would wear a cape made of rags and run through the streets shouting that only the stars would be enough to capture his heart. He dreamed of being loved and wanted to create a spacecraft to fly into the galaxy with his girlfriend. One night, he saw a light over the horizon and thought it was the perfect opportunity to elope with his imaginary girlfriend. However, he chased the light into the ocean foolishly and lost his life, leaving his girlfriend waiting for him on the beach, guarded by the stars whom he had cherished so much.
The lyrics of the song are deep and meaningful because they reveal the fragility of human desires and the lengths people will go to achieve their dreams. It highlights the fact that sometimes people get so wrapped up in their imaginations that they forget reality and end up sacrificing everything they have. Sebastian risked his life chasing an imaginary dream, and it ultimately cost him his life. The song also speaks to the power of imagination, and how it can both inspire and destroy people's lives. Sebastian's imagination drove him to create a spacecraft, but it also led him to chase a dangerous light into the ocean.
Line by Line Meaning
En cada barrio hay, por lo menos, un loco
Every neighborhood has at least one crazy person
El del nuestro se llamaba "Sebastián"
Ours was named "Sebastian"
Lavaba carros y hacía de todo un poco
He washed cars and did odd jobs to earn his living
Para ganarse el pan
To earn his bread
"Sebastián" tenía una novia imaginaria
Sebastian had an imaginary girlfriend
Y con ella discutía sin cesar
He argued with her incessantly
Se ataba al cuello una capa hecha de trapos
He tied a ragged cape around his neck
Y corriendo por las calles lo escuchábamos gritar
And we heard him shouting as he ran through the streets
"Sebastian, si me quieres conquistar
"Sebastian, if you want to win me over
Sólo las estrellas bastarán
Only the stars will suffice
Sólo las estrellas bastarán"
Only the stars will suffice"
En cada loco hay, por lo menos, un sueño
Every crazy person has at least one dream
Ser amado era el ideal de "Sebastian"
Being loved was Sebastian's ideal
Con papel, lata, cartón y mucho empeño
With paper, tin, cardboard, and much effort
Comenzó su plan
He started his plan
Por amor alucinando, implacable
Hallucinating for love, relentless
Fue creando la más grande super nave espacial
He created the biggest super spacecraft
Para irse con su novia
To leave with his girlfriend
"De nuestro barrio de mierda hacia el mundo sideral"
"From our shitty neighborhood to the sidereal world"
En cada sueño hay, por lo menos, un drama
In every dream, there is at least one drama
Y en angustias se enredaba "Sebastian"
And Sebastian got tangled up in anxieties
Una noche, cuando con el cielo hablaba
One night, when he was talking to the sky
Sobre el horizonte vio una luz cruzar
He saw a light crossing the horizon
Feliz gritó, "espérame"
He shouted happily, "wait for me"
Y lo vi correr lanzándose en el mar
And I saw him running and throwing himself into the sea
Tratando aquel destello recobrar
Trying to regain that flash
Porque "Sólo las estrellas bastarán
Because "Only the stars will suffice
Sólo las estrellas bastarán!
Only the stars will suffice!"
Sobre la arena sucia de la playa del mercado
On the dirty sand of the market beach
Hay una vaina que parece un proyectil
There is something that looks like a projectile
De sus alas cuelga una capa de trapos
A ragged cape hangs from its wings
De su sombra, una soledad sin fin
From its shadow, an endless loneliness
Su novia imaginaria aún lo espera
His imaginary girlfriend still waits for him
En las noches hace guardia, frente al mar
She keeps watch by the sea at night
Nadie la conquistará
No one will win her over
A ninguna otra ilusión se entregará
She will not give herself to any other illusion
Fiel al loco que le dió la Eternidad
Loyal to the crazy one who gave her Eternity
Porque sólo las estrellas bastarán
Because only the stars will suffice
Sólo las estrellas bastarán
Only the stars will suffice
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BLADES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@adanperez8888
En cada barrio hay, por lo menos, un loco.
El del nuestro se llamaba "Sebastián".
Lavaba carros y hacía de todo un poco,
Para ganarse el pan.
"Sebastian" tenía una novia imaginaria,
Y con ella discutía sin cesar.
Se ataba al cuello una capa hecha de trapos
Y corriendo por las calles lo escuchábamos gritar:
"Sebastian, si me quieres conquistar,
Sólo las estrellas bastarán;
Sólo las estrellas bastarán".
En cada loco hay, por lo menos, un sueño.
Ser amado era el ideal de "Sebastian"
Con papel, lata, cartón y mucho empeño
Comenzó su plan.
Por amor alucinando, implacable,
Fue creando la más grande super nave espacial,
Para irse con su novia,
"De nuestro barrio de mierda hacia el mundo sideral".
En cada sueño hay, por lo menos, un drama,
Y en angustias se enredaba "Sebastian".
Una noche, cuando con el cielo hablaba,
Sobre el horizonte vio una luz cruzar.
Feliz gritó, - "espérame" -
Y lo vi correr lanzándose en el mar,
Tratando aquel destello recobrar,
Porque "Sólo las estrellas bastarán;
Sólo las estrellas bastarán!"
Sobre la arena sucia de la playa del mercado
Hay una vaina que parece un proyectil.
De sus alas cuelga una capa de trapos;
De su sombra, una soledad sin fin.
Su novia imaginaria aún lo espera.
En las noches hace guardia, frente al mar.
Nadie la conquistará.
A ninguna otra ilusión se entregará,
Fiel al loco que le dió la Eternidad,
Porque sólo las estrellas bastarán.
Sólo las estrellas bastarán:
Sólo las estrellas bastarán!
@manuelalvarado1491
En cada barrio hay, por lo menos, un loco
El del nuestro se llamaba Sebastián
Lavaba carros y hacía de todo un poco
Para ganarse el pan
Sebastián tenía una novia imaginaria
Y con ella discutía sin cesar
Se ataba al cuello una capa hecha de trapos
Y corriendo por las calles lo escuchábamos gritar
Sebastian, si me quieres conquistar
Solo las estrellas bastaran, solo las estrellas bastaran
En cada loco hay, por lo menos, un sueño
Ser amado era el ideal de Sebastián
Con papel, lata, cartón y mucho empeño
Comenzó su plan
Por amor, alucinando, implacable fue creando
La más grande super nave espacial
Para irse con su novia de nuestro barrio de mierda
Hacia el mundo sideral
En cada sueño hay por lo menos un drama
Y entre angustias se enredaba Sebastián
Una noche cuando con el cielo hablaba
Sobre el horizonte vio una luz cruzar
Feliz, gritó: "espérame"
Y lo vi correr lanzándose en el mar
Tratando aquel destello recobrar
Porque solo las estrellas bastaran
(Solo las estrellas bastaran)
Sobre la arena sucia de la playa del mercado
Hay una vaina que parece un proyectil
De sus alas cuelga una capa de trapos
De su sombra, una soledad sin fin
Su novia imaginaria aún lo espera
En las noches hace guardia frente al mar
Nadie la conquistará
A ninguna otra ilusión se entregará
Fiel al loco que le dio la eternidad
Porque solo las estrellas bastaran
(Solo las estrellas bastaran)
(Solo las estrellas bastaran)
@robertosoto4705
La descubrí luego del discurso de Residente en el homenaje a Ruben Blades 🙌🏼
@junior1614
X2
@Criscrm2023
X3
@kennyfelipecabezassevillan522
X4
@jovannybenitez3895
X5 no sabia y soy un gran fanatico de Ruben Blades.
@VictorArias62
Y yo
@jerseystorepty6202
Viendo el homenaje de Horacio Valdes, descubro que esta canción es inspirada en su canción "Solo las estrellas bastarán" grande Rubén y eterno Horacio Valdes.
@jjairrodriguezz
Gracias por el dato ya la escuche muy bonita la cancion
@crisleymunoz142
Contenta, porque mucha gente de esta generación no conocía al gran Rubén Blades,.comenzó a buscar en las plataformas los temas que el gran residente expuso en el mensaje que le dedicó a su ídolo. ¡Grande Rubencito.! Gracias a Dios por hacerme salsera.
@johnnyrmoralesch3889
Me parece que hizo bien René al mencionar temas de Rubén y precisamente esperaba ver comentarios como: vengo después del discurso"
Por mi parte, con 22 años soy fanático de Rubén, es mi segundo cantante favorito y admiro principalmente sus temas: Ligia Elena y Adán García que dejan un super mensaje
Espero se tomen el tiempo de escucharla también