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®
Silencios
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sin tema para conversar, no saben ni dónde mirar
Se quieren pero no hay amor; se odian sin que haya rencor
Se buscan y huyen a la vez, entre el silencio que hay después
La soledad les da su abrazo, pero no aceptan su fracaso
Y pretendiendo devolver un amor que ya se fue
Y así pasan los días pretendiendo que todo está bien
Con silencios y café, esperando a que regrese el ayer
Así prolongan el final, aunque ya todo les da igual
Su triste juego del amor, donde jamás hay ganador
Pensando en lo que pudo ser, ninguno logra comprender
Que entre silencios el vivir, es otra forma de morir
Algo que empieza en alegría, cuando termina es agonía
Dolorosa confusión, donde no hay explicación
Sólo silencios envolviendo la promesa que murió
Y un sentimiento de terror, al creer que nunca
Encontraremos otro amor
Ruben Blades's song Silencios is a poignant portrayal of a couple stuck in a loveless, hopeless relationship that has lost its way. They sit together, drinking coffee without any conversation or even the ability to look at each other, lost in their own thoughts of what could have been. Though they still care for each other, there is no love left between them, and they can hardly stand to be in each other's company. They are trapped in an endless cycle of seeking each other out and then pushing away, unable to move on or accept their failure.
As the days pass, they continue in their pretense, avoiding difficult conversations and never acknowledging the truth of their situation. They are haunted by the memories of what once was and what could have been, but this nostalgia only serves to prolong their misery. They are both prisoners of their own silence, unable to communicate or connect with each other, and they both know that the end is near. Yet they continue to cling to the hope that things will somehow get better, unable to accept the reality of their own failed love.
Silencios is a deeply moving and relatable exploration of the pain and confusion that can arise from a relationship that has lost its way. With its haunting melody and heartfelt lyrics, it is a reminder that sometimes, even the strongest love can fade away, leaving us with nothing but silence.
Line by Line Meaning
Están tomándose un café, sentados sin saber por qué
They're having a coffee, sitting without knowing why
Sin tema para conversar, no saben ni dónde mirar
Without a subject to talk about, they don't know where to look
Se quieren pero no hay amor; se odian sin que haya rencor
They love each other but there's no love; they hate each other without resentment
Se buscan y huyen a la vez, entre el silencio que hay después
They search for each other and run away at the same time, amid the silence that follows
La soledad les da su abrazo, pero no aceptan su fracaso
Loneliness embraces them, but they don't accept their failure
Y pretendiendo devolver un amor que ya se fue
And pretending to return a love that's already gone
Y así pasan los días pretendiendo que todo está bien
And so they spend their days pretending that everything is alright
Con silencios y café, esperando a que regrese el ayer
With silence and coffee, waiting for yesterday to return
Así prolongan el final, aunque ya todo les da igual
They prolong the end, even though everything is the same for them
Su triste juego del amor, donde jamás hay ganador
Their sad game of love, in which there is never a winner
Pensando en lo que pudo ser, ninguno logra comprender
Thinking about what could have been, neither can understand
Que entre silencios el vivir, es otra forma de morir
That living in silence is another way of dying
Algo que empieza en alegría, cuando termina es agonía
Something that starts in joy, when it ends it's agony
Dolorosa confusión, donde no hay explicación
Painful confusion, where there is no explanation
Sólo silencios envolviendo la promesa que murió
Only silences enveloping the promise that died
Y un sentimiento de terror, al creer que nunca encontraremos otro amor
And a feeling of terror, believing that we'll never find another love
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BLADES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nelson Giovanni Molero Medina
Dura letra y una amarga experiencia para aquellos que lo han experimentado
Giovanni Salinas
Que letra, que melodia... Un verdadero poema
Nunzio Santoro pacífico
El talentoso cantautor panameño, no solo destaca en el género salsa,aqui dejó asentada su infinita calidad musical,con esta hermosísima melodía impregnada de la mas encumbrada esencia nostálgica....
Heri Torres
Cuarenta y cinco años después, la volví a escuchar,. Era de mi infancia
Jose Gutierrez
Lo mejor de lo mejor sin dudas
Juanis Avila
Es un temazo, buenisimaaaaa rolaaaaa no me canso de escucharla, un grupillo de la comarca lagunera la destrozó espantosamente en cumbia, pero ésta version original es maravillosa
David Vivas
Excelencia pura.
Albertico Lumonti
Genial Linda y Rubén Blades, genial, la voz de la mujer y bueno decir algo sobre Rubén es simplemente quedarse corto
America Oviol
Este hermoso tema me transporta a mi infancia en los años 80
gustavo gonzalez
Hermosa melodías nunca la puedes olvidar cada vez que la escucha saludos a todos por esta nave espacial