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®
Tu Cariño
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sin tu cariño y sin tu consuelo no sé vivir
Si no estas cerca llega la lluvia
Y de tristeza todo se nubla
Y por tu ausencia hasta se me olvida como reír
Sin tu cariño no existen rosas ni primavera
Aunque quisiera de mí no puedo apartarte ya
Y no hay poesía ni alegría cuando no estás
Sin tonterías mi amor, te juro que no exagero
Y es que te quiero y sin tu cariño
No hay nada más
Sin tu cariño no tengo sol y me falta cielo
Sin tu cariño y sin tu consuelo no sé vivir
Si no estas cerca llega la lluvia
Y de tristeza todo se nubla
Y por tu ausencia hasta se me olvida como reír
Sin tu cariño no existen rosas ni primavera
Aunque quisiera de mí no puedo apartarte ya
Sin tu cariño son de cartón todas las estrellas
Y no hay poesía ni alegría cuando no estás
Sin tonterías mi amor, te juro que no exagero
Y es que te quiero y sin tu cariño
No hay nada más
(Tudu-dududu-dududu-dudu)
(Tudu-dududu-dududu-dudu)
Sin tu cariño no existen rosas ni primavera
Aunque quisiera de mí no puedo apartarte ya
Sin tu cariño son de cartón todas las estrellas
Y no hay poesía ni alegría cuando no estás
Sin tonterías mi amor, te juro que no exagero
Y es que te quiero y sin tu cariño
No hay nada más
(Ah-ra-rara-ra-ra)
The song "Sin Tu Cariño" by Rubén Blades is a passionate declaration of love and dependence on his partner's affection. The lyrics express the sadness and emptiness he feels without her love, and how everything seems to lose its meaning and beauty when she is not around. He compares himself to a sun without its light and a sky without its stars, highlighting the crucial role of his partner's love in his life.
The song also touches upon the theme of nostalgia, as the singer reminisces about the happy moments spent with his partner, and how her absence makes him forget how to laugh. He acknowledges that he cannot simply remove her from his thoughts and feelings, but instead tries to convey through this song how much she means to him and how he cannot live without her love. The song ends with a heartfelt vow of love, affirming that the singer needs her partner's affection more than anything else in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Sin tu cariño no tengo sol y me falta cielo
Without your love, my life feels empty and dull.
Sin tu cariño y sin tu consuelo no sé vivir
Without your love and comfort, I don't know how to live.
Si no estas cerca llega la lluvia
When you're not around, everything feels gloomy.
Y de tristeza todo se nubla
My sadness clouds everything else, making it hard to see clearly.
Y por tu ausencia hasta se me olvida como reír
Your absence is so overwhelming that I even forget how to laugh.
Sin tu cariño no existen rosas ni primavera
Without your love, there is no beauty in the world.
Aunque quisiera de mí no puedo apartarte ya
I can't distance myself from you, even if I wanted to.
Sin tu cariño son de cartón todas las estrellas
Without your love, everything loses its magic and meaning.
Y no hay poesía ni alegría cuando no estás
Without you, there is no poetry, no joy in life.
Sin tonterías mi amor, te juro que no exagero
I swear I'm not exaggerating, my love.
Y es que te quiero y sin tu cariño No hay nada más
I love you, and without your love, there's nothing else that matters.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Louie Ramirez, Ruben Blades
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sam Floyd
Esta es una joya escondida
Edgar Mendoza
Excelente tema
Tony Montana
Gracias por subirlo
Fernando Cedeño
Grande Rubén!!!
The Gallant Saint
Oh the memories.....❤
Bootha Vandross
Best song on one of the DOPEST movie soundtracks EVER!!!! I f'n love this song & still don't know the English translation...oh well lol!!! 🔥🔥🔥
Anthony Paul Molina Ruiz
El que canta bien, canta cualquier cosa
Tony Montana
❤
Robinson Castro
Dilo rubencitooo