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®
What Happened
Rubén Blades Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me dicen que por borracho José en la acera quedó.
What happened? I don't know.
They tell me that drunken Joe while drinking fell on his nose.
José yo le decía deja de estar bebiendo
Porque esas borracheras no dan na.
Y el me contestaba: "Ah! yo se lo que estoy haciendo"
What happened? I don't know.
Me dicen que por borracho José en la acera quedó.
What happened? I don't know.
They tell me that drunken Joe while drinking fell on his nose.
Many times I told him:
"Hey Joe, man, why don't you stop drinking?"
Cause in the end you might just come on down
Every time he answered me
"Hey go mind your own business."
And yesterday on Broadway he came down.... I beg you...
What happened? I don't know.
Me dicen que por borracho José en la acera quedó.
What happened? I don't know.
They tell me that drunken Joe while drinking fell on his nose.
Me dicen que por borracho José en la acera quedó.
They told me that drunken Joe while drinking fell on his nose.
Coro:
What happened? I don't know.
Me dicen que por borracho José en la calle quedó.
Lo vi pasar cabizbajo por una calle en downtown
Yo regresaba al trabajo y el comenzaba jumao.
You're pulling quarters from people
For coffees you never drink
You're always hanging on corners
Drinking, drinking so you won't think.
~
Durmiendo en los callejones del Manhattan nocturnal
Buscando en los zafacones desayuno al despertar.
Pidiendo plata a la gente pa' poder alcohol comprar
Con el cuento del hamburguer, José el alcohol te va a tragar.
José no tiene familia nadie sabe a donde nació
Nadie sabe donde duerme, ni desde donde bajó.
~
José ya suelta la esquina y la botella de ron
Cógelo suave Molina dale un descanso al riñón.
Ya ya ya ya no quiere trabajar allá en la panadería
Sin embargo te amaneces en after hours todos los días.
New York que es una manzana muy difícil de probar
La cosa ahora esta mas dura con el Koch en City Hall.
The lyrics to Rubén Blades's song "What happened?" tells a story of a man named José who struggles with alcohol addiction. The singer of the song doesn't know what happened to José as he's informed that he passed out drunk on the street. Throughout the song, the singer expresses concern about José's drinking and tried to advise him to stop. However, José replies that he knows what he's doing and continues to drink. The song describes José's struggles with alcohol addiction, as he spends all his money on drinking and sleeps in alleyways. The lines "You're always hanging on corners, Drinking, drinking so you won't think" reveals that José drinks to forget his problems.
The song offers a powerful commentary on the struggles of addiction and the impact it has on individuals and their communities. It offers a poignant look at how people can become trapped in a cycle of addiction that can be challenging to break. The song also sheds light on the issues of poverty, homelessness, and lack of access to resources that can contribute to addiction.
Line by Line Meaning
What happened? I don't know.
The singer is unaware of the reason behind something that has happened.
Me dicen que por borracho José en la acera quedó.
People have informed the singer that a man named José fell on the street due to being drunk.
They tell me that drunken Joe while drinking fell on his nose.
According to others, Joe fell on his nose while drinking alcohol.
José yo le decía deja de estar bebiendo...
The singer constantly advised José to stop drinking as it was not productive, but he ignored it.
Porque esas borracheras no dan na.
The singer believes that Jose's drinking habit won't benefit him in any way.
Y el me contestaba: "Ah! yo se lo que estoy haciendo"
Jose believed that he knew what he was doing and hence ignored the singer's advice.
Y en una acera en Broadway fue a parar.
Joe fell down on a Broadway sidewalk.
Many times I told him:...
The singer advised Joe multiple times to stop drinking.
And yesterday on Broadway he came down.... I beg you...
The previous day, Joe fell on Broadway while being drunk which affected the singer.
Lo vi pasar cabizbajo por una calle en downtown...
The singer saw Joe embarrassedly walking down a street in downtown.
Yo regresaba al trabajo y el comenzaba jumao.
The singer was returning to work while Joe was beginning to get drunk.
You're pulling quarters from people...
Joe asks people for money for coffee that he did not intend to drink and spends it on alcohol instead.
Drinking, drinking so you won't think.
Joe drinks excessively to avoid thinking about his life.
Durmiendo en los callejones del Manhattan nocturnal...
Joe sleeps on the streets of Manhattan at night and looks for food in trash cans in the morning.
Buscando en los zafacones desayuno al despertar.
Joe searches through trash cans to find breakfast in the morning after waking up on the streets.
Pidiendo plata a la gente pa' poder alcohol comprar...
Joe begs for money from people to buy alcohol.
Con el cuento del hamburguer, José el alcohol te va a tragar.
Joe lies to people about needing money for a hamburger, but instead spends it on alcohol.
José no tiene familia nadie sabe a donde nació...
Nobody knows about José's family or where he was born and raised.
Nadie sabe donde duerme, ni desde donde bajó.
Nobody knows where he sleeps or where he came from.
José ya suelta la esquina y la botella de ron...
The singer advises Joe to leave the corner and put down the bottle of rum.
Cógelo suave Molina dale un descanso al riñón.
The singer tells Molina to take it easy and give his kidneys some rest.
Ya ya ya ya no quiere trabajar allá en la panadería...
Joe no wants to work at the bakery anymore.
Sin embargo te amaneces en after hours todos los días.
However, he spends all night at after-hours clubs every day.
New York que es una manzana muy difícil de probar...
New York is a very challenging place to survive in.
La cosa ahora esta mas dura con el Koch en City Hall.
The situation is now even harder with Koch as the Mayor of New York City.
Contributed by Keira A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Alejandro Yeren
What happened? I don't know..
Me dicen que por borracho, José en la acera quedó..
What happened? I don't know.
They tell me that drunken Joe, while drinking fell on his nose.
José yo le decía deja de estar bebiendo,
porque esas borracheras no dan na'.
Y él me contestaba: "Ah, yo sé lo que estoy haciendo".
Y en una acera en Broadway fue a parar.
What happened? I don't know.
Me dicen que por borracho, José en la acera quedó.
What happened? I don't know.
They tell me that drunken Joe, while drinking fell on his nose.
Many times I told him: "Hey Joe, man, why don't you stop drinking?"
In the end, he might just come on down..
Every time he answered me, "Hey, go mind your own business".
Yesterday on Broadway he came down, I beg you..
What happened? I don't know.
Me dicen que por borracho, José en la acera quedó.
What happened? I don't know.
They tell me that drunken Joe, while drinking fell on his nose.
Me dicen que por borracho, José en la acera quedó.
They tell me that drunken Joe, while drinking fell on his nose.
What happened next, I don't know..
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
Lo vi pasar cabizbajo, por una calle en downtown,
Yo regresaba al trabajo, y él comenzaba juma'o.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
You're bumming quarters form people, for coffees you never drink.
You're always hanging on corners, drinking, drinking so you won't think.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
Durmiendo en los callejones, del Manhattan nocturnal.
Buscando en los zafacones, desayuno al despertar..
What happened next, I don't know..
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
Pidiendo plata a la gente, pa' poder alcohol comprar.
Con el cuento del hamburger, José, el alcohol te va a tragar.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
José no tiene familia, nadie saba a donde nació.
Nadie sabe donde duerme, ni desde donde bajó.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
José ya suelta la esquina, y la botella de ron.
Cógelo suave Molina, dale un descanso al riñón.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
Ya ya ya ya no quiere trabajar, allá en la panadería.
Sin embargo te amaneces, en after hours todos los días.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
New York es una manzana, muy difícil de probar.
La cosa ahora está más dura, con el Koch, en City Hall.
What happened next, I don't know.
Me dice que por borracho, José en la calle quedó.
LongPlay-Salsa&Rock
QUE GRAN VERSIÓN DE RUBEN BLADES & WILLIE COLON, SIN QUITARLE SU MÉRITO..... PERO LA DE BOBBY RODRIGUEZ, SE SIENTE UNA NOSTALGIA............ QUE VIVA LA SALSA.
victor boada
Se la dedico a mi hermano mayor manuel jose boada r. quien fisicamente ya no esta con nosotros sino con dios en el cielo
Manuel Taborda
El tema conserva esa dulce nostalgia que Willie y Rubén sabían imprimir a su música neoyorquina, las dos versiones, refiriéndome a la del gran Bobby Rodríguez y La Compañía, son de todo mi querer
Fer
Así es. La de Boby Rodríguez salió en el 76. Es una composición de Rubén.
Jose Loyo
Que clásico que recuerdos toda mi adolescencia en una sola canción
Aunque todas las agrupaciones
Musicales de todos los géneros fueron insuperables
Jaime Santiago González
Tremendo clásico de los maestros : WILLIE COLÓN Y RUBÉN BLADES , UN DUO INSUPERABLE !!!!!.
EULALIO HERRERA
Excelente todo , pero el coro que entra desde el minuto 2:17 es magistral con esas voces de fondo.
Wilmar Cortes
Rubén es un novelista que desarrollo su arte en la música.
Por cierto, está canción me pone triste y me quedo pensando en la solitaria vida de José y como termino 😢
tocaya Louch
Lo mejor de lo mejor de la salsa
Herme Cortes
Saludos a Panamá, sus cinta costera 1,2 y 3, su Casco Viejo, Panama Viejo, su gente simpática, Miraflores y sus barcos pasando, su museo interoceanico, saludos desde Bayamon Puerto Rico.