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Who is Ruben Blades and where was he born?
Rubén Blades, in full Rubén Dario Blades, Jr., (born July 16, 1948, Panama City, Panama), Panamanian musician, actor, and political activist who was one of the most successful and influential salsa musicians of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Blades was born into a musically inclined family.
Where is Ruben Blades from?
Panama City, PanamaRubén Blades / Place of birth
Is Ruben Blades Hispanic?
Rubén Blades was born in Panama City to a Cuban mother, musician Anoland Díaz (original surname Bellido de Luna), and a Colombian father, Rubén Darío Blades, Sr., an athlete and percussionist. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Panama in law and political science in 1974.
What is Ruben Blades real name?
Rubén Blades Bellido de LunaRubén Blades / Full name
Where was Juanes born?
Carolina del Príncipe, ColombiaJuanes / Place of birthCarolina del Príncipe is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia, found 105 km north of Medellín, with an altitude of 1,807 m above sea level. Carolina del Príncipe is part of the subregion of Northern Antioquia. Wikipedia
Who are Ruben Blades parents?
Ruben Dario Blades, Sr.Anoland DiazRubén Blades/Parents
How does Ruben Blades pronounce his name?
0:024:18'How Do You Pronounce Rubén Blades?!' Fan Questions Ep. 727YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipWhen I say your name on the show I say Ruben blades people go it's Lu bin black ice.MoreWhen I say your name on the show I say Ruben blades people go it's Lu bin black ice.
Who is Ruben Blades wife?
Luba MasonRubén Blades / Wife (m. 2006)Luba Mason is an American actress, singer, songwriter and dancer. She has starred on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theaters in plays and musicals and television and film. As a singer, she has performed in International Jazz and Music Festivals as well as major jazz and music clubs around the country. Wikipedia
Who is Ruben Blades mother?
Anoland DiazRubén Blades / Mother
Is Ruben Blades married?
Luba MasonRubén Blades / Spouse (m. 2006)
Where did Ruben Blades go to school?
Harvard UniversityHarvard Law SchoolUniversity of PanamaRubén Blades/Education
What kind of hat does Ruben Blades wear?
A frequent wearer of pork pie hats is Panamanian Salsa singer and composer Ruben Blades. Today the wearing of a pork pie hat retains some of its 1930s and 40s associations.
What is the name of the Cuban octogenarian band that Blades sang for?
Blades reunited with that orchestra and assumed the persona of a Cuban octogenarian for Medoro Madera (2018), a collection of songs mostly from the 1920s and ’30s. His later albums included The Paraiso Road Gang (2019).
When did Blades return to Panama?
In 1994 Blades returned to Panama to run for the presidency. As the populist candidate of Papa Egoró (Mother Earth), the party that he had formed during a brief return to Panama in 1991, Blades campaigned with songs and guitar, attracting support from those disillusioned with corrupt politicians.
What is the title of Blades' album?
His album Tiempos (1999) contains commentary on poverty and governmental corruption in Latin America, and the musically diverse Mundo (2002) won him the first of numerous Latin Grammy Awards. In 2003 Blades released Una Década, a compilation spanning 10 years of his career.
Why did the Blades family move to Miami?
In 1973 Blades' parents had moved to Miami because Rubén, Sr. had been accused by General Manuel Noriega, then chief of military intelligence under President Omar Torrijos, of working for the CIA.
What did Blades do in the 1960s?
Blades' political activism stems from his experience as a young Panamanian in the 1960s who saw Americans living in the Canal Zone disrespecting Panama's sovereignty and treating the country as an extension of the U.S.
What is the impact of Blades on Latino music?
Blades has had a significant impact on Latino music and culture writ large, particularly with regards to his recordings with Fania Records and other leading salsa musicians of the 1970s, like Willie Colón. Their joint album "Siembra" is the best-selling salsa album in history, with over 25 million copies sold. He is widely known as the "intellectual" of salsa music, with lyrics that reference Latin American literature and issue bold social critiques on a range of issues affecting Latinos. Regarding his desire to make more explicitly political music during his time with Fania, he recently stated, “It didn’t make me popular in the industry, where you aren’t supposed to antagonize people, you are supposed to smile and be nice in order to sell records. But I never bought into that.”
Who is Rebecca Bodenheimer?
Her work has been published by CNN Opinion, Pacific Standard, Poynter, NPR, and more. Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948) is a Panamanian singer/songwriter, actor, activist, and politician.
3. He is currently 73 years old
The Panamanian world music singer has been alive for 26,682 days or 640,388 hours. There were precisely 904 full moons after his birth to this day.
6. The Year of the Rat
Ruben Blades was born in the Year of the Rat. People with Chinese zodiac Rat are instinctive, acute and alert in nature which makes them to be brilliant businessmen. They can always react properly before the worst circumstances take place. Their strengths are adaptable, smart, cautious, acute, alert, positive, flexible, outgoing, and cheerful.
CHILDHOOD AND EARLY YEARS
Panamanian icon Ruben Blades, a distinguished singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and a lawyer was born as Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna on July 16, 1948, in Panama City, Panama. His father Rubén Darío Blades, Sr., a Colombian born percussionist-cum-athlete, grew up in Panama.
CAREER
Ruben Blades' father was subsequently exiled, and therefore, the entire Blades family moved to the U.S., initially to Miami, Florida and then to the New York City. However, he visited New York before his father’s expatriation and worked in the mailroom at Fania Records.
PERSONAL LIFE
Ruben Blades married Lisa Lebenzon on December 13, 1986. They later got divorced. He again tied the nuptial knot with Luba Mason in 2006 and remained unseparated till date.

Early Life and Education
Cultural Impact
- Blades has had a significant impact on Latino music and culture writ large, particularly with regards to his recordings with Fania Records and other leading salsa musicians of the 1970s, like Willie Colón. Their joint album "Siembra" is the best-selling salsa album in history, with over 25 million copies sold. He is widely known as the "intellectual" of salsa music, with lyrics that refere…
Politics and Activism
- Blades is well-known for his left-leaning political orientation, particularly his critiques of U.S. imperialism and intervention into Latin America, which have often made their way into his music. His 1980 recording "Tiburón," for example, was an allegorical critique of American imperialism, and "Ollie's Doo-Wop" (1988) addressed the Iran-Contra scandalthat funded the U.S.-backed war …
Writing
- Blades publishes a fair amount of opinion writing on his website, mostly related to the political situations in various Latin American countries, with a focus on Panama and Venezuela.
Sources
- Rubenblades.com. http://rubenblades.com/, accessed June 1, 2019.
- Shaw, Lauren. "Interview with Rubén Blades. In Song and Social Change in Latin America, edited by Lauren Shaw. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013.