Ruben Blades

Rubén Blades, Panama's former tourism minister, at an Upper West Side restaurant on Monday.

By LARRY ROHTER
Published: November 27, 2009

Rubén Blades has a very specific reason for calling his current tour “Todos Vuelven,” or “Everybody Returns.” After suspending his music and film career for five years to serve as a cabinet minister in Panama, his homeland, Mr. Blades is back, on the road and with a new album, testing the waters and trying to figure out whether the entertainment business still has a place for him.

Rubén Blades, right, with René Pérez of Calle 13 at the Latin Grammy Awards show in Las Vegas this month.

“Yes, I’m back in it, but with discrimination and focus,” Mr. Blades said this week over lunch at a Cuban-Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side that he has frequented since the mid-1970s, when he experienced his first success as a salsa star with “Pablo Pueblo,” “Pedro Navaja” and other socially conscious songs. “The world changed while I was away, and the idea now is to see how to fit in.”

Mr. Blades, 61, and Seis del Solar, the band that has recorded with him since the 1980s, will be playing Saturday night at the United Palace ballroom in Washington Heights. But his formal reintroduction to American audiences occurred this month at the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, where he sang with Calle 13, the Puerto Rican reggaetón and hip-hop duo that won five awards that night and may be the hottest act in Latin music right now.

“Rubén is one of the few artists who can disappear and come back with the hope of attracting a young audience, and that’s because of the quality of his songs,” said René Pérez, 31, the lead singer of Calle 13. “I wasn’t really following his political life, but in musical terms, it’s like he’s the teacher and we are his students. I’ve listened to his music since I was little and have learned from him not just how to write but also political awareness. We believe in his message.”

From 2004 until this summer, Mr. Blades, who is also a lawyer with degrees from the University of Panama and Harvard, was Panama’s minister of tourism. According to government statistics, tourism generates more income for the country than does the Panama Canal, so that portfolio is an important one, and after years of criticizing those in power, Mr. Blades was eager to put his principles to the test.

“It’s not that easy to explain why I like doing so many things that seem disconnected,” he said. “But when I started writing about social issues in music and started having success with that, I felt that there was a contradiction arising from making a living out of writing about social injustice. In my mind, the only way to end that contradiction was through politics. It’s really about changing the conditions I am denouncing in my songs, and that can only be done through political work.”

That kind of willingness to veer off in unexpected directions has long been a hallmark of Mr. Blades, who manages his own career. David Maldonado, a salsa tour promoter and manager who has done business with Mr. Blades on and off for more than 25 years, said Mr. Blades was warned that he would damage his budding career when he chose in the early 1970s to go “out of sight, out of mind” and enroll at Harvard.

“Rubén, he’s an enigma, definitely not your average artist,” said Mr. Maldonado, who was a producer of the film “El Cantante” with Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. “He can’t be managed by normal entertainment industry standards, because a lot of the things he does just don’t go along with the program. He’s indifferent to the standards of the business, and that can frustrate people, including me sometimes.”

When he started off, Mr. Blades seemed to be a salsa singer in the classic mold, heavily influenced by Cheo Feliciano, and a songwriter valued for his ability to wed socially conscious lyrics to danceable rhythms. “When you talk about Rubén, you’re talking about an extremely exciting performer who also knows how to awaken brain cells with his heavy, incredibly creative lyrics,” said the salsa pianist and bandleader Eddie Palmieri, a friend of Mr. Blades since their days at Fania Records in the 1970s.

But over the years, Mr. Blades strayed further and further from that formula. He performed in Paul Simon’s failed Broadway musical “Capeman” in 1998 and early this decade recorded a pair of albums, “Tiempos” and “Mundo,” which incorporated jazz and folk elements and even, in one memorable instance, bagpipes.

“The problem with being a writer in salsa is that the genre is pretty much defined by the appeal of the music to the feet,” Mr. Blades explained. “And that’s fine. I will never put that down. That’s the way it is. But those limits, those structures, were something I was trying to break away from.”

Mr. Blades’s new CD, “Cantares del Subdesarrollo” (“Songs of Underdevelopment”) deepens that process. Many of the songs, like “Las Calles” (“The Streets”) and “Him - The New York Times

Rubén Blades, Panama's former tourism minister, at an Upper West Side restaurant on Monday.

By LARRY ROHTER
Published: November 27, 2009

Rubén Blades has a very specific reason for calling his current tour “Todos Vuelven,” or “Everybody Returns.” After suspending his music and film career for five years to serve as a cabinet minister in Panama, his homeland, Mr. Blades is back, on the road and with a new album, testing the waters and trying to figure out whether the entertainment business still has a place for him.

Rubén Blades, right, with René Pérez of Calle 13 at the Latin Grammy Awards show in Las Vegas this month.

“Yes, I’m back in it, but with discrimination and focus,” Mr. Blades said this week over lunch at a Cuban-Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side that he has frequented since the mid-1970s, when he experienced his first success as a salsa star with “Pablo Pueblo,” “Pedro Navaja” and other socially conscious songs. “The world changed while I was away, and the idea now is to see how to fit in.”

Mr. Blades, 61, and Seis del Solar, the band that has recorded with him since the 1980s, will be playing Saturday night at the United Palace ballroom in Washington Heights. But his formal reintroduction to American audiences occurred this month at the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, where he sang with Calle 13, the Puerto Rican reggaetón and hip-hop duo that won five awards that night and may be the hottest act in Latin music right now.

“Rubén is one of the few artists who can disappear and come back with the hope of attracting a young audience, and that’s because of the quality of his songs,” said René Pérez, 31, the lead singer of Calle 13. “I wasn’t really following his political life, but in musical terms, it’s like he’s the teacher and we are his students. I’ve listened to his music since I was little and have learned from him not just how to write but also political awareness. We believe in his message.”

From 2004 until this summer, Mr. Blades, who is also a lawyer with degrees from the University of Panama and Harvard, was Panama’s minister of tourism. According to government statistics, tourism generates more income for the country than does the Panama Canal, so that portfolio is an important one, and after years of criticizing those in power, Mr. Blades was eager to put his principles to the test.

“It’s not that easy to explain why I like doing so many things that seem disconnected,” he said. “But when I started writing about social issues in music and started having success with that, I felt that there was a contradiction arising from making a living out of writing about social injustice. In my mind, the only way to end that contradiction was through politics. It’s really about changing the conditions I am denouncing in my songs, and that can only be done through political work.”

That kind of willingness to veer off in unexpected directions has long been a hallmark of Mr. Blades, who manages his own career. David Maldonado, a salsa tour promoter and manager who has done business with Mr. Blades on and off for more than 25 years, said Mr. Blades was warned that he would damage his budding career when he chose in the early 1970s to go “out of sight, out of mind” and enroll at Harvard.

“Rubén, he’s an enigma, definitely not your average artist,” said Mr. Maldonado, who was a producer of the film “El Cantante” with Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. “He can’t be managed by normal entertainment industry standards, because a lot of the things he does just don’t go along with the program. He’s indifferent to the standards of the business, and that can frustrate people, including me sometimes.”

When he started off, Mr. Blades seemed to be a salsa singer in the classic mold, heavily influenced by Cheo Feliciano, and a songwriter valued for his ability to wed socially conscious lyrics to danceable rhythms. “When you talk about Rubén, you’re talking about an extremely exciting performer who also knows how to awaken brain cells with his heavy, incredibly creative lyrics,” said the salsa pianist and bandleader Eddie Palmieri, a friend of Mr. Blades since their days at Fania Records in the 1970s.

But over the years, Mr. Blades strayed further and further from that formula. He performed in Paul Simon’s failed Broadway musical “Capeman” in 1998 and early this decade recorded a pair of albums, “Tiempos” and “Mundo,” which incorporated jazz and folk elements and even, in one memorable instance, bagpipes.

“The problem with being a writer in salsa is that the genre is pretty much defined by the appeal of the music to the feet,” Mr. Blades explained. “And that’s fine. I will never put that down. That’s the way it is. But those limits, those structures, were something I was trying to break away from.”

Mr. Blades’s new CD, “Cantares del Subdesarrollo” (“Songs of Underdevelopment”) deepens that process. Many of the songs, like “Las Calles” (“The Streets”) and “Him - The New York Times

sábado, 22 de agosto de 2009
Russell Rúa / Para Primera Hora

La percusión retumbó a las 9:15 de la noche, mientras tres pantallas gigantes colocadas en el escenario del Coliseo de Puerto Rico, en Hato Rey, proyectaban imágenes de escenarios naturales. El público, que llenó casi a capacidad el inmueble el viernes, aplaudía y gritaba ante la inminente aparición del salsero Rubén Blades junto con el grupo Seis del Solar para el estreno de su gira mundial.

*
*

La velada, además del sabor musical, estuvo matizada principalmente por las letras de corte social que caracterizan el trabajo del artista, además de su natural jocosidad. De modo sorpresivo, mostró su agradecimiento y respetos para el boricua Willie Colón, contra quien enfrenta una batalla legal por incumplimiento de contrato, y cantó a dúo con Cheo Feliciano.

El título del recorrido, Todos vuelven, prometía un regreso por todo lo alto a los escenarios, y así fue. Ataviado con etiqueta negra, camisa blanca, corbata y sombrero, el artista panameño se apoderó del proscenio en el que predominó el color rojo tras la introducción musical Caminos verdes, provocando una inmediata reacción positiva de los presentes.

El Padre Antonio, durante la cual Blades sonó un par de maracas, fue su primera vocalización, mientras los ánimos se iban calentando al ritmo de su voz nítida y la poderosa orquesta. El estribillo “suenan las campanas” sirvió como pie forzado para el inicio de la celebración musical, que funcionó como 25 aniversario del lanzamiento del emblemático álbum Buscando América.

“Muchas gracias y muy buenas noches a Puerto Rico. Muchas gracias por tenernos acá con ustedes, y gracias a toda la gente de Panamá que está por acá también. Un abrazo a toda la gente de América Latina. Es un honor el estar acá después de estos años de ausencia, también nuestros compañeros de Seis del Solar y Son del Solar”, fueron las primeras palabras del cantante.

Cuentas del alma y las coreadas Amor y control y Decisiones, fueron las próximas composiciones que desfilaron durante la primera parte del intenso recital que con un sonido impecable dio igual protagonismo a la voz de Blades y a las ejecuciones de los músicos, en particular el piano de Oscar Hernández y la percusión de Ralph Irizarry.

Mientras, algunas parejas convirtieron en pista de baile el área disponible en la parte trasera de la sección de arena.

Animaciones aparecieron en las pantallas complementando la elaborada producción que era grabada profesionalmente.
Agradeció a Willie Colón

Más ovaciones se dejaron escuchar cuando comenzó a sonar la pegajosa Buscando guayaba, seguida por Plantación adentro, del fallecido Catalino “Tite” Curet Alonso, incluida en el álbum ¡Metiendo mano! (1977), que grabó con Willie Colón, a quien agradeció antes de cantar, además de expresarle su respeto como músico.

Continuó Pablo Pueblo, la que, según dijo, es “una expresión de solidaridad con el resto del mundo y que la gente que trata no se sienta sola”. Siguió con Plástico y Ligia Elena.
Dúo y disco con Cheo Feliciano

Mientras, durante Juan Pachanga, se apareció en el escenario el salsero ponceño Cheo Feliciano, quien recibió una vigorosa ovación de la audiencia. Realizaron un magistral y sabroso dueto que fue, posiblemente, el momento cumbre de la velada.

“Puerto Rico necesitaba a Rubén Blades”, dijo Feliciano, quien resaltó la labor del panameño en su país. El dúo de artistas adelantó que culminará la grabación de un disco en conjunto que incluiría dos boleros.

El concierto continuaría con éxitos como Caminando, Patria y Buscando América.

Este sábado se presentará la segunda y última función de la gira Todos vuelven. El recorrido continuará por México, Perú y Miami (Florida), en Estados Unidos. - Primera Hora

sábado, 22 de agosto de 2009
Russell Rúa / Para Primera Hora

La percusión retumbó a las 9:15 de la noche, mientras tres pantallas gigantes colocadas en el escenario del Coliseo de Puerto Rico, en Hato Rey, proyectaban imágenes de escenarios naturales. El público, que llenó casi a capacidad el inmueble el viernes, aplaudía y gritaba ante la inminente aparición del salsero Rubén Blades junto con el grupo Seis del Solar para el estreno de su gira mundial.

*
*

La velada, además del sabor musical, estuvo matizada principalmente por las letras de corte social que caracterizan el trabajo del artista, además de su natural jocosidad. De modo sorpresivo, mostró su agradecimiento y respetos para el boricua Willie Colón, contra quien enfrenta una batalla legal por incumplimiento de contrato, y cantó a dúo con Cheo Feliciano.

El título del recorrido, Todos vuelven, prometía un regreso por todo lo alto a los escenarios, y así fue. Ataviado con etiqueta negra, camisa blanca, corbata y sombrero, el artista panameño se apoderó del proscenio en el que predominó el color rojo tras la introducción musical Caminos verdes, provocando una inmediata reacción positiva de los presentes.

El Padre Antonio, durante la cual Blades sonó un par de maracas, fue su primera vocalización, mientras los ánimos se iban calentando al ritmo de su voz nítida y la poderosa orquesta. El estribillo “suenan las campanas” sirvió como pie forzado para el inicio de la celebración musical, que funcionó como 25 aniversario del lanzamiento del emblemático álbum Buscando América.

“Muchas gracias y muy buenas noches a Puerto Rico. Muchas gracias por tenernos acá con ustedes, y gracias a toda la gente de Panamá que está por acá también. Un abrazo a toda la gente de América Latina. Es un honor el estar acá después de estos años de ausencia, también nuestros compañeros de Seis del Solar y Son del Solar”, fueron las primeras palabras del cantante.

Cuentas del alma y las coreadas Amor y control y Decisiones, fueron las próximas composiciones que desfilaron durante la primera parte del intenso recital que con un sonido impecable dio igual protagonismo a la voz de Blades y a las ejecuciones de los músicos, en particular el piano de Oscar Hernández y la percusión de Ralph Irizarry.

Mientras, algunas parejas convirtieron en pista de baile el área disponible en la parte trasera de la sección de arena.

Animaciones aparecieron en las pantallas complementando la elaborada producción que era grabada profesionalmente.
Agradeció a Willie Colón

Más ovaciones se dejaron escuchar cuando comenzó a sonar la pegajosa Buscando guayaba, seguida por Plantación adentro, del fallecido Catalino “Tite” Curet Alonso, incluida en el álbum ¡Metiendo mano! (1977), que grabó con Willie Colón, a quien agradeció antes de cantar, además de expresarle su respeto como músico.

Continuó Pablo Pueblo, la que, según dijo, es “una expresión de solidaridad con el resto del mundo y que la gente que trata no se sienta sola”. Siguió con Plástico y Ligia Elena.
Dúo y disco con Cheo Feliciano

Mientras, durante Juan Pachanga, se apareció en el escenario el salsero ponceño Cheo Feliciano, quien recibió una vigorosa ovación de la audiencia. Realizaron un magistral y sabroso dueto que fue, posiblemente, el momento cumbre de la velada.

“Puerto Rico necesitaba a Rubén Blades”, dijo Feliciano, quien resaltó la labor del panameño en su país. El dúo de artistas adelantó que culminará la grabación de un disco en conjunto que incluiría dos boleros.

El concierto continuaría con éxitos como Caminando, Patria y Buscando América.

Este sábado se presentará la segunda y última función de la gira Todos vuelven. El recorrido continuará por México, Perú y Miami (Florida), en Estados Unidos. - Primera Hora