Rubén Blades
Also known as Ruben Blades
Panamanian musician (born 1948)
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 3
Top works
- Vida Te Da Sorpresas / Life Is Full of Surprises
- Nothing but the truth
- "Escenas"
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Panama City, Panama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948) is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres. As songwriter, Blades brought the lyrical sophistication of Central American nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova as well as experimental…
Known for
- Campeón Gabacho2026
- Salsa Lives — Ruben Blades2025
- Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple — Self2024
- Stay Homas. The Band That Shouldn’t Exist — Self - Singer2024
- Nueva York: A Musical History of Latin New York — Self (archive footage)2021
- Red Pill — Rocky2021
- El accidente feliz — Self (Archive Footage)2020
- Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage — Self
~18 min read
Article
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born 16 July 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades ( Spanish: [ruˈβem ˈblaðes], but [- ˈblei̯ðs] in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in the salsa, and Latin jazz genres. As a songwriter, Blades brought the lyrical sophistication of Central American nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova as well as experimental tempos and politically inspired Son Cubano salsa to his music, creating "thinking persons' (salsa) dance music". Blades has written dozens of hit songs, including "Pedro Navaja" and "El Cantante" (which became Héctor Lavoe's signature song). He has received 21 Grammy Award nominations, winning twelve of them, along with twelve Latin Grammy Awards.
His acting career began in 1983, and has continued, sometimes with several-year breaks to focus on other projects. He has prominent roles in films such as Crossover Dreams (1985), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Super (1991), Predator 2 (1990), Color of Night (1994), Safe House (2012), The Counselor (2013) and Hands of Stone (2016), along with three Emmy Award nominations for his performances in The Josephine Baker Story (1991), Crazy from the Heart (1992), and The Maldonado Miracle (2003). He portrayed Daniel Salazar, a main character on the TV series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2017; 2019–2023).
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1948 births20th-century male actors20th-century Panamanian lawyers20th-century Panamanian male singers20th-century Panamanian singers21st-century male actors21st-century Panamanian male singers21st-century Panamanian singersAfro-Cuban jazz bandleadersAfro-Cuban jazz singersElektra Records artistsFania All-Stars members