Rubén Blades, A Researched Essay

Rubén Blades' 1978 album “Siembra", in collaboration with Willie Colón, became the first album released by Fania Records to surpass 1 million copies sold.3 Not only was the album a huge commercial success, it is widely considered one of most influential salsa albums of all time. Siembra also went on to be inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. The Panamanian singer/songwriter not only has 4 Grammy and 11 Latin Grammy Awards, but in 2009 he received the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to Latin music. 8 These are only a few of his accolades, however his impact on Latin music, especially salsa, is clear. Most of the Latin music industry in the 1970’s was focused on making dance music or ballads. But Blades took salsa and shifted it to an entirely different purpose. He contradicted the industry standards by telling the stories of everyday Latinos, their lives and hardships, with the use of thought-provoking lyrics. While his success cannot solely be attributed to his lyrics that addressed social issues, it is the main reason why his work stood out from that of his peers such as Héctor Lavoe, Celia Cruz, and Willie Colón and precursors such as Cheo Feliciano.

In order to understand the impact and importance of Blades lyrics, one must first understand the tumultuous social-political environment in Panama during the 1960’s through the 1980’s that motivated him to write some of his greatest hits. Throughout most of this time, Panama was tied to the United States due to their control over the Panama Canal and the canal zone. Even though it was on Panamanian soil, Panamanians had little to no sovereignty here and were required to have special passes to enter.4 This of course created Panamanian resentment towards the Americans (also called Zonians) living in the Canal Zone and it reached a boiling point in 1964. On January 9, 1964 “the U.S. refused to raise the Panamanian flag in the canal zone and left a toll of 25 deceased [Panamanians–mostly university students].”3 After this tragedy, Blades says his eyes were forever “opened” and he stopped being “pro-yanqui” (pro-U.S.)3 . The relationship between the countries continued to worsen until September 7th, 1977 when the Torrijos-Carter treaty, that handed over the control of the Canal and territories to Panama, was signed. But by the late 1980’s, the Panama-U.S. relations had gone back down to ground zero. The U.S. invasion of Panama, known as Operation Just Cause, happened in December of 1989. The invasion was one of the largest military operations in U.S. history since the Vietnam War, involving over 27,000 U.S. troops, 300 aircraft, and 80 warships6. Its purpose was to remove Manuel Noriega, the then authoritarian leader of Panama due to his ties to drug trafficking. While his removal was successful in January 1990, the cost was high. 500 Panamanian civilians were killed during the invasion, with some estimates as high as 1,000. U.S. military casualties though were relatively low, with only 23 U.S. soldiers killed 9. This of course led to a significant negative impact on Panamanian public opinions of the U.S.

Simultaneously with the Omar Torrijos’ dictatorship, the Salsa Boom of the 1970’s was at its peak. Also referred to as the Golden Age of Salsa, it was a transformative period in Latin music that brought salsa to international recognition. Originating in New York City, salsa blended Afro-Cuban rhythms, jazz, and Puerto Rican influences, giving rise to a vibrant sound that entranced Latino communities. It contributed greatly to the rise of Latin American pride in the late 1970’s (which also led salsa records to have more sales than ever before). While Blades’ success can also be attributed to the rise in demand for songs that exuded Latin American culture, he stood out from all other salsa artists due to the content of his lyrics. During Torrijos’ dictatorship, Blades used his music to address the issues with the rule. Songs like the title track of “Siembra", became the voice calling for awareness and change of many Panamanians. He sings:

Latin brother
With faith and always forward
Forget appearances (sow and sow and you will see) Color differences (sowing and sowing and you'll see) And use your conscience (sow and sow and you will see) To make a better world (sow and sow and you will see)

In a similar fashion “Tiburón” from the 1981 album “Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos” (another collaboration between Blades and Colón) critiques the predatory nature of those in power. In the song Blades notably makes a bold statement regarding foreign presences in Latin America while calling for Latin Americans to unite.

In unity is where the strength is and our salvation
(If you see it coming, stick it to the shark)
Put a sign for them on the beach that says “only Spanish is spoken on this beach”

Both songs maintain the energetic and danceable quality that is the trademark of Blades' collaborations with Willie Colón. While the driving beat contrasts with the more serious and critical lyrical content. This is what made him a pioneer. The seamless, almost unnotable, integration of disturbingly blunt lyrics and dance rhythms that made their way to become staples at family parties and gatherings. But Blades wasn’t all politics and social-commentary though. In songs like “Dime” off of “Siembra” he sings:

Tell me, how do I get this pain of love out of my soul? This sorrow of love, this sorrow of love
Tell me how do I get rid of the immense pain forever?

Rubén Blades success can be seen as part of a broader evolution within salsa, where audiences began to appreciate deeper narratives at the same time as danceable rhythms. This suggests that rather than contradicting the industry standard, he was simply adapting it and contributing to richer, more diverse salsa that included both dance/rhythm and meaningful storytelling. Therefore one could say that while he played a pivotal role in changing salsa, he was part of a larger movement rather than an outright contradiction. This is because artists like Héctor LaVoe and Willie Colón addressed similar themes of Latino life dreams, and challenges in their songs. This argument is not unjustified – the importance of the salsa boom of the 1970’s is often overlooked when discussing Blades’ success because one could say that he is a product of the “right time right place” phenomenon. But, in relation to LaVoe and Colón, Blades was the songwriter that provided many of their careers great hits. For example: Blades originally wrote “El Cantante” for himself but gave it to LaVoe because “his career was in a rough spot”3 . And surely enough its release (and the album titled after it) solidified LaVoe as one of the genre's greatest soneros. Therefore when considering Blades’ peers and the validity of his lyrical pioneerism it is crucial to see how Blades impacted their careers by sharing his talents.

In a 2022 Rolling Stones interview, Blades asserts that he was a pioneer in the inclusion of political lyrics in Salsa but acknowledges the Latin artists who did so before him. “In 1967, Eddie Palmieri wrote a song called ‘Justicia’, where he wondered when justice would come for Black [people] and Latinos, surely influenced by circumstances. In 1972, Tite Curet Alonso wrote ‘Pueblo latino’, where he began to present a Pan-American idea of the circumstances of the need for solidarity and unity among people who share the same culture”7. Blades also speaks about the song “Cipriano Armenteros” (1975) by Ismael Miranda as one of the first salsa songs that had deeper lyrical meaning to be successful. It was because “the public was in conditions to accept that type of knowledge”. This “motivated other people [like him] to follow the same route”.3

Rubén Blades is undoubtedly an important figure within Latin music and his legacy continues to develop not only with the music he continues to release, or his involvement in the Panamanian government as the Minister of Tourism (2004-2009), but with those he inspired. Artists across genres like Residente, Marc Anthony and Carlos Vives have solidified their careers and (in some cases) a crossover into the American music industry with Rubén Blades method of politically conscious lyrics over dance beats.

Works Cited

1 Biblioteca Nacional de Panamá. “Invasión a Panamá - Biblioteca Nacional De Panamá.” Biblioteca Nacional De Panamá -, 23 Oct. 2024, binal.ac.pa/invasion-a-panama.

2 Blades, Rubén. 2018. Yo No Me Llamo Rubén Blades. Directed by Abner Benaim. Panama: TBS.

3 Bladés, Rubén, and Sergio Santana Archbold. Yo, Rubén Blades. Confesiones De Un Relator De Barrio. Medellín, Colombia, Ediciones Salsa y Cultura, 1997.

4 Díaz, Marcos González. “Qué Pasó El ‘Día De Los Mártires’ En Panamá Y Por Qué Fue Clave Para Que EE.UU. Entregara El Canal Al País Centroamericano.” BBC News Mundo, 9 Jan. 2019, www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-46778339.

5 Kadoch, León. “El Legado De Los Tratados Torrijos-Carter.” El Faro | Canal De Panamá, 9 Sept. 2024,

elfarodelcanal.com/el-legado-de-los-tratados-torrijos-carter/#:~:text=Este%20acuerdo%2 0inclu%C3%ADa%20la%20transferencia,preparaci%C3%B3n%20y%20transformaci%C 3%B3n%20para%20Panam%C3%A1.

6 “Operation Just Cause: The Invasion of Panama, December 1989.” www.army.mil, 22 July 2011,

www.army.mil/article/14302/operation_just_cause_the_invasion_of_panama_december_

1989.
7 Ortiz, Diego. “Rubén Blades LA ENTREVISTA ROLLING STONE.” Rolling Stone En

Español, 30 July 2022, es.rollingstone.com/ruben-blades-la-entrevista-rolling-stone.

Alessandra Clarke/Researched Essay/Rubén Blades/CME/7

8 Rubén Blades | Artist | GRAMMY.com. www.grammy.com/artists/ruben-blades/904.
9 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Operation Just Cause | Summary, Panama,

Casualties, and Rock Music.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Nov. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-invasion-of-Panama.