ruben blades

In the recent (May 2022) SalsaSwing concert in Puerto Rico, Rubén Blades may have hinted that he's retiring from music. Or perhaps more specifically, from touring. Is Rubén Blades Really Retiring? Here's why I believe Rubén Blades may…

No other word describes the Rubén Blades SalsaSwing concert in Puerto Rico but extraordinary. The SalsaSwing Puerto Rico concert included a 3-song tribute to Cheo Feliciano, the entire "Siembra" album from top to bottom, a total of 41…

It's been 40 years since Ruben Blades released the masterpiece "Maestra Vida", a double-album describing the life of its protagonist in a Latino neighborhood. This was an audacious groundbreaking recording of a musical "novela", similar to…

Musicians, like the rest of us, are home with a lot of time on their hands, so they've written songs of coronavirus to keep us entertained. Among the various songs that Latin artists have recently published to entertain (us and…

Ruben Blades celebrated his "50 Years" in music with a concert at the Coliseum of Puerto Rico which I consider one of the best concerts I've ever seen by any artist. In a nutshell, Ruben still has a great voice, his stories added…

Rubén Blades returns to his origins in rock in the "Paraiso Road Gang". Although Rubén uses different genres in this album, his messages remains the same. Note: for the version "en Español" of this blog, click HERE. In "Rubén Blades…

Jazz great Wynton Marsalis teamed his Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Salsa great Ruben Blades in a unique event and live recording “Una Noche con Rubén Blades”. These two legendary stars delivered great Salsa and Jazz. The question…

"Siembra", arguably the most popular album recorded in Salsa music, turns 40 this year. In this blog, I'll take a closer look at Willie Colon's and Ruben Blades' masterpiece which redefined Salsa. "Siembra" Redefined the Salsa Message With…

In 1929 Ignacio Pineiro wrote and recorded the song "Suavecito" with his Septeto Nacional, which included the above lines, and became a huge hit. With that, he helped to popularize what had been a marginalized genre. In 2018, there…