Rubén Blades

Few salsa singers have written as widely or as pointedly as Rubén Blades. Born in Panama City in 1948, the Panamanian singer, composer and songwriter works mostly in salsa and Latin jazz, but his lyrics borrow the literary sophistication of Central American nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova, and his output has been called thinking persons' dance music. Blades has also worked as an actor, activist and politician, and that restless range runs through the songs.

His first US recording, the album De Panamá a New York, came out in 1970 on Alegre Records with the Pete Rodriguez Orchestra. After moving to New York in 1974, he started in the mailroom at Fania Records and soon began working with Willie Colón, with whom he made several albums. His 1977 album Metiendo Mano yielded "Pablo Pueblo", and Siembra (1978) remains among his best-known records. Blades's songs include "Pedro Navaja" and "El Cantante", the latter becoming Héctor Lavoe's signature song. He has won twelve Grammy Awards from 21 nominations, and in 2004 he was appointed Panama's minister of tourism. He also played Daniel Salazar in Fear the Walking Dead.