One of the biggest celebrities in the history of Panama, songwriter and actor
Rubén Blades was born Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna on July 16, 1948 in Panama
City. After graduating from law school in the mid-1970s, he moved to New York
where he began to make connections in the city’s Latin music scene by working in
the mailroom at Fania Records. He developed a strong collaboration with Willie
Colón, leading to his 1975 album The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, with Willie Colón.
1977’s Metiendo Mano featured his first well-received single, “Pablo Pueblo”, a
nearly decade old composition a...