La vida y obra de una leyenda viva, el cantante/compositor m嫳 exitoso e influyente de los timos cincuenta a隳s en todo el mundo de habla hispana, que adem嫳 resulta ser un aclamado actor de Hollywood y Broadway, graduado de la Escuela de Leyes de Harvard, con una maestr燰 en derecho internacional y activista pol癃ico que se postul?para la presidencia de su natal Panam? Blades ha tenido una vida plena, y la cuenta con un br甐 infeccioso, con honestidad y carisma:
Escribe de su madre, cubana, ni鎙 prodigio en la mica y actriz de radio, y de su padre, nacido en Colombia, percusionista y oficial de la polic燰 secreta. Tambi幯 escribe de su llegada a la Ciudad de Nueva York desde Panam?en la d嶰ada de 1970, y de su auge como referente en los Fania-All Stars, en sus a隳s de gloria de la salsa.
Blades escribe sobre su inicialmente productiva y finalmente tensa colaboraci鏮 con el gran trombonista/cantante Willie Col鏮, la cual deriv?en el lanzamiento de
Siembra, el 嫮bum de salsa mejor vendido de todos los tiempos. Vendi?millones de copias, y cada pista se volvi?un 憖ito por toda Latinoam廨ica y el mundo de habla hispana, incluyendo "Pedro Navaja", su canci鏮 m嫳 conocida, inspirada en "Mack the Knife" de Kurt Weil. Habla de rehusarse a permitir que encasillen su mica, lo cual sent?las bases para su inventivo y ecl嶰tico lanzamiento como solista en 1983,
Buscando Am廨ica, uno de los mejores 嫮bumes de la d嶰ada.
Escribe del hecho de abrazar otros g幯eros musicales populares y sus colaboraciones con Linda Ronstadt, Sting, Elvis Costello y Wynton Marsalis. Comenta sobre su carrera como actor y sus papeles en pel獳ulas como D
epredador 2,
El color de la noche,
Protegiendo al enemigo y
Manos de piedra, y sobre sus actuaciones en
La historia de Josephine Baker,
Loca del coraz鏮 y
El milagro de Maldonado, por las cuales recibi?nominaciones al Emmy.
Por timo, Blades escribe sobre su activismo pol癃ico: su postura contra el imperialismo de Estados Unidos, en extremo evidente en su canci鏮 de 1981 "Tibur鏮", cuando lo denunciaron cubanos en contra de Castro en Florida, y de su creaci鏮 de un partido pol癃ico progresista en Panam? bandera bajo la cual se postul?como candidato a la presidencia, quedando en tercer lugar, con 20% de los votos.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION The life and times of a living legend, the most successful and influential singer/songwriter of the past fifty years throughout the Spanish-speaking world, who also happens to be an acclaimed Hollywood and Broadway actor, a Harvard Law School graduate with a Master's degree in international law, and a political activist who ran for president in his native Panama. Blades has lived a life in full, and he tells of it with infectious brio, honesty, and wit:
He writes about his mother, a Cuban child prodigy musician and radio drama actress, and his father, who was born in Colombia and was a percussionist and officer of the secret police. He also writes about his arrival in New York City from Panama in the 1970s and his rise as a leading light among the Fania-All Stars in salsa's glory years.
Blades writes about his initially productive and ultimately fraught collaborations with the great trombonist/singer Willie Col鏮, which resulted in the release of Siembra, the best-selling salsa album of all time. It sold millions of copies, and every track became a hit throughout Latin America and the Spanish speaking world, including "Pedro Navaja," his best-known song, which was inspired by Kurt Weil's "Mack the Knife." He talks about his refusal to allow his music to be pigeonholed, which set the stage for his inventive and eclectic 1983 solo breakout, Buscando Am廨ica, one of the great albums of that decade.
He writes about his embrace of other popular musical genres and his collaborations with Linda Ronstadt, Sting, Elvis Costello, and Wynton Marsalis. He discusses his acting career and his appearances in films such as Predator 2, Color of Night, Safe House, and Hands of Stone, and about his performances in The Josephine Baker Story, Crazy from the Heart, and The Maldonado Miracle, for which he received Emmy nominations.
Finally, Blades writes about his own political activism: his stance against American imperialism, which is most evident in his 1981 song "Tibur鏮" (Spanish for "shark"), his denunciation by anti-Castro Cubans in Florida, and his creation of a progressive political party in Panama under whose banner he made a run for president, in which he came in third place with 20% of votes.
