Blades, Rubén, 1948-

Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna was born in Panama City, Panama on July 16, 1948. He is an internationally prominent and popular musician, actor and politician. His musical career as a singer and composer of Latin popular music styles has won him many accolades, including multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy awards. He played a key role in the salsa music scene in New York in the 1970s.

In addition to being an accomplished musician, Blades is also a lawyer. He studied law at the Universidad de Panama in the early 1970s and he later graduated in 1985 with a Master's degree in International Law from Harvard University Law School. Social, cultural and political concerns have played a major part in Blades' life and music. In recent years, Blades served a term as Minister of Tourism in Panama from 2004 to 2009.

As an actor, Blades has performed in many commercial films, including Crossover Dreams (1985) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003).

As a well-known figure, many resources about Blades' life and career are widely available. This biographical sketch is necessarily brief and focused on materials currently available in the collection.