Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What I admire most about Rubén Blades is how he refuses to be just one thing. A salsa giant, yes, but also a lawyer, an actor, and a politician from Panama City who turned dance music into social commentary. Plenty of artists chase grooves; he chased meaning, weaving stories of street life and justice into songs people could still dance to. The stack of Latin Grammys and that 2018 Gold Medal of Merit feel almost secondary to the sheer integrity of the man. To me he's proof that an artist can stay restless, principled, and relevant across decades without ever cashing in his conscience.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Rubén Blades
- Name (Japanese)
- ルーベン・ブラデス
- Reading
- るーべん・ぶらです
- Born
- July 16, 1948 (age 77)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Rat
- Origin
- Panama City, Panamá Province, Panama
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- musician / singer-songwriter / actor / politician / lawyer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2018 Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts
- 2017 Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year
- 2017 Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album
- 2001 International Latin Music Hall of Fame
- 2011 Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album
- 2015 Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album
- 2010 Latin Grammy Award for Best Singer-Songwriter Album
- 2020 Latin Grammy Award for Best Tropical Song
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Rubén Blades born?
Born July 16, 1948 (age 77).
Where is Rubén Blades from?
Rubén Blades is from Panama City, Panamá Province, Panama.
What does Rubén Blades do?
Rubén Blades works as musician, singer-songwriter, actor, politician, lawyer.
Musician — see all → · Singer-songwriter — see all → · More people from Panama →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.