The songs of this singing poet and political activist kept me grounded during my trips to El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Ecuador and Mexico.
Ruben Blades was born in Panama City, Panama. He is the son of Cuban musician and actress Anoland Díaz (her real surname is Bellido de Luna), and Colombian Rubén Darío Blades Sr., an athlete, a percussionist and a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in Washington, D.C. His younger brother, Roberto Blades, is also a musician. His mother's great-uncle, Juan Bellido de Luna, was active in the Cuban revolutionary movement against Spain and was a writer and publisher in New York City.
Blades's paternal grandfather, was thought to be Rubén Blades, an English-speaking native of St. Lucia who came to Panama as an accountant. However, in 2025 it was revealed on Finding Your Roots that Blades is actually the grandson of poet Ricardo Miró. Blades says that the man he thought was his grandfather had come to Panama to work on the Panama Canal, as he states in the song "West Indian Man" on the album Amor y Control ("That's where the Blades comes from") (1992). He explains the source and the pronunciation (/ˈbleɪdz/) of his family surname, which is of English origin, in his web show Show De Ruben Blades (SDRB). Additionally, on Finding Your Roots it was revealed that Amelia Denis de Icaza, the first Panamanian woman to publish her poems, was the aunt of Ricardo Miró, making her Blades's great-aunt.
During Blades's early days, he was a vocalist in Los Salvajes del Ritmo, and also a songwriter and guest singer with a popular Latin music conjunto (ensemble), Bush y sus Magníficos. His strongest influence of the day was the Joe Cuba sextet and Cheo Feliciano, whose singing style he copied to the point of imitating his voice tone and vocal range.
In 2025, it was discovered on Finding Your Roots that Blades is the newly discovered grandson of poet Ricardo Miró.
Ricardo Miró Denis (November 5, 1883 in Panama City, Panama – March 2, 1940) was a Panamanian writer and is considered Panama's national poet.
Although Lionel Leo Hampton died 22 years ago he will never be forgotten as far as I am concerned, He was one of the coolest musicians I met and had the pleasure of interviewing. The American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Quincy Jones.
In 1930 Louis Armstrong came to California and hired the Les Hite band for performances and recordings. Armstrong was impressed with Hampton's playing after Hampton reproduced Armstrong's solo on the vibraphone and asked him to play behind him like that during vocal choruses. So began his career as a vibraphonist, popularizing the use of the instrument in the process
Hampton remained active until he suffered a stroke in Paris in 1991 led to a collapse on stage. That incident, combined with years of chronic arthritis, forced him to cut back drastically on performances. However, he did play at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2001 shortly before his death.[On April 15, 2002, the United States Congress celebrated Hampton's life and "resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the Congress, on behalf of the American people, extends its birthday greetings and best wishes to Lionel Hampton on the occasion of his 94th birthday. RIP Doctor Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002)