SONIDOS LATINOS
Blades pours passion into Panama tourism
Ed Morales
April 17, 2005
Rubén Blades had just flown into New York to receive an award
from ASCAP at a ceremony held at the Manhattan Center. He breezed
through the streets with a few days growth of gray scruff on his face,
graciously accepting well wishes from the legion of fans who recognized
him. This time, however, Blades wasn't in town to promote a new album:
Appointed minister of tourism by the new president of his native Panama
last fall, he was on a mission far from the bright lights of the stage.
"I'm doing this job for selfish reasons and altruistic reasons," Blades
said. "I want to be near my dad; he's 81. But I also have a debt to the
people. I made my money as a musician singing about social problems,
and I felt hypocritical....Here I was singing and writing a song like
'Pablo Pueblo,' then all of a sudden I'm living better than the subject
of the song." In fact, during the '70s and early '80s peak of the salsa
era, Blades helped to define a generation of Latinos who refused to
sell out their national identities.
Blades, who wrote several songs about the Everyman of Latin America and
his immigrant counterparts in the urban cities of the United States,
has made an art of balancing success (he also appeared in numerous
Hollywood films) with social conscience. Now in his mid-50s, he is
fascinated by the shift in world politics from ideology to practical
business negotiation. And he is trying to tackle one of his country's
most ingrained problems. "In Latin America, corruption has been rampant
in public administration," Blades said. "We're making it clear that you
can't do business and work for the government.
"But you can't stop the country; you have to administer and reform at
the same time. You have to set an example, the way you live your life,
and if you don't sell yourself in the process, you're going to inspire
people. The world of ideas is threatened today, and it's all about
rescuing that."
Blades is in charge of an agency with a $900-million budget, almost 6.9
percent of the country's gross national product. He intends to help
develop tourism in several coastal and interior areas without damaging
the ecosystem by encouraging Cancún-style development. He also
hopes to play a role in decentralizing the country's economic and
political power, as well as alleviate its unequal distribution of
wealth. "We are committed to a sense of humanity, not to encourage
people to build their happiness on the back of somebody else's
unhappiness," Blades said.
Still, he has not left music behind entirely. He is developing two
projects: A demo called "Las Cantares del Subdesarrollo" (Songs of
Underdevelopment), which he recorded with Costa Rican pianist Walter
Flores, and a duet album with his idol, vocalist Cheo Feliciano. "The
demo, which I plan to release in Puerto Rico only and on the Internet,
is a continuation of the work I did on 'Siembra' and 'Buscando
America,'" he said. "It's a message to the recording industry: You
don't need to spend a lot of money doing this. This is very natural,
basic stuff. Urban son. And it really swings, man."