Rubén Blades

Panamanian salsa singer/songwriter/actor/politician from Panama City, born 1948. Siembra (1978, with Willie Colón, best-selling salsa album ever), Buscando América (1984). 'Pedro Navaja,' 'Decisiones,' 'Plástico.' Harvard law degree. Panama's Minister of Tourism. Salsa's greatest songwriter — narrative, politically conscious, literary.