"I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance."

• Born Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna on July 15, 1948, in Panama City, Panama
   
• In the early 1970s, singer/songwriter Rubén Blades began collaborating with Latin bandleader Willie Colon. In 1978 Colon convinced Blades to allow a song Blades had written, "El Cantante," to be recorded by singer Hector Lavoe. The song became Blades' first hit as a songwriter. That same year Blades and Colon released Siembra, which became a top-selling salsa album.
   
• Blades won his first GRAMMY in at the 29th GRAMMY Awards for Best Tropical Latin Performance for "Escenas."
   
• Did you know? In 2004 Blades took a break from his musical pursuits to serve as Panama's minister of tourism.
   
• Blades and Colon's album Siembra was inducted into the Latin GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2007.
   
• Blades has served on the advisory council for the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, an organization dedicated to increasing access for Hispanic artists and professionals and fostering the emergence of new Hispanic talent.