Panamanian singer Rubén Blades (74) was in Buenos Aires this Wednesday May 31 to present his latest album, Salswing (2021) and incidentally celebrates the 45th anniversary of an emblematic album of what was known at the time as “sauce with a social conscience” or protest, Sowing (1978).
Accompanied by an orchestra of twenty excellent musicians and within it a horn section that swept the life away, the author of Pedro Navaja revised some of his classics and presented the new songs in a show that lasted almost three hours.
From the outset, the surroundings of the Luna Park Stadium were literally stormed by a horde of Latino fans, mainly Venezuelans, Colombians and, of course, Argentines. All eager to participate in the return of Blades to Argentina after nine years of absence.
Its last presentation was in this same venue from 2014 to present tangosexcellent work together with Carlos Franzetti (a fundamental figure in a good part of his career) e Leopold Frederick as a bandoneon player and conductor.
A real salsa orchestra
In the extreme south of the continent, there are not many chances today to witness live a salsa orchestra (all Panamanian, like El Jefe) with twenty elements, a line of wind instruments that includes four trombones, four trumpets and five saxophones, three percussion instruments, two keyboards, bass and drums.
That’s why it was a pity the imbalance of an always excessive volume for the headquarters and which also covered the beautiful letters of the Poet of Salsa. Luna Park was created as a boxing hall and always will be. Knock out any sound engineer.
The beginning could not have been more promising, with an emotional delivery of Plastic sung in chorus by all present.
It’s amazing how the lyrics of this song, almost half a century later, not only It has not lost an iota of its critical force towards a hyper-consumerist social system, but places itself with all its literary display in an unappealable document of a way of life perfectly described by Zigmunt Baumann in his book liquid life.
Even if you just need to enter Tik Tok to realize it. Blades sang it last night, in fact, “in a city where – more and more often – a dollar appears instead of the sun”.
Vocally in excellent shape, Willie Colón’s former partner recalled several moments that led him to compose nearly 300 songs during his brilliant career.
And so, one by one, he pitted the 22 compositions which, in a show with some ups and downs, also caused moments of euphoria. Why the ups and downs? Firstly because in his almost ten years of absence from our stages little was known, musically speaking, obviously, of Rubén Blades Bellido of Luna Díaz (this is his full name).
For example, works from the most recent stretch of his career have rarely been heard on the radio here in recent years. This obviously includes Salswinghomage to the American Big Bands of the ’30s and ’40s, which last night did not move the needle of an audience that in general terms perhaps did not manage to consume the music of orchestras such as those of Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman or the Dorsey brothers.
Their set last night even had a little homage to Frank Sinatra with the theme Your appearance tonightrespecting the original arrangements that directors Nelson Riddle, Don Costa and Billy May made at different stages of La Voz.
The extension conspired against the show
Another detail that helped make the party perfect was given by the length of the recital. three hour showwith songs that in some cases well exceed four minutes in length, with a mellow sound that covered the artist’s voice and verses, they sat on their hands a more than enthusiastic audience for a good part of the show.
Only Blades’ vocal solvency, his histrionics (the man is also an actor, we have seen him play good roles in productions such as predator 2in seven seasons of walking Dead and also in some chapter of The secret X files), great sympathy and the stories he told between songs (yes, that’s fine, with some trace of megalomania, but you can forgive him because everything he did! He did!) saved those segments.
There is one more detail that deserves to be explained. Forks the scarce diffusion that salsa music has always had in Argentina.
Salsa is the natural daughter of Cuban son montuno and US jazz. The first genus was brought to New York by the first groups of emigrants from the island (and also from Puerto Rico and neighboring countries) in the 1930s and 1940s.
Most of those Latin musicians specialize in playing woodwinds or percussion. And so it was that in 1947 the great Dizzy Gillespie he included the brilliant Cuban conguero Chano Pozo in his orchestra. The latter, with the help of the talented Chico O’Farrill, composed a song based on a very catchy riff and called it Butter. It was a huge success.
Then came the turn of the Latin orchestras that also arrived in Hollywood: Dámaso Pérez Prado, Xavier Cougat (always on stage with his two poodles) and the skilful timbalero Tito Puente, author among other successes of Hey how’s it going. AND to which Santana owes little less than her career.
Meanwhile, orchestras such as La Sonora Matancera appeared from Cuba with its own line of singers including Celia Cruz and then Carlos Argentino. And so the planet later discovered that it existed a vibrant and irresistible music that they began to call salsa.
Irresistible for almost the entire continent, although very little for our country, where at that time (and in the late 50s and early 60s) cumbia won the fight on local radio. Only with the first arrivals of Latin immigrants in our country, already in the 80s and stronger in the following decade, did salsa experience a sort of heyday, even if more with its dance than with the music itself.
Within this panorama, in 1970, a young Rubén Blades appears.
Due to its vocal characteristics, The Blades have automatically entered the Olympus of salsa singers. Taking hold in Ray Barretto’s orchestra, with whom he recorded two magnificent albums, the Panamanian added his name to that of glories such as Richie Ray, Bobby Cruz, Roberto Roena, Cheo Feliciano and shortly after Ismael Miranda and of course the great Puerto Rican Héctor Lavoe.
At Luna Park, Blades dedicated a space to the latter singing a song that belongs to him and that in 1978 saved the career of a devastated Lavoe. Singer, which talks about her, is also the title of the biographical film which in 2006 starred the then married couple Marc Anthony and Jennifer López. And it’s also the title of an album by Andrea Calamarowhat versions of the theme.
And Pedro Navaja arrived
It is also true that last night the expectations of the souls gathered at the Luna Park were not disappointed at all, it should be clarified.
Because Rubén has guided them through some of his most popular and recognized titles: Paul City, Decisions, Father Antonio and the altar boy Andrés, they all come back, Lycia Helena, life as a teacher and of course several that make up his latest album. But the public was waiting for the icing on the cake and although it took some time to introduce themselves, already at the end it was the turn of Pedro Navaja. And people rekindled it.
This song, which tells the story of a supposed anti-hero with a lot of bad luck, It is based on The Threepenny Operawith music by Kurt Weill and plot by Bertolt Brecht.
It was written as a communist critique (with Karl Marx at the helm) of the capitalist world. And there the story of a criminal known as Macheath, Mack The Knife or Mack El Navaja is told. It was a great jazz success also and especially in Sinatra’s voice.
But the salsa version with that tremendous cinematic text that Blades assigned to it made it an all-time anthem of Latin music.
“And to think that they didn’t want to record it for me – the Panamanian had fun last night – because they said it was too long”. Largo was nonetheless a show that from a visual point of view was truly impeccable and perhaps lacked songs like they are looking for you, Eyes OR Shark. But Blades is Blades. Undisputed observer of reality who from his own poetry has been able to highlight injustices and social abuses.
Will we be able to hear this great artist live again in Argentina? Will we have to wait another nine years for this? It is not known. Last night we perhaps had the last opportunity to enjoy it on a Creole stage. And that, from now on, he is eternally appreciated.
Source: Clarin
