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Rubén Blades Signs Global Partnership Deal with Virgin Music Group

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Rubén Blades has a new deal…

The 76-year-old Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist and politician has signed a global partnership with Virgin Music Group.

Ruben BladesThe indie artist, who releases music under his own label Rubén Blades Production, was previously with AWAL.

This new deal with Virgin sets him up for the “next chapter in his legendary career,” states a press release.

One of the most influential and revered Latin artists of all time, Blades – whose career spans over five decades – is known for music that is both poetic and socially conscious and rooted in storytelling.

A key figure in the New York salsa revolution during the 1970s, Blades has dedicated his career to propelling Afro-Cuban music.

The “Pedro Navaja” singer was honored with the Latin Recording Academy’s Person of the Year award in 2021, he also won album of the year award for SALSWING! at the Latin Grammys that year.

“Rubén Blades has built an incredible legacy in Latin music as a trailblazer, pushing artistic boundaries and cultural change. We look forward to working with him on the next phase of his illustrious career and furthering his legacy with new audiences around the world,” Víctor González, president of Latin America and Iberia for Virgin Music Music Group, said in a statement.

Overall, Blades – also an actor who played the role of Daniel Salazar on Fear the Walking Dead – has won 12 Grammy Awards and 11 Latin Grammys. This year, he’s a two-time nominee at the 25th annual Latin Grammys where “Aún Me Sigo Encontrando,” his collab with Gian Marco, is up for song of the year and his latest album, Siembra: 45° Aniversario (En Vivo en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, 14 de Mayo 2022), is up for best salsa album. The ceremony takes place Thursday (Nov. 14) in Miami.

Docu-Feature Film “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name” Currently in Production

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Here’s your chance to learn about the man behind the living legend that is Ruben Blades…

The 67-year-old Panamanian singer will be the focus of a docu-feature from Abner Benaim’s Apertura Films and Gema Juarez Allen’s Gema Films.

Ruben Blades

Entitled Ruben Blades Is Not My Name, the film about the Grammy– and Latin Grammy-winning salsa singer/composer is currently shooting in New York, will then segue to Panama and other Latin American countries.

Benaim, who helmed Panama’s 2014 Oscar entry Invasion, is directing.

Ruben Blades Is Not My Name turns on a multi-faceted figure who wrote and performed what was then the best-selling salsa album in history, 1978’s Siembra, was educated at Harvard University, was and is a political activist, and made a run for Panamanian president in 1994, obtaining 20% of the votes. He has enjoyed a second career as an actor, is currently playing Daniel Salazar in Fear the Waking Dead.

“The arc of the story is still playing itself out, but it will definitely be related to the history of Latin America in the past 50 years, of which Ruben has been a witness and an active part of,” said Benaim.

“We will concentrate on his music and particularly his lyrics and their effect on those who’ve listened to them, danced to them, thought about them, and were somehow shaped by them.”

“By way of its format, Ruben Blades Is Not My Name will include interviews with Ruben, other musicians and artists, friends and family and will use lots of incredible archive footage from concerts, daily life, politics, films and more,” Benaim added, saying that the docu-feature will also shoot Blades offstage as a man, “as someone who lives a private life also.”

Ruben Blades Is Not My Name is “a film full of rhythm, music and good stories -with the most remarkable characters. Ruben is a wonderful storyteller, so it will be a very entertaining and moving piece that will travel wherever there are fans of Ruben and beyond,” added Juarez Allen.

Panamanian TV station TVN is backing the docu-feature. Producers are in talks with co-producers from the U.S. and Latin America and sales agents for worldwide rights, per Benaim.