Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948) is a Panamanian singer-songwriter, actor, musician, activist and politician. He performs most often in the Afro-Cuban, salsa and Latin jazz genres.
Blades has won eight Grammy Awards and five Latin Grammy Awards.
Blades' acting career began in 1982. It has continued with several-year breaks in between. His first acting role was The Last Fight. Other movies include Crossover Dreams (1985), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) and Color of Night (1994).
Blades was given the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award by ASCAP and WhyHunger in June 2011.
Blades' album Tangos'' won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album in 2015.
Blades was born in Panama City, Panama.