Panamanian singer/songwriter Ruben Blades is a key figure in contemporary Latin music. He came to New York in the 1970s and entrenched himself in the salsa scene, writing for and performing with a number of key players, and forming a significant partnership with salsa legend Willie Colon. In the '80s, Blades's solo career took off as he set about modernizing salsa with his group Seis del Solar. Around the same time, he embarked on a successful acting career that would continue for decades. Blades's music is often strongly informed by his activist politics, a fact that became duly apparent when he ran for President of Panama in 1994.

Vinyl Collector's Information/Trivia:

Linda Ronstadt is singing a sad but very, very beautiful duet with Ruben Blades on this spanish album

Elektra Records is a record label started in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickholt, who both invested $300. It, along with Holzman's Nonesuch Records, was acquired by Kinney National Company in 1970 for $10 million. Holzman remained in charge until 1972, when Asylum Records and Elektra were combined and Asylum's director (David Geffen) was put in charge. Holzman were to start Discovery Records.