Antecedente

Performer: Ruben Blades
Artist: Ralph Irizarry; Tito Allen
Engineer: Jon Fausty; Ruben Blades
Producer: Ruben Blades
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Ruben Blades (vocals, maracas); Oscar Hernandez (piano, synthesizer); Mike Vinas (synthesizer, bass); "Papo" Vasquez, Renaldo Jorge (trombone); Marc Quinones (bongos, campana, guiro, tumbadora); Ralph Irizarry (timbales, percussion); Tito Allen, Nestor Sanchez (background vocals). Recorded at Sound Ideas, New York, New York from October-December 1987. Instantly upbeat and crackling with energy, ANTECEDENTE sees a further crystallization of Ruben Blades' reinvention of salsa as a format for the barrio narrative. The material lies for the most part in a realm of romance and nostalgia, and unlike other albums with Seis Del Solar, the keyboards have been set down and the horns picked back up for a more straight-ahead salsa feel. "La Marea" and "Juana Mayo" are thick cuts of hard salsa, the latter a darkly poetic depiction of a prostitute's endless and anonymous nightwalking. "'Tas Caliente" goes on a joyride full of piquant rhythmic breaks as Ruben admonishes a muchacho to change his low-life ways "or one of these days you're gonna get it." "Patria" steals the show here though, with its simple, slowly swelling Afro-Cuban rhythmic accompaniment and arresting ode to the "Motherland." Far from any jingoistic chest-pounding, Ruben offers a sunny, open vision of the word as he heartily proclaims, "...little brother, Motherland is so many beautiful things!"

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.

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