The New Yorker Radio Hour · 2026-01-02 · 31 min · 4,857 words

Salsa Star Rubén Blades on Acting, Politics, and the Power of Music

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The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported by Morris and Essex books, presenting History Nation, a citizen's guide to the history of the United States. Author David Hanna makes sense of our nation's history by connecting past to present while emphasizing connection over division, a reminder, in the words of the San Francisco Book Review, to never stop learning. Available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour.

I'm David Remnick. In the world of salsa music, Ruben Blades is one of the greats. His 1978 album Siembra A word that means planting or cultivating, remains one of the best-selling salsa albums of all time. Rubén Blades, or as we call him in Latin America, Rubén Blades, though his name is actually Rubén Blades, is one of the most important figures in salsa.

Graciela Motzkovsky writes for The New Yorker about Latin American politics and culture. He's an incredibly prolific artist, a writer, a singer, an activist, and a Hollywood actor. Hi, my name is Rudy Velos and I have this music that is going to blow you away. I grew up in Argentina and he really sings for an entire people. We all feel like Blades' or Blades songs are speaking about the struggles of our own countries.

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