Musician, actor, and social activist Ruben Blades grew up in Panama and grew to international fame in the United States, becoming in the process a perfect example of the multiculturalism of the Americas. Accepting as correct both the Spanish and English pronunciations of his last name, Blades likewise accepts the different facets of himself and demands no less of the greater culture that surrounds him. Overcoming enormous odds, Blades managed to juggle simultaneous careers as a lawyer, a salsa musician, a Hollywood actor, and finally a presidential candidate while maintaining his principles of social justice and pan-culturalism.

Blades was born in Panama City into a musical family; his father, a police detective, played bongos, and his Cuban-born mother sang and played piano. Along with the Afro-Cuban rhythms he grew up with, Blades was heavily influenced by the rock music of the Beatles, Frankie Lyman...