Ruben Blades (Actor)

"And the reason why Willie and I became so successful was because Latin music for a long time had been escapist; people listened to it to forget, to be entertained or to dance."

"People accepted these songs as relevent. They were not overtly political or ideological. But all of a sudden people in Latin America started to see themselves in these stories. Soon there was a huge explosion of interest, and the reason we sold so many copies of 'Siembra' was because everybody bought it, including people who didn't dance or particularly like salsa." --Blades to Denis Hamill in Daily News, October 12, 1997.

"Let's see who the hell remembers certain songs that are popular now 50 years from now. I can guarantee you that my songs are going to be remembered, because they were written honestly and with quality. They were not written for an audience of today based on what the people of today want. It was written for all people, at all times, anywhere in the world, and with a desire to make an honest, intelligent product." --Blades quoted in Los Angeles Times, September 8, 1999.

"People think, 'This guy's arrogant--he wants to go from being a musician to being president.' I went into politics because it is service to your country. I didn't do it because I needed a job. I don't live off politics. You should make your money before you go into politics so you don't steal from the people. It's why I come back here and get a job as an actor or do a concert." --Blades to Robert Dominguez in Daily News, August 18, 1994.

On Willie Colon: "Willie is one of the first musicians who traveled from New York to Latin America and received a lot of information from other places. He developed a Pan American message of social awareness, and when he met me he found someone with more fluency in Spanish capable of articulating many ideas. He contributed with his New York street culture, his talent as a producer and an incredible, truly Latino, pure tropical energy. A mixture of prankishness and sense of humor, of virility and feeling. He's extremely sensitive, and one of the most intelligent persons I know.

"I'm grateful to him because he's the one who gave me the chance to show my music. He was like my artistic godfather, and no record label could say no to my music, because he was behind it at a time when he was the No 1 salsa star in the world." --Ruben Blades quoted in Los Angeles Times, September 12, 1993.

Regarding the disintegration of his political party Papa Egora: "One of the huge, bitter lessons that I learned is that in order for this effort to continue in an efficient way, I have to be in Panama 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. But my problem is that I don't support myself through politics, so I needed to work--and work took me out of Panama. And when I was away, people that I had delegated authority to, these people took the opportunity and used it for their own benefit. They dragged the party to the precipice."

"All I want to do right now is work, pay my bills. It's not that I'm disappointed. I just try to take one step at a time." --Blades in Daily News, December 5, 1999.