“But, when I was about thirteen, I began to sort of sing in my neighbor...” — Ruben Blades Quote

But, when I was about thirteen, I began to sort of sing in my neighborhood.

Everyone has a black guy inside them. Mine is a Cuban sonero who is 80-something years old and sings better than I do. His name is Medoro Madera. Medoro has been recording since 1997.

To fix Panama, you need more than charisma and records: you need a program of action.

I don't accept ideologies that are not a product of consensus. I don't have an ideology, but I do have a sense of what's right and what's wrong.

I really think that music itself, being one of the greatest possible vehicles for mass communication, should be probed to its extremes, to see how effective it can actually become, which is one of the reasons why I became also interested in presenting political points of view.

I grew up kind of a tomboy and I used to fight with all the neighborhood boys.

I was raised in a desegregated neighborhood.

I don't live in a fancy neighborhood.

I grew up in a decently tough neighborhood.

I was a very observant child. The boys in my books are based on boys in my neighborhood growing up.