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This 1986 documentary by filmmaker Robert Mugge chronicles the life, music, philosophies, and opinions of the singer, bandleader, political activist, and Harvard-trained lawyer Rubén Blades. Mugge captures Blades's intelligence, passion, and charisma in a variety of locales: from the bandstand of New York City's famed club, S.O.B.'s, where Blades and his ensemble, Seis del Solar, performed, to his heartfelt recollections of growing up in United States-dominated Panama City. Whether he's talking about the political history of his country with columnist Peter Hamill of the [New York] Daily News, recording a track with pop superstar Linda Ronstadt, or swinging the son montuno/salsa grooves of "Buscando America," "Tiburon," and his "Mack the Knife" cover, "Pedro Navaja," with his group, Rubén Blades successfully blends art and politics. In the film he promised to return home and run for president--which he eventually did, unsuccessfully, but heroically. --Eugene Holley Jr.
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