Rubén Blades & Roberto Delgado: “Fotografías,” The Musical Journey That Revives Salsa

On February 7, 2025, the record label Rubén Blades Productions / R B Records Corp. released a new Salsa work in Big Band format by the Panamanian singer-songwriter Rubén Blades, available on CD, vinyl, and all digital platforms.

Fotografías is the title of Rubén Blades’ latest album alongside the orchestra led by bassist and director Roberto Delgado, consolidating a collaboration that has revitalized the presence of the ‘Poet of Salsa’ in the contemporary scene. This is an eight-track album combining unreleased compositions with new versions of songs previously performed by other artists or by Blades himself—a musical journey between new and classic.

Fotografías features musical arrangements by Roberto Delgado, Luis “Perico” Ortiz, and Tom Kubis. The orchestration ranges from standard orchestra formats (two trumpets and three trombones) up to the size of a full big band. The instrumental execution is carried out by Roberto Delgado’s orchestra, with great guests such as maestro Luis “Perico” Ortiz on trumpet and flugelhorn.

The album cover shows an image filtered in negative, where the viewer is positioned to see a wall covered with framed color photographs. The composition evokes the intimacy of a family album, reinforcing the concept of the record as an introspective journey of Rubén Blades through key moments of his life, alongside pivotal events in Latin American history. A blend of reflection and retro aesthetics that brings the emotional and nostalgic essence of the work to the present.

Regarding the songs, the album opens with the title track “Fotografías,” which deals with memory and the passage of time, summarized by the chorus phrase “what the wind took away remains in the photograph.” It is composed of various moods, effective soneos related to photographic art, and personal experience connected to that of any human being. The second track, “Emigrantes,” has already entered our Top 15 Salsa Hits Worldwide. It serves as a tribute to those who have left their homeland out of necessity, highlighting the resilience of migrants worldwide. Luis Perico Ortiz’s trumpet solo appears between the base theme and chorus as a melancholic sound overture.

In 1983, at the height of merengue’s importance, one of the iconic groups of this Dominican musical style, Freddy Kenton’s orchestra, released the LP Sonando a Mil, which included a Rubén Blades composition titled “La Barricada” with a striking arrangement full of power, emphasizing its message denouncing corruption and social injustice. The same happens in the version included in this album, with well-placed soneos and mambo timing, supported by colossal orchestration. In a different style, closer to traditional son montuno, Blades presents “Hoy Por Ti (Mañana Por Mí),” bringing back the Latin American insurgent theme and citing names present in two songs dedicated to Cipriano Armenteros. This can be considered a third part of the sonic myth around this figure, including a trumpet solo by Luis Perico Ortiz and sporadic appearances of Rubén’s alter-ego singer, the fictitious dark-skinned Cuban sonero Medoro Madera.

In 1975, Ray Barretto reassembled his orchestra and added two new voices: Tito Gómez from Puerto Rico and Rubén Blades from Panama. Thus, the famous red album Manos Duras was born, which included the beautiful bolero “Eso Es Amar,” composed and performed by Blades in that work and revived in this new recording. His voice sounds identical to the original version; the difference lies in the big band orchestration, respecting and extending the original arrangement by Colombian maestro Edy Martínez. Another rescue of works made by Rubén Blades is the track “Señor Botánico,” originally performed by Ismael Miranda in 1976 with the Harlow Orchestra on the album El Judío Maravilloso. This version features an arrangement for a trombone orchestra, suitable for the soneos and style of the Panamanian singer-songwriter.

In 1977, Bobby Valentín recorded for the first time “La Belleza del Son,” written by Rubén Blades, with Johnny Vázquez on vocals. When “The King of the Bass” celebrated 35 years of his career, he held a concert at Oso Blanco prison in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and included this song so that Rubén Blades himself could perform it. Now, in this album, the Panamanian artist offers his own version, preserving Valentín’s original arrangement with some additions in the orchestral format.

The only track not authored by Blades is “El Panquelero,” inspired by Abelardo Barroso, the distinguished vocalist of the Charanga Sensación of Rolando Valdés, who recorded the first version later covered by Mario Muñoz ‘Papaíto,’ El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Oscar D’ León, and Los Jubilados de Cuba, among others.

Fotografías is available in physical and digital formats, including CD and 12-inch vinyl with a high-quality cardboard sleeve featuring graphic design by Orosmán de la Guardia. It includes high-resolution digital download (24-bit/96kHz) and standard digital download.

This album offers new songs, recovers old compositions that Rubén had previously assigned to other groups, and pays tribute to his influences—a musical portrait with photographic memory.

Tracklist:

1. Emigrantes
2. La Barricada
3. Hoy Por Ti (Mañana Por Mí)
4. Eso Es Amar
5. Señor Botánico
6. La Belleza del Son
7. El Panquelero (with Medoro Madera)

Edition by rubenblades.com

Rubén Blades Productions