The Panamanian Ruben Blades Tonight he opened his tour on Dominican soil with one concert in the volleyball pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center with “Plastic”the iconic song he recorded with Willie Colon.
“Salswing Tour”Title that gives the name concertis more than supported by its artistic footprint 50 years in music.
Accompanied by a coupled orchestra by Maestro Roberto Delgado, the award-winning artist immediately found the right thing Complicity of a public who gave him a standing ovation when he appeared on stage.
With the songs “Palomilla”, “Decisiones” and “Portable Country” he raised his flag and got the audience to sing along with him in the chorus.
Thank you, Santo Domingo, for hosting us this evening. Many thanks to the artistic entrepreneur Saymon Díaz for making this possibleRuben Bladesin concert in Santo Domingo”
The staging of Ruben Blades has a visual projection in which it shows itself characters. In the first minutes of the show, which began at 9 p.m., he remembered the late Cheo Feliciano and Johnny Pacheco.
Emotionally
One of the most emotional moments of the evening was when the artist paid tribute to prominent deceased Dominican artists by performing the song “Everyone Returns.” The photos of the deceased, Johnny Ventura, Cheché Abreu, Freddy Beras Goico, Sonia Silvestre, Luis Días, Johnny Pacheco, Anthony Ríos, Luisito Martí and Víctor Víctor, were projected on the screen behind him.
The audience applauded the artist for the posthumous tribute, which no doubt surprised the crowd that completely filled the venue.
About the staging
“Pedro Navaja”, “The Streets”, “Amor y control”, “Mambo Gil”, “Maestra Vida”, “Patria” and the celebrated tribute to the late Héctor Lavoe with the performance of “El Cantante” were some of them Songs that were part of the social chronicle of the evening.
Ruben Bladesalso known as the Salsa Poet, thanked the audience for the support he has received throughout his career from personalities who have marked his life, such as Pete Conde Rodríguez, Richie Ray, Bobby Cruz, Ismael Miranda and Roberto Roena.
He dedicated a special memory to his friend, the trombonist and music producer Willie Colón, with whom he played the leading role in highlights of the salsa industry. This historic alliance marked a before and after in the genre as well as in their respective careers with the release of the album Siembra (1978), which became the label’s best-selling album. Fania All Stars and is considered the best-selling in the history of the genre.
Although the acoustics of the place are not good, Maestro Roberto Delgado’s band showcased their talent with perfectly synchronized musical chords. Around 10:30 p.m., Blades (he’s 75 years old) took a short break and left his musicians, who showed off their skills and creativity with a performance that kept the party going.
Ruben Blades He also took a few minutes to break the news of the passing of his dear friend, the Grammy-winning engineer, on Friday Jon Fausty, responsible for countless musical hits from “La Fania All Stars”.
In his short but poignant comments, the songwriter, actor, social activist and lawyer always speaks about the context in which he created his songs, without changing the rhythm of his songs concert.
As usual, Blades doesn’t require the paraphernalia that other artists typically rely on. Impeccably dressed in gray, with a black hat and two-tone shoes (black and white), he toured the stage for two and a half hours, delighting the audience, who left the venue with great satisfaction.
The audience enjoyed Rubén Blades’ hits. From (Courtesy of SD ConcertsThe Soneros didn’t miss Rubén Blades’ salsa performance. From (Courtesy of SD Concerts)
The public
The crowd, which organizers estimated was about 5,000 people, showed exemplary behavior. “It’s going to be a great evening; we won’t have an immature audience here,” a lady announced as she entered the venue. It was like this. They enjoyed the performance, danced, sang the songs and took out their cell phones to capture the historic moment with their idol.