7. You Reap What You Siembra
About this episode
The episode explores Ruben Blades' journey from Panama to New York City and his early career at Fania Records, culminating in a collaboration with Willie Colon amidst skepticism from music executives.
New kid on the block Ruben Blades moves from Panama to New York City. He gets a job in the mail room at Fania Records, where he tries to pitch his music. Eventually, he gets executives to listen to what he has to offer and lands a collaboration with the legend Willie Colon. But their idea for an album is met with skepticism from music executives, who are later – very dramatically – proven wrong. Listen to the Music Behind Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York playlist here . Archival courtesy of The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library, Maria Hinojosa for Latino USA, Craft Recordings, a Concord company, and Aurora Flores Hostos Interview. This episode also utilizes fair use clips from WBAI Radio, Third World Newsreel Film Collective - El Pueblo Se Levanta, FOX 5 New York, Tik Tok, and Vox Media. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for ad-free listening, early-access and exclusive bonus episodes with the chisme behind Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York and all our podcasts: www.futuromediagroup.org/joinplus . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More episodes of Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York
- BONUS: The Cinderella Story of New York Legend Joe Bataan
- 8. The End of Fania and the Rebirth of Salsa
- 6. Fania Finds its Roots in Africa
- 5. A Tale of Two Women
- 4. The Year Fania got Political
- 3. The Night that Made Salsa
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