Salsa legend Rub茅n Blades on the iconic song 鈥淧edro Navaja鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 too long. It鈥檚 too sad. It鈥檚 not danceable.鈥� That's what salsa legend Rub茅n Blades heard from DJs and record labels about his song "Pedro Navaja". But he knew better.
"It鈥檚 too long. It鈥檚 too sad. It鈥檚 not danceable.鈥� Just some of the feedback salsa legend Rub茅n Blades got from DJs and record labels about his iconic song "Pedro Navaja" on the album "Siembra", which went on to sell 25m copies (that鈥檚 more than the Beatles' "White Album"). And his story of creating this album with Willie Col贸n is a testament to three words: Trust your instinct. Don鈥檛 let anyone throw you off a creative vision you believe in. But also don鈥檛 assume that instinct is innate. You hone your instinct through a lifetime of reading, listening, looking, doing. And don鈥檛 believe anyone does it alone. Trusted collaborators are always a powerful, sometimes invisible force driving any creative vision, in any field.
Rub茅n Blades is a musician, composer, actor, and activist. As a salsa and Latin jazz artist, he鈥檚 won nine Grammy and five Latin Grammy awards, and written legendary songs like 鈥淧edro Navaja鈥�. As an actor, he鈥檚 stars in "Fear the Walking Dead".
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