People are a lot smarter than anyone gives them credit for being.

Quote by Ruben Blades

Topics: Ruben Blades Quotes

So I went to Miami in '74 with my family and while I was there...

So I went to Miami in '74 with my family and while I was there...

A lot of times you're just conditioned by what's around you.

A lot of times you're just conditioned by what's around you.

I think in New York we had respect and we would pretty much fill up...

I think in New York we had respect and we would pretty much fill up...

The grandmother, the mother, the worker, the student, the intellectual, the professional, the unemployed, everybody...

The grandmother, the mother, the worker, the student, the intellectual, the professional, the unemployed, everybody...

It's almost as if people think that in Latin America we're not hip to what's...

It's almost as if people think that in Latin America we're not hip to what's...

Anywhere you had a commerce center, you had a lot of music.

Anywhere you had a commerce center, you had a lot of music.

I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance.

I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance.

They're making a ton of money, and no one is getting a nickel.

They're making a ton of money, and no one is getting a nickel.

So everything that ever happened, we knew about in Panama.

So everything that ever happened, we knew about in Panama.

I was born in Panama, the Republic of Panama, on July 16, 1948 in Panama...

I was born in Panama, the Republic of Panama, on July 16, 1948 in Panama...

We had something to say. Whenever we played, people didn't dance, they listened.

We had something to say. Whenever we played, people didn't dance, they listened.

You know, it was uncomfortable doing the same thing. I don't like a rut.

You know, it was uncomfortable doing the same thing. I don't like a rut.

So that when I came to New York again, it was, I'm not too sure...

So that when I came to New York again, it was, I'm not too sure...

And music was a very important part of our lives. The radio was on all...

And music was a very important part of our lives. The radio was on all...

There was no television, so the radio provided you with everything.

There was no television, so the radio provided you with everything.

I was a kid, and I remember my mother singing. She was also a radio...

I was a kid, and I remember my mother singing. She was also a radio...

I was the first person to come into New York with a Latin American point...

I was the first person to come into New York with a Latin American point...

Every band had their own distinctive sound, but it was pretty much dancing music and...

Every band had their own distinctive sound, but it was pretty much dancing music and...

What is interesting in this is the exchange of music that occurred between New Orleans...

What is interesting in this is the exchange of music that occurred between New Orleans...

But, when I was about thirteen, I began to sort of sing in my neighborhood.

But, when I was about thirteen, I began to sort of sing in my neighborhood.