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.
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