Blades Gets Rhythms, Ideas Percolating

What would Latin music be without the mercurial presence of Ruben Blades?

The thought alone is enough to make you feel empty and nostalgic. For Blades is one of the most visionary and rewarding figures in Latin American pop culture.

The singer’s joyous performance Friday at the Universal Amphitheatre was a useful reminder of what an inspiring experience a Blades concert can be.

Blades became famous in the late-’70s and throughout the ‘80s for composing material that bursts with the swing and rhythmic intensity of salsa, while at the same time offering lyrics that tackle Hispanic American issues with the same lucid, poetic vision you encounter in the novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez or the writings of legendary journalist Eduardo Galeano.

During most of the ‘90s, Blades grew tired of salsa and began experimenting with a new brand of Latin pop, characterized by more abstract soundscapes, a kaleidoscopic fusion of folkloric styles, and a pan-global attitude that at times brings to mind similar efforts by Sting or Peter Gabriel.

Both tendencies were present in Friday’s performance, although a realistic Blades indulged his die-hard fans by placing an emphasis on the hits of the past.

At the center of the evening was Editus, a Costa Rican group with New Age undertones that Blades has adopted as his own for the last couple of years.It was thanks to its 11 members’ consummate musicianship that old nuggets such as the apocalyptic “Ojos de Perro Azul” or the disco-salsa pastiche “Plastico” sounded as good as ever.

Blades’ unique songwriting skills were evident in the epic “El Padre Antonio y el Monaguillo Andres,” a lengthy narrative inspired by Oscar Arnulfo Romero, a priest murdered by the right-wing death squads in El Salvador.

“You can kill people, but not their ideas” is Blades’ defiant message, and the rousing melody and rustic beats accompanying the statement were stirring.

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In a clumsy attempt on the part of the show’s promoters to attract a younger demographic, Blades shared the evening with salsa heartthrob Victor Manuelle.

The Puerto Rican singer has a respectable number of hit singles, most of which echo the unfortunate influence of the syrupy “salsa romantica” style--a subgenre that almost managed to single-handedly sink tropical music in the ‘80s.

At times, the band created effective moments of combustion through jazzy explosions of brass and a percussion section that knew how to accelerate the beat for maximum effect. But compared to Blades, Manuelle sounded downright mediocre.

Then again, almost anyone would.