Wilma Cosmé (born 16 January 1966, in San Juan , Puerto Rico ), better known by her stage name Sa-Fire, is an American singer . Sa-Fire's Latin Freestyle music was able to break through into the broader pop music world. She has been featured in various magazines, such as Us Magazine , Billboard , Vogue , Elle , and most recently in the December 2011 issue of Signature Hits Magazine . She was the first Latina to appear on the cover of Spin Magazine . Sa-Fire has also appeared on television programs such as American Bandstand , The Pat Sajak Show , The Joan Rivers Show , Latin Connection , MTV International , The Party Machine with Nia Peeples , PM Magazine , Entertainment Tonight , Access Hollywood , TMZ , The View , MTV , and Telemundo . Sa-Fire has performed throughout the United States , Japan , Europe , the Caribbean , and South America . She has won numerous awards for her work, including six New York Music Awards, three Desi Awards, an ASCAP Award for writing "Thinking of You," and the LGBT Lifetime Achievement Award. She has sold over 1.9 million records.
44-630: Safire may refer to: Sa-Fire (born 1966), American vocalist Safire (illusionists) , a British illusion act Safire Theatre complex , in Chennai, India William Safire (1929–2009), American journalist and speechwriter South African Identity Federation; see TENET (network) See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Search for "safire" on Misplaced Pages. All pages with titles beginning with Safire All pages with titles containing Safire Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women ,
88-603: A big hit and Lavoe's signature song ; a biographical film about Lavoe took the same title. (The film El Cantante , starring executive producer Marc Anthony and then wife Jennifer López , told a fictionalized version of this story, in which Blades tells Lavoe he wrote the song for him.) The Colón and Blades album Siembra (1978) became the best-selling salsa record in history. It has sold over 3 million copies, and almost all of its songs were hits at one time or another in various Latin American countries. Its most famous song
132-608: A break from his salsa past and a further rejection of commercial trends in Latin music . Ironically, the album won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album . Blades was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Even more eclectic was the 2002 album Mundo with the 11-member Editus Ensemble and bagpiper Eric Rigler , which incorporated instruments from around the world. Mundo won
176-600: A duet with Linda Ronstadt (1985), won Blades his first Grammy Award , for Best Tropical Latin Album . He then recorded the album Agua de Luna , based on the short stories of writer Gabriel García Márquez , in 1987. The next year he released the English-language collaboration Nothing But the Truth , with rock artists Sting , Elvis Costello , and Lou Reed whose song "The Hit" aka its main chorus "Don't Double Cross
220-544: A five-year appointment as Panama's minister of tourism. Beginning in June 2007, however, Blades turned some of his attention back to his artistic career, presenting an online TV show titled Show de Ruben Blades (SDRB) on his website. In November 2005 he received an honorary degree from the Berklee College of Music . In May 2007, Blades was sued by his former bandmate Willie Colón for breach of contract. This led to
264-478: A love song, featuring a bomba break. The latter two songs feature piano solos by the Puerto Rican pianist Papo Lucca . In 1978, Blades wrote the song " El Cantante "; Colón convinced him to give the song to Colón's former musical partner, Héctor Lavoe , to record, since Lavoe's nickname was already "El Cantante de los Cantantes" ("the singer of singers"). Lavoe recorded it that same year, and it became both
308-412: A segment for the 60 Minutes television program, interviewed by Morley Safer . In 1984, Blades left Fania, and signed with Elektra , although Fania continued to release recordings compiled from their archives for some years afterwards. Blades assembled a band (known variously as Seis del Solar or Son del Solar) and began touring and recording with them. His first album with them, Escenas , included
352-505: A sequel song, "Sorpresas", (surprises) on his 1985 album, Escenas , which revealed that Pedro had survived the incident and was still alive. Blades became dissatisfied with Fania and tried to terminate his contract, but was legally obliged to record several more albums, released after his departure. His 1981 song Tiburón (with Willie Colon) protested against military interventions by the United States (the metaphorical "shark" in
396-648: A series of suits and countersuits that lasted over five years, resulting in decisions in Blades' favor. In the middle of 2008 he took a leave of absence for a mini-tour in Europe, backed by the Costa Rican band Son de Tikizia. When his government service was completed in June 2009, he reunited the members of Seis del Solar for the 25th anniversary of Buscando América in a tour of the Americas. In June 2011, Blades
440-520: A soloist and as a guest Michael Jackson , Luis Miguel , Julio Iglesias , Ricky Martin , Juan Gabriel , Laura Pausini , Shakira , Thalía in the Spanish version of the song " What More Can I Give " written and translated by Blades as " Todo Para Ti ". He has also participated in several productions by different Latino artists such as " Almost Like Praying ", " Color Esperanza 2020 ", " Hoy Es Domingo " among other tracks. He also translated into Spanish
484-1119: A songwriter, Blades brought the lyrical sophistication of Central American nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova as well as experimental tempos and politically inspired Son Cubano salsa to his music, creating "thinking persons' (salsa) dance music". Blades has written dozens of hit songs, including " Pedro Navaja " and " El Cantante " (which became Héctor Lavoe 's signature song ). He has won twelve Grammy Awards out of 20 nominations and eleven Latin Grammy Awards. His acting career began in 1983, and has continued, sometimes with several-year breaks to focus on other projects. He has prominent roles in films such as Crossover Dreams (1985), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Super (1991), Predator 2 (1990), Color of Night (1994), Safe House (2012), The Counselor (2013) and Hands of Stone (2016), along with three Emmy Award nominations for his performances in The Josephine Baker Story (1991), Crazy from
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#1732776861568528-425: A three-woman blues band Safir (disambiguation) Saphir (disambiguation) Saphire (disambiguation) Sapphire (disambiguation) Zefir (disambiguation) Zephir (disambiguation) Zephyr (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Safire . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
572-592: Is also a musician. His mother's great-uncle, Juan Bellido de Luna, was active in the Cuban revolutionary movement against Spain and was a writer and publisher in New York City. Blades's paternal grandfather, Rubén Blades, was an English-speaking native of St. Lucia who came to Panama as an accountant. His family is uncertain how the Blades family ended up in St. Lucia, but when his grandfather moved to Panama, he lived in
616-663: The Billboard Hot 100 chart. Sa-Fire scored her most commercially successful hit with the ballad " Thinking of You " in 1989, which peaked at No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart and at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was translated into Spanish (as "El Recuerdo de Ti") by the singer– actor Ruben Blades . In 1989, Sa-Fire and "Thinking of You" were featured in a public service announcement commercial for AIDS awareness. The commercial
660-948: The AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization . In 1997, Blades headed the cast of singer/songwriter Paul Simon 's first Broadway musical , The Capeman , based on a true story about a violent youth who becomes a poet in prison, which also starred Marc Anthony and Ednita Nazario . His many film appearances include The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Two Jakes (1990), Predator 2 (1990), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Color of Night (1994), and Devil's Own (1997). He also guest-starred in an amusing episode of The X Files titled, " El Mundo Gira " ("As The World Turns"). He played immigration agent ( la migra ), Conrad Lozano, who works with Mulder and Scully to solve unexplained murders involving both rural California migrant workers and
704-687: The AMC post-apocalyptic drama Fear the Walking Dead , a companion series to The Walking Dead . Blades first appears in the second episode " So Close, Yet So Far ". In 2017, Blades performed as one of the featured artists for Puerto Rico in Lin-Manuel Miranda 's charity single " Almost Like Praying " to raise money for victims of Hurricane Maria . In September 2018, Blades was appointed as NYU Steinhardt Dean's Inaugural Scholar-in-Residence at New York University . In 2021, Blades
748-513: The Fania All Stars . Blades's first notable hit was a song on the 1977 album Metiendo Mano that he had composed in 1968, "Pablo Pueblo", a meditation about a working-class father who returns to his home after a long day at work. The song later became his unofficial campaign song when he ran for president of Panama. The Colón and Blades recording on the same album of Tite Curet Alonso 's composition, "Plantación Adentro", which dealt with
792-716: The Grammy Award for Best World Music Album , and was also nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year . The same year, Blades guested on world music artist Derek Trucks ' album, Joyful Noise . In 2003 he followed Mundo with a web site free-download project. Blades was presented with the Founders Award at the 2005 ASCAP Latin Awards . In 2004, he put his artistic career on hold when he began serving
836-927: The Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The lead single, "Made up My Mind," peaked at No. 9 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play, but stalled at No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100. During the mid-1990s, Sa-Fire returned with a Spanish-language album, titled Atrevida. She then appeared on many shows like The Joan Rivers Show , The Pat Sajak Show , Club MTV , The Party Machine with Nia Peeples , Entertainment Tonight , and Access Hollywood . She also appeared in Vogue , Us Magazine , DJ Times , The New York Times , Elle Magazine , El Diario , El Vocero , New York Daily News , and other publications. She won six New York Music Awards, one pop ASCAP Award for "Thinking of You" for
880-542: The New Faces compilation album released by Sire / Warner Bros. Records in 1993. This was not the first time Sa-Fire and Page had collaborated on a project. In 1990, they both co-wrote, produced, and sang the duet "Don't Give up on Love." The song was featured on Page's 1990 album Paintings in my Mind. "Taste the Bass" was released as a single from her second album, I Wasn't Born Yesterday. The song peaked at No. 6 on
924-587: The Pete Rodriguez orchestra in 1970 on his album De Panamá a New York and among his most successful albums are Rubén Blades y Son del Solar... Live! , Amor y Control , Caminando , SALSWING! , Son de Panamá , Tangos , Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos , Buscando América , El Que la Hace la Paga , Escenas , Salsa Big Band , Metiendo Mano! and his famous album Siembra released in 1978. In addition, he has collaborated with different artists such as Usher , Elvis Costello , as
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#1732776861568968-561: The soundtrack of the film She-Devil , which incorporated a house and hip-hop element into the 1970s disco hit. In 1991, Sa-Fire was featured in A Christmas Message with Mercury / PolyGram Records labelmates Vanessa L. Williams and Brian McKnight , with her rendition of " Joy to the World ." Sa-Fire teamed up with Tommy Page to form the dance group La Casa, fronted by Allan Edwards Tibbitt & Dacia Palmer. Together, she and Page wrote and produced three songs that appeared on
1012-705: The Bank of Panama as a law student. Blades' first recording in the US was the solo album De Panamá a New York , with the Pete Rodriguez Orchestra, which included original compositions such as "Juan Gonzalez", "Descarga Caliente" and "De Panamá a New York", recorded in 1969 at The Sound Factory studio in California and released by New York City-based label Alegre Records in 1970. He then returned to Panamá and finished his degree. In 1974, he moved to
1056-518: The Freestyle sub-genre. Ruben Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades ( Spanish: [ruˈβem ˈblaðes] , but [- ˈbleðs] in Panama and within the family ), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in the salsa , and Latin jazz genres. As
1100-587: The Heart (1992) and The Maldonado Miracle (2003). He portrayed Daniel Salazar , a main character on the TV series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2017; 2019–2023). In 1994, Blades managed to attract 17% of the vote in a failed attempt to win the Panamanian presidency . In September 2004, he was appointed minister of tourism by Panamanian president Martín Torrijos for a five-year term. He made his debut U.S. with
1144-760: The Latin American Left . A 2016 study concluded that "Regardless of his constant efforts not to be cornered ideologically [...] Blades always identified himself as a Panamanian and a Latin Americanist", inspired by Simón Bolívar . In 1982 Blades got his first acting role, in The Last Fight , portraying a singer-turned- boxer vying for a championship against a fighter who was played by real-life world-champion boxer Salvador Sánchez . In 1984, he released Buscando América , and in 1985, Blades gained widespread recognition as co-writer and star of
1188-595: The Mexican folklore of El Chupacabra . In 1999, he played Mexican artist Diego Rivera in Tim Robbins ' Cradle Will Rock . In the 2003 film Once Upon a Time in Mexico , starring Johnny Depp , Antonio Banderas , and Willem Dafoe , he played the role of a retired FBI agent. Blades's 1999 album Tiempos , which he recorded with musicians from the Costa Rican groups Editus and Sexteto de Jazz Latino, represented
1232-711: The Ones You Love", appeared in the opening and closing credits of Sidney Lumet 's 1990 crime drama film Q & A ; also in 1988 he released the more traditionally salsa Antecedente , again with Seis del Solar, which again won a Grammy Award. During the 1990s, he acted in films and continued to make records with Seis/Son del Solar. In 1990, he released the collection Poetry: the Greatest Hits that according to Q Magazine "highlighted his political commentary and pastiche approach to music". In 1994, he mounted an unsuccessful Panamanian presidential bid, founding
1276-575: The Panamanian Bocas del Toro Province . Blades says that his grandfather had come to Panama to work on the Panama Canal , as he tells in the song "West Indian Man" on the album Amor y Control ("That's where the Blades comes from") (1992). He explains the source and the pronunciation ( / ˈ b l eɪ d z / ) of his family surname, which is of English origin, in his web show Show De Ruben Blades (SDRB). In Blades's early days, he
1320-493: The United States, initially staying with his exiled parents in Miami, Florida, before moving to New York City where he began working in the mailroom at Fania Records . Soon Blades was working with salseros Ray Barretto and Larry Harlow . Shortly thereafter, Blades started collaborating with trombonist and bandleader Willie Colón . They recorded several albums together and participated in albums by plena singer Mon Rivera and
1364-590: The brutal treatment of Indian natives in Latin America's colonial times, was a hit in various Caribbean countries. He wrote and performed several songs with the Fania All Stars and as a guest on other artists' releases, including the hits "Paula C", written about a girlfriend at the time; "Juan Pachanga", about a party animal who buries his pain for a lost love in dance and drink; and "Sin Tu Cariño",
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1408-431: The independent film Crossover Dreams as a New York salsa singer willing to do anything to break into the mainstream. Blades also began his career in films scoring music for soundtracks. Also in 1985, he earned a master's degree in international law from Harvard Law School . He was the subject of Robert Mugge 's documentary The Return of Rubén Blades , which debuted at that year's Denver Film Festival . He also recorded
1452-416: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Safire&oldid=1187959324 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sa-Fire Safire
1496-574: The most played song that year, and three Desi Awards as well. After another hiatus, Sa-Fire announced the release of a new album, Bringing Back the Groove , in 2001. The album featured a cover of the New Edition hit "Can You Stand the Rain," featuring Cynthia. The album's second single, "Don't Break My Heart 2002," peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her most recent single, "Exotique,"
1540-486: The party, Movimiento Papa Egoró. The album that followed this experience was titled La Rosa de los Vientos . He also made award-winning music such as Pena and Amor y Control, won the 1997 Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Performance , and all its songs were by Panamanian songwriters, recorded using all Panamanian musicians. In 1996, Blades along with Son Miserables performed "No Te Miento (I Am Not Lying [to you])" for
1584-611: The song's title) in Latin America. It received little airplay in the US because of its controversial political message, with Blades being accused of sympathizing with communism and becoming particularly unpopular with the Cuban community in Miami . Blades would later state that "I was out of the radio for fifteen years in [the US] because of 'Tiburon'." Although he explicitly characterized Tiburón as "an anti-imperialist song", he also sought to distance himself from radical Anti-Americanism among
1628-685: The track " I Just Can't Stop Loving You " in the version called " Todo Mi Amor eres Tu " included in Jackson's anniversary album Bad 25 . Blades was born in Panama City , Panama. He is the son of Cuban musician and actress Anoland Díaz (real surname Bellido de Luna), and Colombian Rubén Darío Blades Sr., an athlete, percussionist and graduate of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in Washington, D.C. His younger brother, Roberto Blades ,
1672-501: Was " Pedro Navaja ", a song inspired by the 1928 song " Mack the Knife "; it tells the story of a neighborhood thug who is killed by a street walker who knows him (he stabs her, she shoots him, they both die, a bum finds them, and takes their belongings). The song inspired a 1980 Puerto Rican musical, La verdadera historia de Pedro Navaja , and a 1984 Mexican film, Pedro Navaja , neither of which had Blades' involvement. Blades wrote and sang
1716-648: Was a vocalist in Los Salvajes del Ritmo, and also a songwriter and guest singer with a professional Latin music conjunto (ensemble), Bush y sus Magníficos. His strongest influence of the day was the Joe Cuba sextet and Cheo Feliciano , whose singing style he copied to the point of imitating his voice tone and vocal range. Blades earned multiple degrees in political science and law at the Universidad Nacional de Panamá and performed legal work at
1760-702: Was born as Wilma Cosmé in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She grew up in East Harlem , Manhattan , in New York City , and began her singing career as a session vocalist . Her debut single , "Don't Break My Heart", was released in 1986. Following her second single "Let Me Be the One," her third, "Boy, I've Been Told," which was the first single from her self-titled debut album , released by Mercury / PolyGram Records , crossed over to pop radio and reached No. 48 on
1804-577: Was given the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award by ASCAP and WhyHunger. In 2014, Blades was the closing act for the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico. In 2015, Blades' album Tangos won a Grammy award for Best Latin Pop Album. Blades expressed his interest in making another run for president of Panama in 2019. In 2015, Blades was cast in the regular role of Daniel Salazar in
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1848-725: Was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year for his contributions to Latin music and activism. In 2024, Blades received the Doctor of Music honorary degree at Princeton University in New Jersey, USA. Blades holds a Law degree from the University of Panama and an LL.M in International Law from Harvard University . He is married to singer Luba Mason . Note : At
1892-678: Was released online on May 6, 2009. Also, during that year, Sa-Fire's self-titled debut album, originally released in 1988, was made available as a download on iTunes. Sa-Fire's second album, I Wasn't Born Yesterday, was re-released on November 3, 2009, as a download. In 2010, Sa-Fire announced on Urbanlatinoradio.com that she had begun working on a new Spanish-language pop album. In a riff in his 2011 stage show Ghetto Klown , John Leguizamo said that “Madonna stole freestyle” from Puerto Rican singer Sa-Fire (“Thinking of You”) and Bronx trio Sweet Sensation (“If Wishes Came True”). In 2021, Paper Magazine listed Sa-Fire as one of three iconic names of
1936-635: Was seen on Spanish-language television networks across the United States and Latin America . She also sang the song on an episode of the 1989 revival of The Mickey Mouse Club . Sa-Fire's debut self-titled album peaked at #84 on the Top R&;B/Hip-Hop Albums and at #39 on the Billboard Hot 200 . Other singles of hers that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 include "Gonna Make It" and "Made Up My Mind." In 1989, she covered " I Will Survive " for
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