Loeb Music Library gets large collection based upon career of Panamian salsa singer Rubén Blades

The Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library acquired a substantial collection of materials in December centered around the musical, acting and political career of renowned Panamanian salsa singer Rubén Blades.

Blades graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1985, and ran for the Panamian Presidency in 1994. He is currently Panama’s outgoing minister of tourism.

The collection adds significantly to the library’s Latino music collection that has in recent years lagged behind collections of African or East Asian musical history.

“There’s been a growing interest in Latino music, and this acquisition is an important step in that direction,” said Donna M. Guerra, the curatorial assistant in the archive of world music.

Included in the collection are rare recordings of rehearsals and concerts, personal papers, interviews, and books. In addition, campaign posters, newspaper clippings and magazines document Blades’s political activism in Panama.

Guerra said that “these rare, one of a kind items” may be placed in a special exhibition in the library, but the entire collection may take up to five years to be catalogued.

“These are irreplaceable, so ultimately their access will be limited for research uses,” Guerra said.

Alison Weinstock, who created a Web site that catalogs Blades’s music, is coordinating the acquisition on the singer’s behalf. Weinstock originally approached Widener Library about holding the collection, but ultimately the work—which is primarily composed of musical artifacts—was placed in the Loeb archives.

“The Loeb is a perfect home for his work,” Weinstock wrote in an e-mail. “I think the Loeb Library and Harvard are uniquely suited to the depth, breadth and variety of his work.”

Blade was not available for comment yesterday.