In the album CUMBIANA, released just a couple of days ago, Carlos Vives mixes Cumbia with Salsa in the song entitled Canción para Rubén, which he performs in the company of Salsa icon Ruben Blades.

Carlos doesn’t let Cumbia die, sings Blades in Spanish, and Ruben protects el bembé. One represents Colombia, the lyrics explain, and the other one Panama. It’s a lively song in which Vives professes his admiration for Blades.

“Y yo no lo puedo creer, porque estoy cantando con Ruben, y eso no pasa todos los días.”

[And I can’t believe that I’m singing with Ruben, which doesn’t happen every day.]

CUMBIANA has a few other collaborations, like For Sale, performed with Alejandro Sanz, and El Hilo, to the beat of reggae with the participation of Ziggy Marley and Elkin Robinson. 

CUMBIANA includes ten songs, which are now available on all digital platforms. Cancion para Rubén has also been added to the VidaSalsera playlist on Spotify, which you can access from the right margin of this page.