RUBEN BLADES: Singer, Actor, Politico

Multilingual and polycultural, RUBEN BLADES aims to shake up the world (and run for President of Panama along the way)

Ruben Blades is losing his patience. Dressed in a flashy magenta jacket and a black narrow-brimmed hat, he fidgets with his breakfast at Pluto's restaurant, a greasy spoon in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn. He is on his third cup of coffee when Spike Lee walks in and takes a seat at the counter. "Giant, see the paper?" Blades says, holding up a copy of the New York Post.

"I can read," Lee replies, as he sidles over to Blades' booth.

"Can you count?" Blades rejoins. "You owe me. What are we going to do?"

"Cut!" someone yells, and Petey...

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