The Baile Blog

5 Fun Facts About Menudo

Check out CosmoGIRL!'s special site devoted to Menudo!

Chris, Emmanuel, Monti, José, and Carlos made it into Menudo! These guapo guys may be new to the music scene, but did you know their band is actually older than you? Menudo formed in 1977, taking Latin America and the world by storm. Show you’re a true Menudo maniac by brushing up on these fun facts. Then, why not quiz your mom, who was probably a huge fan of the originals? You’ll make her feel young again!

• Menudo is the boy band that is forever young. Unlike *NSYNC or the Backstreet Boys, the guys in Menudo used to change like a boy’s voice during puberty. Seriously! When a band member turned 16, or whenever his voice started to crack, it was time to move on.

• Producer Edgardo Díaz created Menudo in Puerto Rico in 1977. The five founding members — which included two sets of brothers — first released the album Fantasmas (Ghosts). Give yourself a history lesson and watch the video on youtube.com. Don’t worry, the new Menudo knows the way to your heart is singing about girls, rather than ghosts! Their EP, featuring four tracks, will be released December 18 at Target.

• The former Menudo recorded 35 albums, sold 60 million records, and sold out concerts worldwide. Pretty funny that Menudo means “small change” in Spanish, huh? These guys ended up bringing in the big bucks!

• The most famous Menudo alums are Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony. In July 1984, Ricky Martin replaced the last-standing original member, Ricky Melendez. And you wouldn’t believe it now, with the hit “I Need to Know” under his belt, but Marc Anthony was just a back-up singer for the group during the Ricky Martin era!

• By the 1990s, Menudo was known as MDO. This version of the group was very different from the original — there were no native Puerto Ricans involved and all were older than 16.

Check out CosmoGIRL!'s special site devoted to Menudo!