Ricky Martin, above, at a pool party in Puerto Rico with Menudo fans in August of 1986. Below, Ricky with fan Mara Havis at Bellas Artes in Puerto Rico after Menudo’s concert on August, 16, 1986. Photo above by Susan Lezcano. Photo below by Marcie Kratz
In the late 1990s, my friends and I created a newsletter called Ricky’s Fan Central. The publication was dedicated to fans like us who were no longer teens and interested in the latest news and photos of Ricky Martin. We also added updates on former members of Menudo. One feature I loved was a section where I wrote articles about Ricky’s time in Menudo and the early days of his career. With the 40th anniversary of Ricky stepping on stage to be introduced as the newest member of Menudo in July, I decided to take those flashback articles, edit them and add anything new I’ve learned over the years. In this post, we take a look at the year 1986. Click here to read about 1984 when Menudo fans were introduced to Little Ricky and click here to go back to 1985.
As the beginning of 1986 rolled around, Little Ricky was getting taller, and the Menudo world got a little off balance when Roy Rossello left the group unexpectedly.
However, the dust Roy left behind soon began to settle, and fans welcomed Sergio Gonzalez (Sergio Blass), the group’s newest member. (See Peacock’s “Menedez + Menudo Boys Betrayed” for the full story about Roy’s departure from the group.)
The first half of the year was filled with concerts in Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, and, of course, Puerto Rico. In the summer of 1986, they also performed a few concerts in the United States.
Highlights in 1986 included the group’s first appearance in Italy’s San Remo Festival and, in the summer, their participation in New York’s iconic Puerto Rican Day Parade. The year 1986 was another successful one for the group.
Their management also tried to project a more mature image by doing away with the satin costumes and incorporating more ballads into their repertoire. A further attempt to mature Menudo’s image was a concert series in Puerto Rico titled “Conciertos del Amor” (Concerts of Love.)
Album-wise, the group released four. At the beginning of the year, their first Italian album was available in Italy, and the Spanish language album “Refrescante” was released that summer. “Con un beso y una flor” and “Yo te quiero mucho” were Ricky’s contributions to this album.
At the end of the year, “Diga Sim,” a Portuguese translation of “Refrescante” was released. Last but not least, “Can’t Get Enough” was available at the end of 1986. “I Can’t Spend Another Day Without You”was the English translation of “Con un beso y una flor.”
In the fall of 1986, the group traveled to Argentina to film 100 episodes of a soap opera, “Por siempre amigos.” Because the soap opera was going to be shown after Charlie’s January 1987 departure, his replacement had to be found for the soap opera. Ralphy Rodriguez was chosen, and he filmed the entire soap with the guys, but Charlie made a guest appearance in 10 episodes.
After the novela tapings, the group prepared for Charlie’s farewell concert. The year 1987 would bring even more changes to Menudo, but that is what the group was always all about.
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