Ricky Martin’s Menudo Years – 1987

The writer and Ricky Martin in Puerto Rico, January 1987.

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. 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 1987. Click here to read about 1984 when Menudo fans were introduced to Little Ricky and click here to go back to 1985. Want to go back to 1986, click here.

As the year 1986 came to an end and 1987 began, Menudo spent the holiday season in Puerto Rico with their families. After performing in Charlie Rivera Masso’s farewell concert on Three Kings Day, the group headed back to Argentina to finish filming the soap opera “Por siempre amigos,” (“Friends Forever”).

The soap opera began broadcasting on many Spanish-language television stations in the Americas. The story revolved around the friendship of five schoolboys played by the members of Menudo. Ricky’s character was a poor boy whose mother worked for the family of Sergio’s character.

At the end of April, when filming was completed, the novela was receiving good reviews. The group performed concerts in Brazil, Panama and Puerto Rico. Due to Robby’s (Draco) sudden departure from the group, Charlie temporarily returned to Menudo to fill the void. When Ruben Gomez became the newest Menudo, Charlie continued traveling with the group as a special guest star in their “Summer in the Streets” concert tour.

The group started their tour with a press conference at New York City’s Hard Rock Cafe. It would be “Summer in the Streets” for a dozen and a half states. The tour was such a great success that a video was sold of the group’s experiences while on the road.

After the states, the group and Charlie performed in Mexico. Menudo then traveled to the Philippines for promotions. While in this country, they joined Leia Salonga in filming the video “That Situation.” The song told young people about the benefits of waiting to have sex.

The group’s comprehensive tour was followed by Menudo putting the finishing touches on their album, “Somos los hijos del rock” (“We Are the Sons of Rock”). On the album, Ricky sang the upbeat songs “Amame ahora, no manana,” (“Love Me Now, Not Tomorrow”) and “Dame mas” (Give Me More”).

In November of 1987, Menudo celebrated its tenth anniversary. Many fans made the pilgrimage to Puerto Rico for the event, and the group members participated in meet-and-greets with their fans.

At the end of 1987, the group experienced another sudden change when Ralphy Rodriguez decided to leave the group prematurely. The group traveled to the Philippines as a quartet for the concerts they had promised in the fall.

Just around the corner was 1988, the group would soon have a new member, and Menudo would prove they still had potential.