Before there was New Kids on the Block and New Edition, Latin boy band Menudo was dominating the global stage with its bubble-gum pop sound and youthful vibrancy.
Behind the scenes, however, everything was not as perfect as it seemed. In the HBO Max documentary Menudo: Forever Young, filmmakers Angel Manuel Soto and Kristofer Ríos chronicle the rise and fall of the group — from cementing the band’s place in pop culture history to revealing never-before-heard allegations of abuse against founder Edgardo Diaz by various members.
More than 40 members of Menudo participated in the four-part doc, all of who were pre-teens or teens when they joined and eventually replaced after they hit puberty.
With their parents’ permission — which included signing over parental rights to Diaz — the boys set off in search of fortune and fame with varying results (two of the band’s most famous members, Ricky Martin and Robby Rosa, opted not to participate in Forever Young). “What we realized going into this is that Menudo is iconic, not just for Puerto Ricans, but for the LatinX community as a whole.
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