Word: menudo
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...they are pretentious. Yes, they have undergone almost as many cast changes as Menudo. Nevertheless, Dream Theater continues to maintain a firm and compelling grip on mainstream progressive-rock/metal since Awake, their breakthrough album. Scenes from a Memory, their eighth record, demonstrates the band's relentless ability to evolve despite holding onto many elements of the same old same old: heavy riffs, ambitious solos, and tender moments disintegrated by explosions of prog power. The album unabashedly flaunts its rock theatrics, with tracks divided into acts and scene. There's even a cast of characters. Although some tracks like "Overture...
Look at Martin today, and you can tell he was a child star--he wears the spotlight like ordinary folks wear house slippers. Indeed, Martin got started early: at 12 he auditioned to join Menudo, a Latin singing group comprised of boys ages 12 to 16 whose roster rotated when members grew too old. Martin was rejected on his first try because he was too small and too young-looking. Martin tried out again. Rejected again. On the third try, he made it. It was an early sign: what Martin lacked in talent he made up for in pure doggedness...
Martin was immediately caught up in Menudo's vida loca. He visited Italy, Japan, Guam and Spain before he was old enough to shave. During one stretch, he and his young bandmates played for a month in Brazil (singing in Portuguese), then flew to the Philippines (singing in English) before returning to Latin America for a series of shows in Spanish. Life became a blur...
Over the years reports have surfaced that the social and emotional lives of the kids in Menudo were poorly supervised, even neglected. Diaz will admit only that the group did have "problems," though he denies he was the root cause. Says Diaz: "I think a lot of problems come from the house, from the family, some of the parents the kids have." Martin, Diaz says, actually fared better than most. "Ricky had that special personality, like a charm," says Diaz. "He could handle himself...
...fact, Martin dreamed of breaking out of the group's constraints and setting off on his own. Producer-performer Robi Rosa recalls talking to Martin about his ambitions when they were both in Menudo: "Mainly our conversations were about life and being true and making it and doing something great...