Menudo

Menudo (Spanish synonym for "little"—and, in Puerto Rican Spanish, for "loose change") was a Puerto Rican-based, Latino boy band that was formed in 1977 by producer Edgardo Díaz. Menudo was one of the biggest Latin boy bands in history, releasing their first album in 1977. The band achieved much success, especially during the 1980s, becoming the most popular Latin American teen musical group of the era and selling some 20 million album copies. The group disbanded in 2009. The band had several radio hits during its course. Their success led them to also release two feature films: Una aventura llamada Menudo and Menudo: La Película. The band was a starting point for both Ricky Martin (1984–89) and Draco Rosa (1984–87), who were members around the mid-1980s during their youth. Menudo's original line-up consisted of two sets of brothers: Fernando and Nefty Sallaberry (12 and 13), from Ponce, Puerto Rico (Fernando was born in Spain); and the Melendez brothers, Carlos Meléndez, (12), Óscar Meléndez, (11), and Ricky Meléndez, (9); the latter three are Diaz's cousins.