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.
“What we realized going into this is that Menudo is iconic, not just for Puerto Ricans, but for the LatinX community as a whole. And we knew it was gonna be really tricky to both celebrate, but also reveal these things that people had known but didn’t really dig into,” Rios said during a panel discussion at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted. “The foundational principle for us was that both of these things can be true.”
He added: “This can be a band that is so near and dear to us in our hearts, but some ugly things can happen behind the scenes. And that’s worth exploring because we felt we really needed to understand the price these boys, now men, paid.”
Related: Contenders Docs + Unscripted Deadline’s Complete Coverage
Allegations of physical, mental and sexual abuse had previously been made by former members against Diaz, and some of them played out in the media. Diaz has always maintained his innocence and has never faced charges in connection to those allegations.
The documentary has the most members of Menudo speaking out about their experiences to date.
“Their experiences haven’t always been bubble gum though it’s often portrayed as such, so it was important to us be delicate with their darkest moments. But also, we didn’t want to end on that note because since the ’90s the idea of Menudo disappeared or it was tarnished,” Soto said. “Thirty years later, these are the kids that we admired growing up and they’re still very much alive and doing great things. [We made this] with the idea of redemption and being able to to talk about past traumas and heal from it and grow in this constant process of deconstructing ourselves.
“We wanted to end it on the note of those kids are still out there, they still inspire us and their stories help us heal like many of them were able to do. It was a very collaborative healing process between us the filmmakers and the band.”
Check out the panel video above.
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.
“What we realized going into this is that Menudo is iconic, not just for Puerto Ricans, but for the LatinX community as a whole. And we knew it was gonna be really tricky to both celebrate, but also reveal these things that people had known but didn’t really dig into,” Rios said during a panel discussion at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted. “The foundational principle for us was that both of these things can be true.”
He added: “This can be a band that is so near and dear to us in our hearts, but some ugly things can happen behind the scenes. And that’s worth exploring because we felt we really needed to understand the price these boys, now men, paid.”
Related: Contenders Docs + Unscripted Deadline’s Complete Coverage
Allegations of physical, mental and sexual abuse had previously been made by former members against Diaz, and some of them played out in the media. Diaz has always maintained his innocence and has never faced charges in connection to those allegations.
The documentary has the most members of Menudo speaking out about their experiences to date.
“Their experiences haven’t always been bubble gum though it’s often portrayed as such, so it was important to us be delicate with their darkest moments. But also, we didn’t want to end on that note because since the ’90s the idea of Menudo disappeared or it was tarnished,” Soto said. “Thirty years later, these are the kids that we admired growing up and they’re still very much alive and doing great things. [We made this] with the idea of redemption and being able to to talk about past traumas and heal from it and grow in this constant process of deconstructing ourselves.
“We wanted to end it on the note of those kids are still out there, they still inspire us and their stories help us heal like many of them were able to do. It was a very collaborative healing process between us the filmmakers and the band.”
Check out the panel video above.
- 4/29/2023
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Menudo: Forever Young’ Brings Iconic Boy Band’s Legacy and Dark Side Back to the Surface: TV Review
“Menudo: Forever Young” won’t mark the first time that members of Latin America’s iconic supergroup have tried to reveal the truth of what it took to be a part of it. As the new docuseries from directors Angel Manuel Soto (“Charm City Kings”) and Kristofer Rios (“Havana Skate Days”) details again and again, each time more revealing than the last, Menudo alums have been speaking plainly for years about the exhaustion, neglect and sexual abuse they allegedly suffered under the thumb of Edgardo Diaz, the man who masterminded the boy band.
Over four episodes — two of which premiered at the Tribeca Festival, and all of which will be available to stream June 23 on HBO Max — While some music historians and journalists contextualize the rapid rise and widespread influence of the group, much of the insight comes from former bandmates. Since Diaz infamously cycled out Menudo members once they hit puberty,...
Over four episodes — two of which premiered at the Tribeca Festival, and all of which will be available to stream June 23 on HBO Max — While some music historians and journalists contextualize the rapid rise and widespread influence of the group, much of the insight comes from former bandmates. Since Diaz infamously cycled out Menudo members once they hit puberty,...
- 6/21/2022
- by Caroline Framke
- Variety Film + TV
The trailer for “Menudo: Forever Young,” the HBO Max docuseries about the titular Latin American boy band, has been released.
Directed by filmmakers Angel Manuel Soto and Kristofer Ríos, the four-part docuseries follows the rise of Menudo, a Puerto Rican musical group formed in 1977 by producer Edgardo Díaz that became one of the most popular boy bands in history, selling 20 million records worldwide during the 1980s. The series chronicles the group’s meteoric rise in the ’80s, and the fall it suffered during the ’90s, after sexual abuse allegations against Díaz surfaced. Over a dozen former members of the band were interviewed for the docuseries to discuss the exploitation they experienced while performing for the group.
“Menudo: Forever Young” is executive produced by Soto, Cristina Costantini and Jeff Plunkett of Muck Media, Alex Fumero of Trojan Horse, Bryn Mooser and Justin Lacob of Xtr. Rios co-executive produces with Maura Anderson.
Directed by filmmakers Angel Manuel Soto and Kristofer Ríos, the four-part docuseries follows the rise of Menudo, a Puerto Rican musical group formed in 1977 by producer Edgardo Díaz that became one of the most popular boy bands in history, selling 20 million records worldwide during the 1980s. The series chronicles the group’s meteoric rise in the ’80s, and the fall it suffered during the ’90s, after sexual abuse allegations against Díaz surfaced. Over a dozen former members of the band were interviewed for the docuseries to discuss the exploitation they experienced while performing for the group.
“Menudo: Forever Young” is executive produced by Soto, Cristina Costantini and Jeff Plunkett of Muck Media, Alex Fumero of Trojan Horse, Bryn Mooser and Justin Lacob of Xtr. Rios co-executive produces with Maura Anderson.
- 6/9/2022
- by Carson Burton, Wilson Chapman and Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
HBO Max will release Menudo: Forever Young, a new documentary about the Latin American boy band from filmmakers Angel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) and Kristofer Ríos (Havana Skate Days), on June 23. The premiere will follow the project’s debut at the 2022 Tribeca Festival on June 11.
Menudo was formed by producer Edgardo Diaz in 1977 with 5 original members: Ricky Melendez, brothers Carlos and Oscar Meléndez, and the Sallaberry brothers, Fernando and Nefty. The group changed members often mostly after the pre-teen and early teenage boys aged out around age 15 or 16. Two of its most famous members include Ricky Martin and Draco Rosa (as Robbi Rosa).
Diaz, who served as the band’s manager, was accused of sexual abuse by multiple members beginning in 1991. He denied the allegations that same year on El Show De Cristina, a popular talk show at the time hosted by Cristina Saralegui.
Menudo disbanded in 2009 though reunion...
Menudo was formed by producer Edgardo Diaz in 1977 with 5 original members: Ricky Melendez, brothers Carlos and Oscar Meléndez, and the Sallaberry brothers, Fernando and Nefty. The group changed members often mostly after the pre-teen and early teenage boys aged out around age 15 or 16. Two of its most famous members include Ricky Martin and Draco Rosa (as Robbi Rosa).
Diaz, who served as the band’s manager, was accused of sexual abuse by multiple members beginning in 1991. He denied the allegations that same year on El Show De Cristina, a popular talk show at the time hosted by Cristina Saralegui.
Menudo disbanded in 2009 though reunion...
- 4/21/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
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