Before pop music groups like Backstreet Boys and One Direction took the world by storm, there was the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo in the late '70s until the early '90s, which initiated the singing career of Ricky Martin.

Regarded by many as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band," Menudo was formed in Puerto Rico in 1977 by producer Edgar Diaz. The group broke barriers for Latin performers, being ranked as one of the "Biggest Boy Bands of All Time" by Billboard.

Members came and left as time passed, with the group starting with brothers Ricky Melendez, Carlos Melendez, and Oscar Meléndez, as well as the Sallaberry brothers, Fernando and Nefty. However, the biggest star who came out of the group was Ricky Martin, a Menudo member from 1984 until 1989.

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Ricky Martin of Menudo

According to News Australia, Menudo used the "Fountain of Youth strategy," where it replaced its members once they turned 16. Many of the boys who joined the group came from poor families, and their parents would sign over much of their parental authority to the manager.

As Ricky Martin joined the group, Ray Acevedo, who was in Menudo from 1985 to 1988, said in the HBO documentary about the band, called "Menudo: Forever Young,' that "Ricky, from the beginning, was like the golden kid."

However, the documentary noted that as Martin stayed longer in the group, he would make things challenging for some of Menudo's younger members. 

"To be with Ricky was brutal because he had seniority over me," said Sergio Blass, who was in Menudo from 1986 to 1990. "So if someone knocked on the door, I had to open it. If the phone rang, I had to pick it up. I was like his housewife."

There have been reports of bullying in the group, but it is still unclear how much of a bully Ricky Martin was when he became one of the group's "older kids."

Reports of Abuse in Menudo

Menudo only used underaged boys for its members, and throughout its existence, accusations of abuse have popped up. According to the Daily Mail, several former members alleged that they often had no supervision or security, and were exposed to drugs like marijuana and cocaine by the adults, often "producers and promoters."

"One time we were in Colombia, I'm with [fellow Menudo member] Rubén [Gómez], and we're getting to the hotel... We enter our room. All of a sudden, this random guy comes in... And he pulls out what must have been about a kilo of cocaine," said Sergio Blass in the HBO documentary.

Former members also admitted to being subjected to sexual assault and physical abuse behind closed doors. Some said they were given drugs and alcohol, exposed to "predators, and were even "raped" numerous times.

One of these sexually abused former members was Angelo Garcia, who said in the HBO documentary that he was raped "a series of times" by "predators" when he was still in the group.

"When I woke up, I was naked and I was bleeding, so I knew that I had been penetrated," he said as he described the terrifying experienced that happened after he was given alcohol and passed out at age 11.

In a 2014 interview with the Brazilian show "Domingo Espectacular," former Menudo member Roy Rossello spoke out against his former manager.

He alleged that Edgardo Diaz sexually abused him and other members of Menudo. As he revealed what happened, Rossello said: "At the last party I went to, Edgar made Ricky [Martin] dress up as a woman." 

"There I entered and left running. I called Robi [Draco Rosa], who came and punched him while I left running. I got to the street, and I was praying for a car to run me over," he added.

Rossello explained that he did not speak out before because he did not feel ready to do so, but God was giving him the strength that made him speak at the time. 

He noted that he was not looking for anything other than spreading awareness. He added that he had already forgiven Diaz for the abuse and exploitation. Ricky Martin has yet to comment on the abuse and assault claims.

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Written by: Rick Martin

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