One of the most well-known boy bands in Latin America was Menudo. In a new docuseries named “Menudo: Forever Young,” several of the band’s former members who spoke up about a pattern of abuse at the hands of Edgardo Diaz, their manager, are highlighted along with the history of the group from its beginning to its demise. Ralphy Rodriguez, a member of Menudo for a brief period in the 1980s, also shared his perspective.
The unsettling four-part miniseries, which premiered on HBO Max on Thursday, June 23, has the former band members speaking to the camera about the alleged abuse. The boy band industry’s murky underbelly is revealed in the docuseries on the band, which over the course of its existence had roughly 40 members total. As the guys reached puberty and aged 16 years old, they were replaced by new, younger members, keeping the boy band perpetually fresh. The band, which issued its last studio album in 2009, eventually had more members. Thus, the documentary series is called “Menudo: Forever Young.”
The Menudo brothers usually seemed to be having a fantastic time together when Rodriguez was around nine or ten years old, and this particularly caught his attention. He told HBO executives that he was struggling with a verbally and physically abusive father at the time and expressed his desire to one day join the band and experience their joy. Soon after, in 1986, he would finally realise his goals by joining the boy band.
On June 11, 2022, in New York City, Ray Acevedo, Ash Ruiz, Johnny Lozada, Ralphy Rodriguez, and Cesar Abreu attend the “Menudo Forever Young” premiere as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. (Photo by Jason Mendez for Tribeca Film Festival via Getty Images)
But Rodriguez soon discovered that things weren’t always happy-go-lucky in the background. He admitted throughout the programme that he didn’t feel safe performing and working with Menudo. The singer remembered how the newcomer was frequently harassed and hazed. Rodriguez’s parents thought it was time for him to leave the band after his two-year stay. After the group’s keyboardist passed away from a heroin overdose, their choice was made clear.
By the middle of 1991, a number of Menudo members had spoken out against their treatment. Rodriguez accused Diaz of physically abusing him in a TV interview. In June 1991, he and his father took part in another TV segment. This movie also featured Diaz on stage, and Rodriguez allegedly accused the latter of striking him with his fists. The manager claimed it was just a rumour and accused Rodriguez of trying to take advantage of him in an effort to discredit him.
Ralphy Rodriguez is currently where?
In response to Diaz’s defence, Rodriguez said that he had nothing to gain by sharing his experience with the public and that his only goal was to save other children from the perils of show business. The performer claimed that he is now much better and has recovered from all that happened. He is married to his devoted wife Carrie, and the two are parents to three kids.
The band 2080 VEINTE/OCHENTA, a Latin pop-rock trio, has published the third song from their Pandemic EP, and Rodriguez, who is currently a vlogger and real estate investor, is also its singer and bassist. Although Rodriguez frequently visits Puerto Rico, he currently resides in North Carolina with his family.
“Menudo: Forever Young” builds a “damning case against Daz and highlights how the media behaved at the time,” Cristina Escobar of Popsugar commented. Major media sources mainly supported Daz and denigrated the witnesses as “greedy and ungrateful liars.” The youngsters were humiliated and silenced, but Daz’s alleged crimes were never looked into.