Edgardo Díaz (born 1947 in Panama City, Panama) is the creator of the "boy band" Menudo.[1] The son of the Americans "Nacho" Diaz and his wife "Panchi", Díaz grew up in Miami, Florida.
Edgardo Díaz | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 (age 76–77) |
| Known for | Menudo |
Díaz moved to Spain after graduating from school and he worked with a group that was widely successful, La Pandilla, which had 4 boys and 1 girl, Mari Blanca, (now a Veterinarian in her home country), but after the La Pandilla members grew up, he moved back to Puerto Rico, and created Menudo. The group went on to achieve worldwide fame and success.
At the time he started to manage Menudo, Diaz was also the director of a young-adult oriented band named "Aquamarina".[2]
Díaz's formula of signing up new members at the age of 12 and changing them for new members once they reached 16, was the secret to Menudo's success, but it also proved troublesome, as sometimes, whenever an individual would leave the group, the millions of fans that individual might have made with Menudo, would leave too.
Edgardo Díaz stayed on top of the group from 1977, from Menudo to the group's era as MDO among other things.[3]
His dream of creating a famous teen band was inspired by The Jackson 5[citation needed].
In 2004, Díaz signed Daniela Lujan to manage the Mexican singer and actress' career.
Personal
Diaz was once romantically linked to Puerto Rican actress and singer Millie Aviles.[4]
Allegations
In 1991, Diaz was accused by ex members of Menudo of sexual abuse towards Menudo members. In a May 1991 Univision Television Program "Cristina Show", he refuted the allegations. Diaz has been the target of several sexual crime allegations by former Menudo members, including Ralphy Rodriguez and Roy Rossello, who accused him of sexual abuse during a Brazilian reality show's transmission on 21 October 2014.[5][6]
On 20 November 2014, Rene Farrait, another former Menudo member, told the television show 'Suelta La Sopa' "Unfortunately, there are many people in the communications world that really know what happened (at Menudo) and are playing stupid", when asked about abuse allegations by Diaz. He did not, however, mention anything about sexual abuse against him or his Menudo bandmates. "He (Diaz) knows perfectly what happened there", Farrait told the show.[7]
In pop culture
Diaz is played by Braulio Castillo, hijo and by Yamil Urena in the 2020 Amazon Prime Video series based on Menudo, "Subete A Mi Moto".[8]
See also
References
- ^ Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa (16 August 1999). "Menudo's bad boy Ricky Martin sings what fellow alum Robi Rosa writes". Sun Sentinel. p. 3D. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ "Primera Presentacion de Menudo y Aquamarina - Show de Tommy (1977)". YouTube.
- ^ Vibe. Vibe Media Group. November 1998. p. 130. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ ""Estoy muy bien", asegura Braulio Castillo | Escenario | elvocero.com".
- ^ Simon, Yara (22 October 2014). "Roy Rosello Alleges Former Menudo Manager Abused Him, Had Ricky Martin Dress As Woman". Latin Post. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
- ^ "Edgardo Díaz responde a ex Menudo Roy Roselló por tildarlo de abusador". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 18 September 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "¿Quiénes son los integrantes de Menudo y reparto de Súbete A Mi Moto?". www.tvynovelas.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020.