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By Michael Lopez

Coming out of the closet, Menudo drama, career ups-and-downs…Oh yea, Ricky Martin is more than worthy of his own Behind The Music special. And now, VH1 is planning on profiling the "La Vida Loca" star on its chisme music show next Sunday at 10pm.

Though the network is keeping a tight lip on which parts of Ricky's life will be profiled, we can throw out a few guesses. For one thing, there's that whole boy band era in the 1980's. Many forget that Martin initially shot to fame as a pre-teen in the pop group Menudo. In between the financial rip off rumors and the cancer diagnosis for bandmate Draco Rosa, we're sure they'll have plenty to explore.

Add to that, the disappointing sales of his 2005 album Life and his struggles with coming out as a gay man and you've got more than an hour's worth of chisme entertainment. Plus with Ricky participating in it all, we'll be getting all of the stories straight from the singer himself.

Of course, right now Martin has little to complain about. With two beautiful kids, a loving partner, and a hot new single with Wisin y Yandel, it's clear that this Behind The Music story has a very happy ending.

Are you planning on watching Ricky's Behind The Music special? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Behind The Music, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Chisme, Música, Menudo, Ricky Martin, Television

By Michael Lopez

The Latin pop world got rocked with some terrible news today as word got out that Grammy Award-winning performer Robi "Draco" Rosa has been diagnosed with cancer. A musical presence for over 25 years, Rosawas a member of the “classic” Menudo lineup and co-wrote some of Ricky Martin’s biggest hits.

Draco’s agent Angelo Medina broke the news to the world,

"En este momento, se encuentra en un tratamiento especializado en la clínica Burzynski en Houston, Texas. Draco está combatiente y con mucho carácter enfrentando este reto que le ha traído la vida,” Medina said.

Just 41-years-old, Rosa was one of Menudo’s earliest heartthrobs. He sang on their major English crossover hits like “Hold Me” and “Like A Cannonball.” In 1988, his popularity grew even more, landing him a starring role in the now classic movie, Salsa: The Motion Picture.

But all of that early success doesn’t even begin to define Draco’s talents. He co-wrote Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” released four highly-received solo concept albums, and became a trailblazer for the alternative Latin music movement.

Now Draco is fighting for his life, diagnosed with a cancerous tumor near his liver. He has promised his fans that he will fight the disease and offered plenty of gratitude for the enormous show of support he’s received so far.

“Gracias. Ustedes siempre estarán en mis oraciones,” Rosa recently stated.

We know we are not alone in wishing Draco a speedy and safe recovery.

Are you a fan of Draco Rosa? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Cancer, Draco, Health, Música, Menudo, Ricky Martin, Robi Rosa

By Michael Lopez

Que lastima! Less than a year after Oprah revealed that she was saying goodbye to television, her Cuban counterpart Cristina Saralegui has announced that she’s doing the same thing. Yup, after over 20 years on the air, her groundbreaking Spanish talk show, “Cristina” is going off the air.

photo via Hispanic PR Wire

Since its major debut in 1989, "Cristina” has been a staple of Spanish television. Her professional demeanor and friendly attitude has attracted some of the biggest names in Latino entertainment. Stars like Shakira, Ricky Martin, and Gloria Estefan have all taken a seat on the legendary stage.

photo via El show de Cristina/Univisión

Of course, unlike Oprah, Ms. Saralegui wasn’t afraid to shy away from the outrageous. Throughout the years, she’s been known for her silly costumes (you’ve got to love that barrel outfit), beauty contests, and half-naked cowboys prancing on the set.

And as far as heavy-hitting goes, her dramatic interviews with former Menudo members and controversial star Gloria Trevi scored huge ratings. And by all accounts, “Cristina” is still riding high. Which makes us wonder, why the premature exit?

According to Saralegui, “It is bittersweet to announce the end of what has been a very rewarding experience, but after many wonderful years, now is the perfect time to retire the show and move on to the next exciting phase of my career.”

What exactly will that be? According to sources, she’s still under contract to Univision, which means we can expect plenty of Cristina specials in the near future. But as far as “Cristina” the show goes, the final episode is set to air November 1st and you can bet Team Blogamole will be watching (with plenty of tissues in hand).

Source: [L.A. Times]

Are you going to miss “Cristina”? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Celebrities, cristina, Cristina Saralegui, Deep Thoughts, Gloria Trevi, Menudo, Oprah, Television

Ricky Martin may be the most popular original Menudo star to come out of the closet, but he's definitely not the first.

Angelo Garcia, the youngest member of the boy band in its heyday, recently revealed his sexuality to the world in an interview with Paragon Men.  Did we mention he also posed NUDE in his spread?!

Angelo insists, however, that he was never closeted and was always true to who he was. In the interview, he explains:

"I've never been in the closet and I've never lied about my sexuality. I believe in being honest with myself and others. I'm a very sexual person and I love sex with men. I've never told anyone anything different."

Garcia also weighed in on Ricky's "spring awakening":

"I knew that Ricky was gay, but I would never out anyone. He seems to have a wonderful family now and to be comfortable in his own skin. What more could anyone want?"

Angelo denies that anything ever went on between them, but we have our suspicions! Either way, looks like another Menudo member has no problem with being proud of his sexuality! We definitely support that!

Tr3s Comunidad, what do you think of Angelo's big reveal? Let us know below, or @MTV3!

Tags Angelo Garcia, Menudo, Ricky Martin, sexuality

By MTV Tr3s Staff

You may remember a little show called Making Menudo that aired on MTV Tr3s and MTV where famed celebrity manager Johnny Wright, along with a panel of judges, resurrected the timeless Latino boy band. After the series, new members José Bordonada Collazo, Chris Moy, Emmanuel Vélez Pagán, José Monti Montañez, and Carlos Olivero debuted their first album More Than Words in 2007, but have been somewhat quiet since...until now. El grupo is back with a brand new 2010 flavor in Señorita.

Check out the track below and let us know what you think. Are you digging the auto-tune? Should Menudo release a sophomore album or retire and save their namesake for the 2020 generation of talent? [Guanabee]

Photo via Getty Images

Tags Making Menudo, Menudo, MTV, MTV Tr3s

Draco, the former Menudo member formerly known as Robi Rosa, who is also known for producing countless hits for Ricky Martin and constantly reinventing himself with his own music, is about to release his new album titled Draco.  El album se grabó en solo 6 semanas, and the first single, "Paraíso Prometido," can already be heard on the artist's MySpace page.  Even more importantly, the new music video para "Paraíso Prometido" will be premiering exclusively on MTV Tr3s este lunes, October 12!

El interprete de "Mas y Mas" claims that this new album is completely different from anything he has done before and that the tracks were influenced by his new life at his Hacienda Horizonte in the remote town of Utuado, Puerto Rico.  That's right, the eccentric singer ahora se ha convertido en todo un campesino, spending his days working on his land and cultivating coffee at his Hacienda.  Should we expect some sexy tracks like the ones found in "Mad Love", or some dark ballads like those from "El Teatro del Absurdo"?  We'll have to wait until the album's release date on November 10th to find out but make sure to check out the MTV Tr3s premiere of Draco's video on Monday, October 12th. [Level Magazine]

Tags Draco, El Teatro del Absurdo, Mad Love, Menudo, Paraiso Prometido, Ricky Martin, Robi Rosa, Video Premiere

Sucker Free Latino is always keeping its ear to the streets for us and bringing you the hottest events.

Last weekend SFL went behind-the-scenes of the Viva Chicago Latin Music Festival. For those of you that couldn't make it out to the windy city there's no need to worry...you can catch highlights from the concert extraordinaire in an episode of Sucker Free Latino taped from Viva Chicago. This Chi-town inspired episode airs on Wednesday September 10 @ 4pm and 9pm EST.

In the meantime, check out the exclusive MTV Tr3s Viva Chicago Flipbook for fotos exclusivas of artists Menudo, G-Anthony and Cruz Martínez Y Los Súper Reyes.

Viva Chicago, Super Reyes

Tags Cruz-Martínez-y-Los-Super-Reyes, G. ANthony, L.Boogs, Menudo, Sucker Free Latino, Viva Chicago

The streets of Chi-town are still recovering from our merciless musical invasion for Viva Chicago this past weekend. Couldn't make it? We have got you covered with a V.I.P press pass low-down.

Menudo kicked-off the event by performing for a sea of thirsty fans at Chicago's Grant Park. After rocking out "More Than Words," the masterful M.C. G-Anthony took the stage to show-off his winning skills. The notorious contest winner was spittin' his lyrical game with performances of "The Champ," "Habladora," and "Estrella."

Once the Boricua rapero finished his set, Cruz Martinez y Los Super Reyes were teasing las chicas with their Spanish cover of the classic Jackson 5 track "I Want You Back." Pimped-out fan pleaser Nino B jumped into the crowd and was almost swallowed by all las mujeres!

Be sure to catch all the mayhem during the Sucker Free Latino Viva Chicago episode airing on Sept. 10th @ 4pm and 9pm!

Tags Chicago, Cruz Martinez, G. ANthony, Latinos, Música, Menudo, Viva Chicago

Finally, Menudo is made and we can't get enough of the cuties here at Blogamole. In honor of their upcoming debut album we decided to do what any self-respecting blog would: make them hang out with us and snap photos. We know you've been "Lost" trying to find recent pics of these boy banders for your desktop, but you should be set now. We scheduled an EXCLUSIVE photo shoot with Chris, Jose, Monti, Emmanuel and Carlos. Lucky for us, they let us tag along.

These guys are as humble as they are guapos! When we got to the set they remembered us from an earlier run-in, and offered us some of the dinner they had (who doesn't love fried chicken?). After inhaling sus cenas the band caught sight of Wisin Y Yandel's "Siguelo" on the tv and started breakin' it down dancing and singing in unison. Don't believe us? Peep the full set of Menudo photo exclusives right here.

And catch a few of our faves after the jump...

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Tags Lost, Menudo, MTV Tr3s, Siguelo, Wisin y Yandel

It's been a hot minute since los ganadores de Making Menudo were announced last November. If you were wondering where Carlos, Chris, Emmanuel, José and Monti have gone...cálmate! The boy band-ers haven't gone anywhere but up.

The teenage cuties have been in el corre-corre of "boy band boot camp." When they weren't touring this past year, they recorded, danced, sang and learned how to work as a cohesive unit. Now the fab five have invested sus talentos in a full length album dropping September 9, 2008.

Until then, these Latin wonder boys have finished shooting a Spanish version, titled "Perdido Sin Ti," of their single "Lost." We caught up with the goofy guys and took some behind-the-scenes snapshots of the two shoots. Cheequenlos after the jump.

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Tags Making Menudo, Menudo, Mi TRL, MTV Tr3s