Menudo was part of my childhood in Brazil. It was a "boys group" from Puerto Rico, very popular around the world in the 80's. You can say they were the backstreet boys of their time. The difference in this group was the members got kicked off once they turned 16 years old, changed their voices or got too tall.

With this system, Menudo started in 1977 and it continued until 1997, when the band's name changed to become MDO. Believe it or not, Menudo (or MDO) still exists today:

"In October 2006, Menudo Entertainment LLC will launch its first set of auditions to create the "New Menudo" in New York City. Plans are underway to hold auditions in Chicago, Los Angeles, Puerto Rico and Miami. Their sound will have an urban/pop feel in English and Spanish. The new group has already signed a multi-album contract with Epic Records and it's planned that the formation of this new group will be filmed as a reality show in Telemundo. The management company stated that the formula used for the Old Menudo will remain: at the age of 16, or when the voice or height changes, that member is to leave giving way to a new member. The new members will be chosen next year commemorating Menudo's 30th anniversary."

Maybe you know, maybe you don't, but Menudo is the band where Ricky Martin began his career. In fact, he was in what I call "my Menudo": the formation of the group I used to listen to. Silly me, I didn't know they had a "recycling system"; to me, those boys were the band, period.

I've been feeling nostalgic lately, so I went to look for Menudo in YouTube. Above is one of the videos I've found. I thought it would be interesting for many of you: Menudo singing in Portuguese.

Of course, the music is not good, the choreographies are just pathetic, and the video quality is dreadful. And don't get me started on their outfits. Why something that was once absolutely cool, is soo embarrassing now?

But, you know, this is archived in "childhood memories", so nothing of that matters. It's just fun to remember those old times, isn't it?

You can read the entire history of Menudo, from 1977 to 2007, in the Wikipedia.