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Edgardo Díaz Meléndez (born 1947) is a Puerto Rican music producer and songwriter. He is the creator of the "boy band" Menudo.[1]
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Edgardo Díaz | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 (age 76–77) Panama City, Panamá Province, Panama |
| Nationality | Panamanian-Puerto Rican |
| Known for | Menudo |
Díaz was born in Panama City, Panama to Puerto Rican parents "Nacho" Diaz and his wife "Panchi", Díaz grew up in Miami, Florida.[citation needed]
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. Díaz managed Menudo from 1977 to the group's era as MDO.[2]
At the time he started to manage Menudo, Diaz was also the director of a young-adult oriented band named "Aquamarina".[3]
In 2004, Díaz signed Daniela Lujan to manage the Mexican singer and actress' career.[citation needed]
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Diaz was once romantically linked to the Puerto Rican actress and singer Millie Aviles.[4]
In 1991, Diaz was accused by an ex-member of Menudo of sexual abuse on a May 1991 Univisión Television Program "Cristina Show". He denied the allegations. Diaz has been the recipient 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 on 21 October 2014.[5][6]
On 20 November 2014, Rene Farrait, another former Menudo member, told the Telemundo 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]
Former Los Chamos member Gabriel Fernandez, who was allegedly accepted into Menudo once, made similar allegations in 2021.[8]
As of May 2nd 2023, Díaz was under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department over allegations that he sexually assaulted a former teenage member of the group in the 1980s. It is the first known criminal investigation surrounding Menudo and its creator by law enforcement.[9]
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Díaz was played by Braulio Castillo Jr. and by Yamil Urena in the 2020 Amazon Prime Video series based on Menudo, "Subete A Mi Moto".[10]
In the sixth episode of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Diaz was portrayed by Hugo Medina.[11]
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