The MDO: Who among them will be another Ricky Mart

Of course, we all remember the Latin teen group Menudo, don’t we? Ask any member of (especially) the "texting generation" and, even now that they’re shuddering into their late 20s and early 30s, their faces will surely light up at the fond memories of those crazy years with the likes of Robby Rosa, Charlie Masso and, the most popular Menudo of them all, the smiling-faced Ricky Martin, all of whom came to consider the Philippines as their second home because of their frequent visits here (for concerts and simply for holiday).

Everybody has his/her own Menudo story to tell, including Lea Salonga who front-acted for one of the Menudo concerts here and Zsa Zsa Padilla’s upcoming singer-daughter Karylle who keeps in her album a souvenir photo with the Menudo, taken when Karylle was a toddler. Movie writer Nap Gutierrez has juicy Menudo "untold tales" (Nap was close to Robby Rosa, so…).

Just when many music buffs (particularly those who swing to the music of N’SYNC, Backstreet Boys and other turn-of-the-millennium boy bands) think that the Menudo has been consigned to music history with the break-up of the group in the early ’90s, guess what Sony Music Philippines has in store for us – yes, the new Menudo which is now simply called MDO whose self-titled first English album is calculated to make everybody dance again Menudo, er, MDO style, with such selections as Just A Little Piece of Heaven, So Hard To Forget, Someone To Help Me and Lock All The Doors making the hit charts around the world (can the Philippines be far behind?) vibrate with excitement.

Three months ago, I watched the MDO perform "live" at a showcase in Phuket, Thailand, during the Sony Music regional gathering, along with fellow Sony artists Destiny’s Child and Vonda Shepard (of the hit US TV show Ally McBeal, and if I were to judge the future of the five boys based on the electric reaction/response of the mixed crowd, I would say that, yes, the near-future soundstage belongs to them. Remember how the old Menudo made people of all ages dance to the beat of their music? That’s the same effect the MDO has on their own growing audience.

Although together for quite a time (since most of the members were in their early teens), the MDO became known by that name only in 1997 when they decided to drop the letters "enu" and settle for simply MDO which is described as an "abbreviation of Menudo," the group being undoubtedly and undeniably "an evolution of the Menudo."

Unlike members of the old Menudo, members of the MDO didn’t "graduate" from the group when they reached the maximum age requirement – 19 – and were allowed to go on so as not to rudely interrupt the beautiful music they’re making, with several Latin albums before they recorded their first English-language collection.

Let’s meet the MDO guys:

• Abel Talamantez, 23 (Sept. 16), is a Mexican-American born in Pecos, Texas. A Libran, the green-eyed Abel is not only the self-proclaimed "leader" of the band but also the one with the strongest character. He’s a perfectionist and is obsessed with making sure that he looks downright impeccable.

• Alexis Grullon, 24 (March 24), is of Dominican blood born in New York City. Basically shy, Alexis has been with the group for 10 years. An Aries, he loves sports, especially basketball and baseball, and is keeping an eye on a movie career as a comedian.

• Didier Hernandez, 22 (July 18), was born in Cuba and, along with Alexis and Abel, has written several songs for the MDO. A Cancer, Didier was brought up very religious; he finds comfort being with his family and listens to salsa and music with Caribbean rhythm in his spare time.

• Pablo Portillo, 22 (April 8), is a native of Monterrey, Mexico (where he was born). At 8, he joined the city’s Metropolitan Chorus and, later, as lead vocalist of several groups. An Aries, he’s sensitive to other people’s needs. He spends his free time in front of the computer.

• Caleb Einar Aviles Reyes, 23 (July 28), the latest addition to MDO, comes from San Juan, Puerto Rico, also the hometown of Dayanara Torres (whom the MDO guys find "very sweet and very beautiful, and very friendly, too"). When barely out of his teens, Caleb joined the Puerto Rican band Euphoria. At 18, he packed his things for Wisconsin, USA, where he studied and developed his singing/dancing skills. A Leo, Caleb said he has realized his "fantasy" by doing it with a girl on a plane (30,000 feet above sea level).

The MDO guys look up to – who else? – Ricky Martin as their role model, all of them deadset on following in his footsteps. Could any of them make it the way Ricky Martin did? Who among them? Which one of them?

But first, the MDO is focused on bringing its music outside of the Latin world, the Philippines included.

They happily revealed that last year during an Asian promo tour, they actually made a side trip to Manila for a three-day private visit, spending their time shopping in the malls "even if it was raining and raining." They did make heads turn, all right, but nobody was aware that they were the MDOs.

That was then.

Very soon, I’m sure you can’t make any or all of them walk the streets of Manila or stroll in the malls without creating a commotion. Just wait and see.

Here’s saying "hasta la vista" to the MDO.

"Did we get any indecent proposal when we were in Manila?", asked a member of the group. "No, we didn’t. But next time, maybe we will."

By then, who knows, they might be, like Ricky Martin, livin’ la vida loca.