Menudo for the Soul
Latin
quartet MDO spices up the Latin music charts.
 The completely remodeled Menudo-known today as
MDO-is hot! With their incredible artistry and charm, these four
young men have established themselves as one of the biggest new
Latin music groups on the scene. The multi-nationality group
consist of 20-year-old Abel, a green-eyed Mexican-American who
was born in Texas; Anthony, a 20-year-old Venezuelan-Columbian;
20-year-old Didier from Havana, Cuba; and Alex, who at 22, and
was born in New York and is of Dominican descent. MDO recently
scored its first number 1 hit on Billboard's Latin Tracks Chart
with the song "No Puedo Olvidar." Now they're back
with a new smash hit, "Dame Un Poco Mas," and they're
anxiously awaiting the release of their forthcoming English-language
album. MDO spoke with qvMagazine during the singing group's stop
in Los Angeles last July.
What role do each of you play in the
group?
Abel: We're
all lead singers and we're all background singers. We all dance,
we all write, and we're very involved with our productions-from
musical arrangements to lyrics and everything else.
What songs do you sing, Abel?
Abel: I sing. "Dame Un Poco
Mas" and "Diana."
Who is the most hyperactive person in
the group?
Anthony:
That must be me. I'm always jumping around. I'm know for singing
"Toma Mi Mano"-which is a song about escaping-by taking
my hand, and I take your body and we start to dance and....(he
moans and gyrates his hips)! I also sing "Baila la Rumba"
which is a song where many rhythms are combined-like Mexican-styled
trumpets, Samba, and a Spanish flair. It's my personal favorite.
All of you write and arrange. Do you
have any contributing writers?
Abel: Yes. Our first single, "No Puedo Olvidar,"
was written by Tomas Torres, who was the lead musical arranger
of the album along with Alex Grillón and myself. But about
half of the album includes cuts written entirely by us.
How has MDO grown?
Alex: We're very happy right now about a lot of our
newer material because we've matured a lot and the production
is clearly a reflection of that growth. The video for "Un
Poco Mas" was taped in New York and is a very mature video.
We had a lot of beautiful models (the rest giggle). There are
a lot of cool...(pauses)...things in the video.
So are you telling me the video was
strong in content or it was pornographic?
Alex: Oh no! Nothing like that. We have too many
young fans to do something like that.
In the old days, Menudo members retired
at a certain age. What is the current MDO membership rule? Who
gets in, who gets out...
MDO:
In and out!? Hey! Careful there.... (Laughter)
Abel: One of the changes Menudo has gone
through, along with the name change, is that nobody has to leave
at a certain age or anything like that. We're all in our 20s,
and we're here to stay. We have a lot of goals we want to reach
as a group, so we're going to continue as long as we can. One
goal that we're about to reach is that we're recording an English
album right now to come out this fall. We want to conquer the
world with our music, so until we do that, nobody is stopping
us.
You guys have played with The Ringling
Bros. and Barnum and Baily Circus. How did the idea of touring
with the circus come about?
Abel: It just became part of our tour. When they
asked us if we wanted to do a show with the circus, we all said,
"Yeah!" It was like a dream come true. We're touring
40 cities across the U.S. Our tour dates are constantly changing,
but if you want to keep up to date, visit our website at: www.mdo.org
What is it like to be constantly on
the road?
MDO: It's
a lot of work!
Abel: But we do have time for our families.
Didier: We live in Miami and that's where
our families are. Whenever we have two or three days off, we
take time to spend it with our families and friends.
Abel: Plus, if we're going to be gone too
long, we're able to take our families with us.
Are you guys able to have serious relationships,
or is it just impossible?
Abel:
Actually, I'm married and I have a child.
Alex: And I just got married.
It is common for a group like yours
to get mobbed by girls everywhere you go. Have you been mobbed
by guys as well?
All:
YES!
Didier: But the important thing is that
we all have something in common and that is our music.
How do you feel about your QV fans?
Alex: We have a large QV following.
I can say that the young men who admire us mean everying in the
world to us, as do the rest of our fans. Our QV fans keep our
career alive. They attend our shows and I fell without that kind
of support, any artist would have trouble surviving. .
Abel: Yeah! (Enthusiastically chiming into
the coversation) It doesn't matter if a person is QV, straight,
bi, male, female or whatever.
INTERVIEW BY LUTHER
ORRICK-GUZMAN
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Dope-Ass
Flyer-of-the-Month
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BOYS LIFE NEW
YORK
qvMagazine gives props to the New York nightclub "Boys Life"
for putting out this sizzing flyer. Boys Life is one of the hottest
Sunday night hangouts in New York City, so go and check it out!
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