That smile! That charm! aww! Robby Rosa was really the hearththrob of the 80s for me, (Aga Muhlach Raymond Lauchengco from Bagets temporarily forgotten, oops no offense to both!) I have a lot of wonderful memories with my personal MenudoMania experience. To the millenials, Menudomania means "Bieber Fever" to you :)
Read my Menuditis back story: Year 1985 of April (April 11, 1985) and I was on my usual summer vacation at my uncle's residence in Makati when Menudo came to Manila for a concert. Much media promotion was given to them care of Vicor Music Philippines. From the very day they landed at Manila International Airport (MIA), Menudo was featured on the primetime news. Personally, when I saw it, I didn't see what was special even when my older cousin said, "This guy (referring to Robby) has the charisma and popularity of the most-sought after heartthrob like Paul McCartney of the Beatles" - coming from a Beatles fan. I wasn't seeing the connection yet, so my reaction was just "Ah, ok..."
But then the following day, watching Eat Bulaga, they were there again. Watching Robby Rosa singing "If You're Not Here (By My Side)" as he looked intently at the camera as he sang. I was magnetized, stunned, gaping... haha.. I still have no word for it! But Robby Rosa got my attention with the way he sang the song speaking to my heart :) And so that afternoon, and every opportunity possible, I watched Eat Bulaga, The Big Big Show, Student Canteen and GMA Supershow just to watch them. I remember that I frantically scribbled down what Robby Rosa said on GMA Supershow, where we can send our fan mail to Puerto Rico.(haha, understandably there was no internet that time!)
Next thing that happened during their 4-day visit to the Philippines, we went to this fans day at SM Makati, but missed them as they didn't show up where we were waiting :( Then we went to another fans day at Harrison Plaza but the crowd was so huge, we didn't get to see them closer :( Aww, that could have been the moment Robby Rosa would sign an autograph and I would hold his hand even for 5 seconds only! hahaha, but I missed that moment... (up to this day I' still thinking,maybe in the future, he would search for this fan in the Philippines)
Unforgettable, I watched their concert live at Folk Arts Theater in 1985! Add more to the story that all tickets were sold out. But fortunately we had relatives working there in the engineering department, so we were given free entry. I wonder how we got in, haha.. it doesn't matter as long as we got in. We got seated by the bleachers, but that alone is already success for me! Yet I wished I had all the strength and charm to walk through the crowd - from the bleachers to the stage - to get to Robby Rosa and hug him right there as he sang "Because Of Love"!! I bet the other fans would be screaming! :D
And when I watched on primetime news that Menudo said their goodbyes as they left the Philippines to go back to Puerto Rico, I was one of those fans who cried, knowing it would be a long while before they will be back. I also mean that whenever I saw a plane taking off that day, I just waved my goodbye, hoping they would see me! :)
All the quirks and habits of being a MENUDO fan was in me.... these days now you call it Menudo memorabilia or the archives:) ... buying magazines and songhits that feature their photos on the cover... buying their records"Reachin' Out" and "Explosion" and listening to the songs to the point of memorizing every word.....☆♪ Like an explosion, my love for you, it's an explosion, my love for you, it's an explosion that keeps my heart beating, that keeps my soul alive☆♪☆♪ .....waiting for MenudoMania show every Friday at channel RPN-9.....
collecting MENUDO posters and hanging them on the wall... (hmm, looking back now I think this is too much idolizing, hehe)
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It's been rare that Menudo news is featured these days. But when I hear of any, I quickly pick up on it and relive my story over again. The closest media we get is of course on Youtube where we can watch old music videos to our heart's content. Haha, then I now remember that I gave one of my sons the 'punishment' to research on a Menudo song and sing it for me. "Please Be Good To Me" was his choice :)
I am inspired to write this blog post, thanks to Manilyn Reynes' Instagram post last February 2018, and to share how Menudo has just kept me going on with life as I was still growing and trying to discover my true identity as an adolescent (yes, that's what it seemed to me!)
And this Menudo music video of Robby I watched this morning inspired me to write this post as well - can't even believe I didn't work on it before - and oddly enough, today happens to be Draco Rosa's birthday!
Happy Birthday, Robby!!!
Thanks to these sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menudo_(band)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_Rosa