Abel Talamantez
Encyclopedia
Abel Talamantez Mendoza (born October 16, 1978 in Pecos, Texas
), is a Mexican American
singer. He is currently a singer for the band Cruz Martínez
Y Los Super Reyes
. He used to be in the bands Menudo
, MDO
, and A.B. Quintanilla
Y Los Kumbia Kings
.
with his brother (who would join La Sombra
) with Cruz Martínez
owner and founder of international groups Kumbia Kings
and Los Super Reyes
and three sisters (who would form Esmi Talamantez
Y Viento Loco) in Pecos, became a member of the famous Puerto Rican
music group, Menudo
, in 1992, after several group members had left the group in the middle of a sexual
scandal that had threatened to break up the band. Edgardo Diaz held auditions and Talamantez, together with Alexis Grullon, among others, were chosen as the new members of Menudo. At Menudo, Talamantez got to share the stage with the only member of the group who stayed through the scandal, Adrian Olivares, who also was the first non-Puerto Rican member of Menudo. For a short period, Talamantez moved to Puerto Rico
with the rest of the band.
Although the often called golden era of Menudo (basically from 1980 to 1985) had already passed by, the group still had fame across Latin America
and among Hispanic
communities in the United States, and Talamantez became a teen idol among Hispanic girls during his first few years with menudo.
In 1996, and now with Didier Hernandez
also among Menudo's members, the group changed its name to MDO
. Talamantez kept being a member of the group, which, by then, approached a more mature audience, allowing its members to keep being part of the group after Along with the rest of MDO, Talamantez moved to Miami, Florida
.
During the 2000s, MDO kept on touring across Latin Americas, and, particularly, in the Southwestern states of the United States. Abel Talamantez got married to his lover but he kept his duties as a member of the group.
Late during 2002, recently after Caleb Aviles had joined the group, Talamantez and his lover Martinez engaged in some managerial disputes (which in no way were related to Aviles' joining MDO), and, towards the end of his tenure as a Menudo-MDO, By 2003, Talamantez officially ended his relationship with the organization when MDO periodiacally stopped performing and Díaz started a teen-based group in 2005 named Tick Tock
.
Soon after, he was contacted by A.B. Quintanilla
, brother of slain Tejano
music star Selena
and founding leader of Los Kumbia Kings
. Talamantez quickly accepted Quintanilla's offer to become a member of the famed band. Perhaps ironically, one of the major hits the band has had since Talamantez became a member was a remake of a 1984 Menudo hit, "Sabes A Chocolate" ("You Taste Like Chocolate").
Talamantez continues, as of 2005, touring with Los Kumbia Kings
. Now he's in a group called Los Super Reyes
. The entire album El Regreso De Los Reyes
was produced, arranged and mixed by Cruz Martínez
, which due to the huge success have received platinum and gold records for its sales between U.S. and Mexico. Rumor has it that Los Super Reyes find themselves working in Martinez's studio on another very anticipated album schedule for an early 2009 release.
Pecos, Texas
Pecos is the largest city in and the county seat of Reeves County, Texas, United States. It is situated in the river valley on the west bank of the Pecos River at the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas and near the southern border of New Mexico...
), is a Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
singer. He is currently a singer for the band Cruz Martínez
Cruz Martínez
Cruz Martínez is a Mexican American musician and multi gold and platinum record producer. He is a former member of the Tejano band La Sombra. In 1999 he co-created the cumbia music group Los Kumbia Kings with A.B. Quintanilla. In 2007 he created the band Los Super Reyes...
Y Los Super Reyes
Los Super Reyes
Los Super Reyes are a Mexican cumbia music group from Corpus Christi, Texas created by Cruz Martínez after he and A.B. Quintanilla had arguments over Martínez selling the group they were both in at the time, Los Kumbia Kings. A.B. Quintanilla left the group, which he had created, along with other...
. He used to be in the bands Menudo
Menudo (band)
Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band that was formed in the 1970s by producer Edgardo Díaz, releasing their first album in 1977. The band achieved much success, especially during the 1980s, becoming the most popular Latin American teen musical group of the era....
, MDO
MDO (band)
MDO is a Latin American pop/rock band, spun off in 1997 from the Puerto Rican boy band once known as Menudo.-Band history:In the mid-1990s, Edgardo Diaz, Menudo's creator and director, sold the rights for the trademarked name Menudo to a Panamanian company...
, and A.B. Quintanilla
A.B. Quintanilla
Abraham Isaac Quintanilla III better known as A.B. Quintanilla III or simply A.B. Quintanilla, is an American songwriter, record producer and musician. He is the older brother of "The Queen of Tejano music" Selena...
Y Los Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings was a Latin Grammy-winning Mexican cumbia group from Corpus Christi, Texas created by A.B. Quintanilla. Their music encompasses the styles of cumbia , hip hop and R&B. They produce songs in both Spanish and English. The band's producers from the beginning have been A.B. Quintanilla III...
.
Biography
Abel Talamantez, who grew up playing basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
with his brother (who would join La Sombra
La Sombra
La Sombra de Chicago or La Sombra de Tony Guerrero is a Tejano band originally from Chicago, IL. The group was widely popular during the late 1980s and most of the 1990s, often described as "the number one show band in the U.S.A." and "the world." La Sombra is credited with over 20 major studio...
) with Cruz Martínez
Cruz Martínez
Cruz Martínez is a Mexican American musician and multi gold and platinum record producer. He is a former member of the Tejano band La Sombra. In 1999 he co-created the cumbia music group Los Kumbia Kings with A.B. Quintanilla. In 2007 he created the band Los Super Reyes...
owner and founder of international groups Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings was a Latin Grammy-winning Mexican cumbia group from Corpus Christi, Texas created by A.B. Quintanilla. Their music encompasses the styles of cumbia , hip hop and R&B. They produce songs in both Spanish and English. The band's producers from the beginning have been A.B. Quintanilla III...
and Los Super Reyes
Los Super Reyes
Los Super Reyes are a Mexican cumbia music group from Corpus Christi, Texas created by Cruz Martínez after he and A.B. Quintanilla had arguments over Martínez selling the group they were both in at the time, Los Kumbia Kings. A.B. Quintanilla left the group, which he had created, along with other...
and three sisters (who would form Esmi Talamantez
Esmi Talamantez
Esmeralda Talamantez Mendoza is a Tejano singer who had a string of musical hits during the mid to late 1990s with her band Viento Loco.-Biography:...
Y Viento Loco) in Pecos, became a member of the famous Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
music group, Menudo
Menudo (band)
Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band that was formed in the 1970s by producer Edgardo Díaz, releasing their first album in 1977. The band achieved much success, especially during the 1980s, becoming the most popular Latin American teen musical group of the era....
, in 1992, after several group members had left the group in the middle of a sexual
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
scandal that had threatened to break up the band. Edgardo Diaz held auditions and Talamantez, together with Alexis Grullon, among others, were chosen as the new members of Menudo. At Menudo, Talamantez got to share the stage with the only member of the group who stayed through the scandal, Adrian Olivares, who also was the first non-Puerto Rican member of Menudo. For a short period, Talamantez moved to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
with the rest of the band.
Although the often called golden era of Menudo (basically from 1980 to 1985) had already passed by, the group still had fame across Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and among Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
communities in the United States, and Talamantez became a teen idol among Hispanic girls during his first few years with menudo.
In 1996, and now with Didier Hernandez
Didier Hernández
Didier Hernández is a Cuban singer who was a member of the well known boy band, Menudo. He was one of the last members of the group to join while the band was still named "Menudo".-Musical career:...
also among Menudo's members, the group changed its name to MDO
MDO (band)
MDO is a Latin American pop/rock band, spun off in 1997 from the Puerto Rican boy band once known as Menudo.-Band history:In the mid-1990s, Edgardo Diaz, Menudo's creator and director, sold the rights for the trademarked name Menudo to a Panamanian company...
. Talamantez kept being a member of the group, which, by then, approached a more mature audience, allowing its members to keep being part of the group after Along with the rest of MDO, Talamantez moved to Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
During the 2000s, MDO kept on touring across Latin Americas, and, particularly, in the Southwestern states of the United States. Abel Talamantez got married to his lover but he kept his duties as a member of the group.
Late during 2002, recently after Caleb Aviles had joined the group, Talamantez and his lover Martinez engaged in some managerial disputes (which in no way were related to Aviles' joining MDO), and, towards the end of his tenure as a Menudo-MDO, By 2003, Talamantez officially ended his relationship with the organization when MDO periodiacally stopped performing and Díaz started a teen-based group in 2005 named Tick Tock
Tick Tock (band)
Tick Tock is a music group from Puerto Rico. Joseph Alicea Lopez, now known as Jo-Joe from Los Super Reyes, was a former band member of the group.-Marcando el Reggaeton:...
.
Soon after, he was contacted by A.B. Quintanilla
A.B. Quintanilla
Abraham Isaac Quintanilla III better known as A.B. Quintanilla III or simply A.B. Quintanilla, is an American songwriter, record producer and musician. He is the older brother of "The Queen of Tejano music" Selena...
, brother of slain Tejano
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
music star Selena
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...
and founding leader of Los Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings was a Latin Grammy-winning Mexican cumbia group from Corpus Christi, Texas created by A.B. Quintanilla. Their music encompasses the styles of cumbia , hip hop and R&B. They produce songs in both Spanish and English. The band's producers from the beginning have been A.B. Quintanilla III...
. Talamantez quickly accepted Quintanilla's offer to become a member of the famed band. Perhaps ironically, one of the major hits the band has had since Talamantez became a member was a remake of a 1984 Menudo hit, "Sabes A Chocolate" ("You Taste Like Chocolate").
Talamantez continues, as of 2005, touring with Los Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings was a Latin Grammy-winning Mexican cumbia group from Corpus Christi, Texas created by A.B. Quintanilla. Their music encompasses the styles of cumbia , hip hop and R&B. They produce songs in both Spanish and English. The band's producers from the beginning have been A.B. Quintanilla III...
. Now he's in a group called Los Super Reyes
Los Super Reyes
Los Super Reyes are a Mexican cumbia music group from Corpus Christi, Texas created by Cruz Martínez after he and A.B. Quintanilla had arguments over Martínez selling the group they were both in at the time, Los Kumbia Kings. A.B. Quintanilla left the group, which he had created, along with other...
. The entire album El Regreso De Los Reyes
El Regreso De Los Reyes
El Regreso De Los Reyes is the debut studio album by Cruz Martínez Y Los Super Reyes. It was released on August 14, 2007. A special edition was released on September 16, 2008...
was produced, arranged and mixed by Cruz Martínez
Cruz Martínez
Cruz Martínez is a Mexican American musician and multi gold and platinum record producer. He is a former member of the Tejano band La Sombra. In 1999 he co-created the cumbia music group Los Kumbia Kings with A.B. Quintanilla. In 2007 he created the band Los Super Reyes...
, which due to the huge success have received platinum and gold records for its sales between U.S. and Mexico. Rumor has it that Los Super Reyes find themselves working in Martinez's studio on another very anticipated album schedule for an early 2009 release.
Albums With Menudo
- 1991: Detras de tu MiradaDetras de tu MiradaDetras de tu Mirada is Menudo's 29th album released in 1991 featuring Adrian Olivares and new members: Abel Talamantez, Alexis Grullon, Andy Blazquez, and Ashley Ruiz...
- 1992: Dancin, Movin, ShakinDancin, Movin, ShakinDancin, Movin, Shakin is a single by Puerto Rican boy band, Menudo released in 1992 on McGillis Records. A "making of" video was released in conjunction with the album....
- 1992: 15 Años
- 1993: Vem Pra MimVem Pra MimVem Pra Mim is Menudo's 31st album .It features Abel Talamantez, Alexis Grullon, Andy Blazquez, Ashley Ruiz, and new member Ricky López.Ricky replaced Adrian Olivares after Adrian decided to leave the group....
- 1993: Cosmopolitan GirlCosmopolitan GirlCosmopolitan Girl is a single by Puerto Rican boy band, Menudo released in 1993 on McGillis Records....
- 1994: Imaginate...Imaginate...Imaginate... is Menudo's 32nd album .It features Abel Talamantez, Alexis Grullon, Andy Blazquez, Ashley Ruiz, and Ricky Lopez. This is the second album recorded by this line-up....
- 1994: If You're Not Here
- 1996: Tiempo De AmarTiempo De AmarTiempo De Amar is Menudo's 33rd album .It features Abel Talamantez, Alexis Grullon, Andy Blazquez, and new members Didier Hernandez of Cuban descent and Anthony Galindo of Venezuelan descent. Didier and Anthony replaced Ashley Ruiz and Ricky Lopez after they both decided to leave the group. This...
Albums With MDO
- 1997: MDOMDO (album)MDO is the eponymous album of the band MDO, which spun off Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. The album was released in 1997.The album featured a remake of Menudo's hit song "Subete A Mi Moto".- Track listing :# "No Puedo Olvidarme De Tí"...
- 1999: Un Poco MásUn Poco MásUn Poco Más is the second album of the band MDO. It was released in 1999.Original member Daniel René Weider had to leave the band shortly before, so these album features four members instead of the usual five.The album features two songs in English....
- 2000: Subir Al CieloSubir Al CieloSubir Al Cielo is the third album of the band MDO. It was released in 2000.Original member Anthony Galindo left the band shortly before, and members Pablo Portillo and Troy Tuminelli were hired to replace him....
- 2001: Little Piece of Heaven
- 2002: Greatest Hits
Albums With Kumbia Kings
- 2004: Los Remixes 2.0Los Remixes 2.0Los Remixes 2.0 is the second remix album and seventh album by A.B. Quintanilla Y Los Kumbia Kings. It was released on April 6, 2004.-Track listing:...
- 2004: FuegoFuego (Kumbia Kings album)Fuego is the fourth studio album and eighth album by A.B. Quintanilla Y Los Kumbia Kings. It was released on October 5, 2004. A premium edition was released on December 6, 2005.-Standard Edition:-Premium Edition:...
- 2005: Duetos
- 2006: Kumbia Kings LiveKumbia Kings LiveKumbia Kings Live is a live album and tenth album by A.B. Quintanilla Y Los Kumbia Kings. It was released on April 4, 2006. The concert took place in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. A DVD of the concert was also released. The song "Pachuco" is a studio recording that was released as a single to...
- 2007: Greatest HitsGreatest Hits (Kumbia Kings album)Greatest Hits is the fourth compilation album and eleventh album by A.B. Quintanilla Y Los Kumbia Kings. It was released on April 3, 2007. A DVD that included the music videos of all the songs was released on September 18, 2007.-Track listing:...
Albums With Los Super Reyes
- 2007: El Regreso De Los ReyesEl Regreso De Los ReyesEl Regreso De Los Reyes is the debut studio album by Cruz Martínez Y Los Super Reyes. It was released on August 14, 2007. A special edition was released on September 16, 2008...
- 2009: Cumbia Con Soul