ARTIST

Ricky Martin

The "overnight" success of Ricky Martin in 1999 just reveals how ethnocentric America (well, at least the American press) still is with regards to pop culture. Martin, a former child actor, has actually been an international star since he spent five years as a founding member of that New Kids On The Block with Latino flair prototype, Menudo. When growing up forced him out, the Puerto Rico native graduated to a Mexican soap opera before spending three years in the mid-'90s as a star of U.S. soap General Hospital. He then appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables, still finding time to record four Spanish-language LPs that sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

This was all before his appearance on the 1999 Grammys, which instantly made him a star in America...
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