Cagueno Edgardo Diaz has stayed on top of the group from 1977 til now, surviving a sex and abuse scandal and a name change, from Menudo to the current M.D.O. among other things.
Diaz moved to Spain after graduating from school and he worked with a group that was widly successful, La Pandilla, which had 4 boys and 1 girl (Mariblanca, now a Veterinarian in her home country), but after the La Pandilla members grew up, he moved back to Puerto Rico, and created Menudo. The group went to achieve world wide fame and success.
Diaz's formula of signing up new members at the age of 12 and changing them for new members once they reached 16, was the secret to Menudo's success, but it also proved troublesome, as sometimes, whenever an individual would leave the group, the millions of fans that individual might have made with Menudo, would leave too.
His dream of creating a famous teen band was inspired by The Jackson 5.