Los Chicos were a popular boy band in Puerto Rico, South America and in Central America, created to rival Menudo's success. The band was created by Eric Laboy in 1978, with the name Encuentro. Due to a political campaign slogan, the name was changed to Los Chicos, which translates to The Kids by Mr. Carlos Alfonso Ramirez who took ownership and managed the boy band. They enjoyed huge success during the early 1980s, under the new management particularly in Puerto Rico South America and Central America. Mr. Alfonso added the following individuals to his management team: Mr. Angelo Medina, Leonor Constanzo, Grace Fontecha, Julio Farinacci-Fontecha and "Jacquene". A movie was filmed and a TV show hosted weekly on Puerto Rico's WAPA-TV. Many songs, including Puerto Rico son Los Chicos, Vuelve, Ave María, Para Amar and Mamma Mia sung by Jorge Lopez a.k.a. Giro Lopez or Giro became radio favorites, and memorabilia items like posters were mass-produced. Los Chicos became national sponsors for Malta Corona and Mahones Savage. In October 1983, three of the original members, Ray, Migue and Chayanne, quit the group, alleging poor working conditions. Chayanne became a solo artist and released his first album in 1984. Carlos Alfonso took over the new group with original member Hector Antonio "Tony" Ocasio and three new group members. However, this version did not have as much of the acceptance from the public as the first group of boys, and finally the band was dissolved. While it never achieved Menudo's level of popularity, it gave them a run for their money in Puerto Rico and Latin American countries, especially Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panamá. During a televised concert in the Dominican Republic, Los Chicos had to abandon the stage because of fans reaching it.
After break-up
Los Chicos' most popular members were Chayanne, Jorge Lopez a.k.a. Giro or Giro Lopez, who was signed to Sony Music and has had a long-term relationship with the label as a Salsa artist with over 10 albums, many gold records and a Grammy Nomination. Giro is still performing and is still well known as a Salsa artist and has released new albums with other labels; in 2010 he created Giro Productions and with the help of Chino Rodriguez now his manager and record label, has released the latest Album "Todavia Hay Amor" on OMG records and Giro Productions, Migue Santa, Tony Ocasio and Rey Díaz. Currently Rey is working as a Sales Executive in a prominent firm at Puerto Rico. Future Menudo member Sergio Blass was a member of Los Chicos for a short period of time, he was the only singer to be a member of both Los Chicos and Menudo. Sergio Blass was also a member of arguably the third most popular boy band in Puerto Rico during the early eighties, Concepto Juvenil, making him the only person to be in all three bands. In the aftermath of the success achieved by six former Menudos in a comeback nicknamed El Reencuentro, some former members of Los Chicos spoke about making a comeback too. They had one concert, as 'Los Chicos-El Retorno". Chayanne did not participate in it. In August 2012, three former members of Los Chicos released a tell all book named "Los Chicos ~ Mil Recuerdos Sus Historias" written by with the help of Tony Ocasio and original group members Rey Diaz and Migue Santa. The book recounts their experiences as members of the famous boy band, how they reached stardom and lost it all to mismanagement. Former member Jose Miguel "Migue" Santa died on March 19, 2019 of respiratory failure.
