Menudo paid tribute to the late Ray Reyes

One of the original members of the Puerto Rican band died in late April 2021 at age 51; thus he was remembered by his companions

The reunion of the Menudo group  took place on December 17 at the  Arena Ciudad de México  as part of their long-awaited tour Get on my bike . In the recital presented to more than 10,000 Mexican fans, the band paid tribute to one of the members,  Ray Reyes, who lost his life on April 30, 2021.

Ricky Meléndez, René Farrait, Johnny Lozada and Miguel Cancel managed to thrill the public and especially the faithful followers of the band, who were very euphoric at being able to meet again with four of the original members of the Puerto Rican group.

The now quartet opened their concert with a tribute to  Ray Reyes and dedicated some emotional words to him, highlighting that they would have liked him to be present that night , and that they were going to make him do so in some way.

The joy of finally being able to meet again with the Mexican public contrasted with the sadness of remembering Reyes, whom the fans remembered shouting his name in chorus.

It was the beginning of the show when the Puerto Ricans began with the tribute to Ray, at which time the media did not have access, arguing that it was an intimate moment between them and their fans, but it was Johnny Lozada who explained that somehow way they wanted Reyes to be present.

They were songs like Fuego, A volar, Dulces besos and Susana with which the band conquered its Mexican audience, made up mostly of women over 50, who entered the mood of nostalgia and behaved like teenagers recalling those years.

And it is that with Menudo a curious phenomenon happens: the faithful fans continue to organize themselves in fan clubs to coordinate and go to concerts in uniform, in the style of the 80s. In addition, it was noted that in certain songs the followers did something special according to the theme, like waving your hands or raising the cell phone light.

The long-awaited concert that was postponed for more than a year and a half filled the audience with joy, and the members thanked them for their support. This new reunion of Menudo arose after the launch of the series Get on my bike , released in mid-2020, and where their story of rise to fame and decline is told from the point of view of the band’s manager .

During the event, the members joked about their age and jokingly  called some of their viewers ‘victims’, that is, the children of their longtime fans.

“We want to clarify that we tell them like this, because  surely they were victims of their mothers, who played our songs when they did housework  and therefore they know our songs,” said  Ricky, causing laughter from many.

One of the most emotional moments was almost at the end of the evening, when Johnny, René, Ricky and Miguel left the stage and lighted candles appeared on the screens, to which white handkerchiefs could be distinguished among the audience while a video of Ray Reyes in his teens singing the song If you are not.

Ray Reyes León died at the age of 51 due to a massive heart attack. This is how his brother Raúl made it known days after his death: “He came down from his room and went to cook, there he had a massive heart attack. He fell. My mom was in her room because she is sick. My ex-wife lives with them because he cares for her. She went downstairs and ran into him on the floor, called 911 and tried to help him, but he no longer had any signs of life, “he then told about the death.