Enrique José Martin Morales IV was bom in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Christmas Eve, 1971, to psychologist Enrique José Martin III and accountant Nereida Morales. By the time he was two years old, his parents separated and eventually divorced. At age six, already appearing in television commercials, Martin told his father he wanted to become an entertainer.
His parents enrolled him in acting and singing lessons with the understanding that his grades not suffer while attending Catholic parochial school. At one point, his mother took him to a concert by salsa music "queen" Celia Cruz an experience that influenced Martin's eventual embrace of Latin pop.
By 1977, the all-boy group Menudo was becoming a global phenomenon, cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest audience ever assembled 150,000 at Mexico's Azteca Stadium and breaking sales records worldwide. The group consisted of five boys between the ages of 12 and 16. Once a member turned 17, he had to leave the group, and was replaced by a new boy. Martin had set his goal on becoming a member of Menudo from the first time he saw the group, and after his third audition finally landed a spot in the group. A year after joining Menudo, he legally changed his name to Ricky and recorded and toured the world with the group until 1989.
On leaving Menudo he completed his high school education and lived in New York City for a brief time before moving to Mexico, where he was offered a leading role in the musical Mama Ama al Rock (Mom Loves Rock). Impressed by his performance, a television producer signed him on to play the role of musician Pablo in the soap opera Alcanzar una estrella II (To Reach for a Star II), and the soap's ratings soared. In 1992, a spin-off of the show, the film Mas que alcanzar una estrella (More than Reaching for a Star) earned Martin a Heraldo Award, the Mexican version of an Oscar.
Martin debuted on American television in a few episodes of the short-lived sitcom Getting By. That was followed by a two-year stint as the character Miguel in the soap opera General Hospital, where his role as a musician afforded him the opportunity to sing on the show on a regular basis. In 1996, his last year on this soap, he released his third album, A medio vivir (Halfway Across the Bridge of Life), which produced the international hit "Maria," Billboard's top-selling international single of 1997. By this point, Martin had landed a three-month engagement in the role of Marius in the Broadway musical hit Les Misérables, where he made his theater debut on June 24, 1996, with most of his entire family present. He received good reviews for his acting on Broadway, and the following year he was the voice of Hercules in the Spanish version of the Disney animated film and also recorded the film's theme song "No importa la distancia" (Go the Distance).
His other big project in 1997 was working on the recording of Vuelve (Come Back to Me), the 1998 album that would make him one of the most successful crossover artists of all time. Very soon the album was number one on Billboard's Latin top 50 recordings. A big fan of soccer, Martin was chosen to perform the hit song from this album, "La copa de la vida" (The Cup of Life) also the official song of the World Soccer match during the July closing ceremonies for an international audience estimated at over two billion people. That fall he embarked on an international tour that took him to most of Asia, where he began to study Buddhism and engage in meditation in order to reduce the stress of touring.
Martin decided he was ready to record an all-English album "where he could tell the American people about his country's ideals and cultural pride" (Zymet 2001, 50). He began to work on Ricky Martin, his 1999 crossover recording, early that year. In addition, he was invited to perform during the February 1999 nationally televised annual Grammy Awards ceremonies. Martin's performance of "La copa de la vida" made television history and was the highlight of an otherwise uneventful show. His show-stealing carnival-style performance, "joyous, hip-swiveling, eye-catchingly over-the-top" and his Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance that evening helped popularize Latin pop music and made him a superstar.That success was followed by the hit single "Livin' La Vida Loca," a song that combined Latin salsa and American pop music with infectious rhythmic melody. In April 1999 it became number one on Billboard's Hot 100, the biggest selling single in Columbia Records history. It was the number-one single in five international markets, including the United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland. The recording won MTV's Best Dance Video and Best Pop Video and resulted in one of the most successful concert tours in history, with over 250 sold-out concerts in 25 countries. This success was followed by the May release of his first English-language album, Ricky Martin, which also made history with the highest first-week sales in Columbia Records history. It became a number one album in ten international markets, certified platinum or better in over 30 countries selling over 15 million copies. In 1999 he also released The Ricky Martin Video Collection and Ricky Martin One Night Only, his first network television special filmed at Liberty Park in New York City. Both video releases went plati-num shortly after their release. Sound Loaded, released in 2002 is one of the best representations of the up tempo and danceable tunes that are so characteristic of his music.
Martin has been at the forefront, offering this music to a worldwide audience. No matter how long his stardom lasts, his record-breaking sell-out performances and the sheer number of recordings sold have already broken records and made history. In 2000 Martin began what was to become a year and a half of rest and was out of the public eye. During that time he honed his skills as a composer and expects to re¬lease an album that will contain many original compositions. In 2002 he received the Hispanic Heritage Award in Art for his contribution to music.
Martin's success and visibility have led him to support many worthy causes, including the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and has joined rock star Sting in supporting the Rainforest Foundation. In 2002 he donated a million dollars in musical instruments in his native Puerto Rico in order to foster the musical talents of young people.
Martin was raised Catholic, but says he is open to all sorts of religious beliefs, especially the Buddhist philosophy. He feels that subscribing to a specific religion can "limit" an individual in certain aspects, and noted in 2006, "I really like the Buddhist philosophy but that doesn’t mean that I am of the religion. If I subscribe to Buddhism, I can’t be of anything else...I am not going to follow those rules." Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997.
Martin was a headliner in the 2001 inauguration celebration for President George W. Bush; he even invited the newly elected president to join him on stage to dance. This image was captured by photographers and broadcast in various media throughout the world. Martin referred to it in a later song, "Asignatura Pendiente".
Martin has since changed his position on the former President. In a concert in Puerto Rico during the song Asignatura Pendiente Martin thrust his middle finger disapprovingly in the air while singing the line "photo with Bush". The gesture met with audience approval but caused a minor controversy with the media. Martin said in an e-mail statement sent to the Associated Press via a spokesman: "My convictions of peace and life go beyond any government and political agenda and as long as I have a voice onstage and offstage, I will always condemn war and those who promulgate it".
During his appearance at the Billboard Latin Music Awards on April 29, 2010, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 act, a law that requires police officers to request documents from individuals who they suspect to be illegal immigrants. He criticized the law for "discriminating against us for the simple fact of looking Latino" and further addressed the Latino community by saying, "Long live love, long live peace...You are not alone. We are with you. Put a stop to discrimination. Put a stop to hate. Put a stop to racism."
Martin endorsed President Barack Obama for his reelection campaign by hosting a fundraiser with the President in New York on May 21, 2012. He endorsed the President for declaring his support for same-sex marriage.
Quotations:
Personal Quotes
Ignore the ignorant.
The homosexual community wants me to be gay. The heterosexual community wants me to be straight. Every [writer] thinks, "I'm the journalist who's going to make him talk". I pray for them. I pray that they get a life and stop living mine!
I don't want to dream anymore, I want my life to be real!
Martin was in an on-off relationship with Mexican TV host Rebecca de Alba for more than 14 years. The pair had spoken of starting a family together and Martin had at one point considered proposing to her. In August 2008, Martin became the father of twin boys, Matteo and Valentino, born by a surrogate mother.
