Los Chicos (Puerto Rican boy band)

Los Chicos (also known as Los Chicos de Puerto Rico) were a Puerto Rican boy band that was popular in Puerto Rico, and in South and Central America during the early to mid 1980s, which was created to rival Menudo's success.

The band was created by Eric Laboy in 1978, with the name Encuentro. Due to the chosen name also being used as a political campaign slogan, the name was soon changed to Los Chicos, which translates to The Kids, by Carlos Alfonso Ramirez, who took ownership and managed the boy band.

A movie (Conexión Caribe) was filmed and a television show was hosted weekly on Puerto Rico's WAPA-TV. It continued a trend of boy bands starring in movies. 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 (Savage Jeans).

In October 1983, three of the original members, Rey, 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 (Tico Santana, Alejandro "Casito" Farinacci Fontecha, and Alejandro Rodriguez). However, this version did not have as much of the acceptance from the public as the first group of boys, and the band dissolved. While they never achieved Menudo's level of popularity, the group had success in Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries. During a televised concert in the Dominican Republic, Los Chicos had to abandon the stage because of fans reaching it.