We all knew the words to Menudo's "Subete a mi moto" (not to mention the popular parody version with the foul-language lyrics), but besides boy bands and their famous graduates, Latin American pop music in the 80's was heaven for girls with big hair and thick ankle socks. These groups flourished in Mexico, and found their shimmering trailblazer in Yuri, seen here taking Spain by storm with an army of slinky menbots:
Groups like Flans made Mexican bubble-gum pop the soundtrack of our lives -- as long as they didn't actually have to sing live. With pants and moves like this, though, who cares if you're even holding a mic?
But the undisputed sparklers of this sound were the girls of Timbiriche, who -- long before the Spice Girls came around -- turned loud clothes, simple choreography, and mid-range-heavy back-up music into pop gold. This is the group in which future superstar Paulina Rubio came close to permanently frizzing out her hair. Really, blue Amish skirt girl, how awesome are you guys?!
Any groups I'm missing? And a more pressing question arises: did this sort of Latin-galactic pop machine ever ... really ... leave? Didn't think so, L.A.
