César Armando Abreu Mercado (born April 10, 1977) is a Puerto Rican dancer, singer and actor. Abreu first rose to fame as a television actor in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and, later, internationally, as a member of boy band Menudo. As a dancer, he has performed at the MET in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

. He debuted as an actor in the 1986 Canal 4 children's comedy series, " Que Angelitos", alongside

Shalim Ortiz Shalim Ortiz (born February 26, 1979) is a Puerto Rican actor and singer. Personal life Ortiz is the son of Dominican singer, actress, and host Charytín Goyco and Puerto Rican actor and comedian Elín Ortiz. Ortiz married Leslie Ann Machado in ...

, among others. Abreu, who first identified as gay in his early teens, substituted

Angelo Garcia Angelo Garcia (born March 28, 1976) is an American singer of Puerto Rican descent, who was a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo from 1988 to 1990. Career A native New Yorker born in Brooklyn, New York, he barely spoke Spanish when he aud ...

at Menudo; he was himself later substituted at the band by the first non-Puerto Rican Menudo member, Adrian Olivares. Abreu was in Menudo for a short time, before the band almost disbanded due to a drug scandal involving two of their members at

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary international airport serving Miami and its Miami metropolitan area, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Florida. It hosts over 1, ...

. Abreu had left the band before the scandal took place. He claimed during an interview with

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that he did not feel safe in the band, because, according to him, while he kept his sexuality a secret, he was bullied while at Menudo. Abreu's family helped get him out of the band. in 2022, Abreu spoke about his experiences as a member of Menudo in a

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

mini-series titled " Menudo: Forever Young".

Dancer

Abreu left Puerto Rico and settled in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, first in

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, later in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and then in

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, obtaining an undergraduate degree in the

University of the Arts in Philadelphia The University of the Arts (UArts) was a private arts university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its campus made up part of the Avenue of the Arts cultural district in Center City, Philadelphia. On May 31, 2024, university administrators sudde ...

and then an MFA in dance at the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Abreu has commented that he kept in contact with two former Menudo members who were his contemporaries at the band, namely Sergio Gonzalez (Blass) and Ruben Gomez. Abreu joined the MET as a dancer in 2006 and has performed there since. He performs as a ballet dancer.

Personal life

Abreu resides in

Washington Heights, New York Washington Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 2,205 at the 2020 census. Washington Heights is a contiguous suburb of the city of Middletown. The community is in the town o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abreu, Cesar Menudo (band) members 1977 births Puerto Rican actors Puerto Rican singers 20th-century Puerto Rican people 21st-century Puerto Rican people 20th-century Puerto Rican LGBTQ people 21st-century Puerto Rican LGBTQ people People from Washington Heights, Manhattan Puerto Rican dancers University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni New York University alumni Living people People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican LGBTQ actors

Dancer

Personal life

See also

References