Abel Talamántez Mendoza was born in
Pecos, Texas, to Mexican parents. Talamántez grew up playing
basketball with his elder brother (who would join
La Sombra, with
Cruz Martínez, owner and founder of international groups
Kumbia Kings and
Los Super Reyes) and three sisters (who would form
Esmi Talamántez Y Viento Loco). He became a member of the famous
Puerto Rican music group,
Menudo, in 1992, after several group members had left the group in the middle of a scandal that had threatened to break up the band.
Edgardo Díaz held auditions and Talamántez, among others, were chosen as the new members of Menudo. In Menudo, Abel got to share the stage with the only member of the group who stayed through the scandal,
Mexican singer
Adrián Olivares, who was the first non-Puerto Rican member of Menudo. For a short period, Talamántez moved to
Puerto Rico with the rest of the band. Although the often called
golden age of Menudo (1981 - 1987) had already passed, the group still had vast fame across
Latin America and among
Hispanic communities in the United States. It was due to this that Abel became a teen idol among Hispanic girls during his first few years with Menudo. In 1996, now with
Didier Hernández among Menudo's members, the group changed its name to
MDO. Talamántez kept being a member of the group, which, by then, approached a more mature audience, allowing its members to stay in the group past the age of 16. Along with the other members, Abel moved to
Miami, Florida. During the 2000s, MDO kept on touring across Latin America and, particularly, in the Southwestern states of the United States. In 2003, Abel officially ended his relationship with the organization when MDO stopped performing and Díaz started a teen-based group in 2005 named
Tick Tock. Soon after, he was contacted by
A.B. Quintanilla, brother of slain
Tejano music star
Selena and founding leader of Los
Kumbia Kings. Talamántez quickly accepted Quintanilla's offer to become a member of the famed band. One of the major hits the band has had since Abel became a member was a remake of a 1984 Menudo hit, "
Sabes a Chocolate" ("You Taste Like Chocolate"). In 2005, Talamántez was touring with Los
Kumbia Kings. Now he's in a group called
Los Super Reyes. The entire album
El Regreso de los Reyes was produced, arranged and mixed by
Cruz Martínez, which due to the huge success has received platinum and gold records for its sales in the United States and Mexico. Rumor had it that Los Super Reyes were themselves working in Martínez's studio on another very anticipated album which was scheduled for an early 2009 release. In late 2011 and early 2012, Abel reunited with his former MDO bandmates
Alexis Grullon,
Anthony Galindo,
Didier Hernandez, and embarked on an MDO reunion tour, visiting countries like Peru, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Panama, etc. Abel currently resides in Mexico City, has his own record label "Abel'z Label" and works as a producer; having produced
Marile Andrade album and is currently working on her second album. He recently launched his new project
Chicodelicos, working with the nephew of the late Mexican Comedian-singer, Chico Che. They are rendering Che's tribute to the new generation by bringing in new sound fuses. In December 2018, the
MDO band, including Talamántez released a single titled . ==Discography==