By Wonderwall.com Editors
5:48pm PST, Dec 24, 2021
_
On Dec. 24, 2021, Ricky Martin turns 50. What better to celebrate him and his long career than by joining Wondwerwall.com on a walk down memory lane to revisit some of his most wonderfully retro moments? Let's start with this amazing photo from February 1994 during his "General Hospital" days. Ricky played sexy singer-bartender Miguel Morez on the daytime soap opera in the mid-'90s.
Keep reading to see more nostalgia-inducing pics from Ricky's past…
RELATED: Best nostalgia-inducing photos of The Beatles
_
Ricky Martin, seen here in the 1980s, didn't immediately get accepted into Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. "The first time, they told me I was too short. It was horrible. The second time, the manager said, 'Buddy, buy a basketball so you can grow,'" Ricky told Rolling Stone in 1999. "The third time they called, it was: 'Four feet ten? You're just not going to grow.' The fourth time, they just told me, 'You are the new Menudo. Tomorrow you're on a plane to Orlando. Maybe you're not the best singer or dancer, but you wanted it so bad. That's why you became a Menudo.'"
_
Ricky Martin, seen here backstage in Paris in July 1997, focused on building a European fan base after achieving major popularity in the Latin markets.
_
Ricky Martin, seen here in Los Angeles in 1985, looks back on his time in Menudo with gratitude. "What I remember of Menudo was respect, a lot of work, discipline and a family atmosphere. Always. I can say, 'I am proud of the beginning of my career.' It was an easy way: You join a band that's already a phenomenon and learn," he told Rolling Stone. "When you leave the group, you have the tools to do whatever you want — if it's school, you have money; if it's to stay in the business, you've done everything, which helps a lot."
_
Ricky Martin successfully broke into the U.S. market in 1999 with his first English-language album, "Ricky Martin," which featured "Livin' La Vida Loca." He performed that song and more hits — in leather pants — during this performance at California's San Jose Arena in November that year.
_
Ricky Martin — who's now a father of four — has long had a love for kids. At the Hispanic Heritage Awards in September 2002, he was surprised on stage by three children from Calcutta, India, where he's worked to help alleviate child poverty. "I would love to have kids. Lots of them. I want to have a mess of toys in my house … Me tripping because of a toy in the middle of the living room," he confessed to Rolling Stone in 1999.
_
"It was a very intense moment of my life. Very beautiful moment of my life," Ricky Martin, seen here at a party in June 1994, told CNN of his "General Hospital" days.
_
Ricky Martin, seen here during his Menudo days in the 1980s, left the group in 1989. "Five years later I was done with the band. I was so tired," he told CNN. "And I just went to New York City to live and to relax. It was the first time in my life that I was literally not following a schedule and it was very important for me to do so."
_
Ricky Martin has always had a close relationship with his mom, Neyde Morales (they're seen here in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the 1980s). After publicly sharing that he's gay man in 2010, Ricky explained to CNN what it was like coming out to his parents. "In my case my mom asked me and it was like, 'OK, half of the work is done.' 'Yes, mom,' and then she gave me a hug and she told me that I love you," he said. "But that was not enough for me. It still took me a long time to make it public."
_
Ricky Martin, seen here in the 1980s, struggled with the immediate rise to fame that came with being in Menudo. "A child is a child, no matter what," he told The Guardian in 2011. "But I became a rock 'n' roll star slash sex symbol at a very young age. I was thinking: What do I have to do to get the attention of the girls? It was my job to move my hips, because then they scream, and that meant I was successful, like the rest of the guys. Was I ready for that? I don't know. But that's what I was supposed to go through."
_
Ricky Martin's success in the U.S. coincided with the beginnings of Britney Spears' career. The two are seen here bonding at the MTV Video Music Awards rehearsals in New York City in September 1999.
_
"That was a time of intense adrenaline. Living here in Los Angeles and going into that studio every day was very heavy, you know? I really enjoyed it," Ricky Martin told Soap Opera Digest in 2017 of starring on "General Hospital." However there is one thing he definitely doesn't miss about the show — his character's long hair! He's seen here filming the daytime drama on location in Puerto Rico in October 1994.
_
"I wanted the fame, the fortune, the girls, private jets. Yes, the music and performing were great. But when my friends asked me why I wanted to be in Menudo, I'd say the fame, fortune and girls," Ricky Martin, seen here in Los Angeles while on tour with Menudo in 1988, told Rolling Stone in 1999. "If you were a 15, 16-year-old kid outside your house, on the road, with beautiful girls following you? Yeah, you would party! Even though we were pretty disciplined. Believe me, it could have been much worse — we were so naive."
_
Ricky Martin won his first Grammy in February 1999, taking home a trophy for best Latin pop performance, which was presented by Gloria Estefan (who congratulated him with a kiss!). That night, he also delivered a memorable performance of "La Copa de la Vida/The Cup of Life" in a tight gray ribbed sweater and wide-leg leather pants.
_
Ricky Martin flashed a peace sign to photographers at LAX Airport in Los Angeles in April 1999.
_
Ricky Martin performed "Maria" at the Grammy Awards in February 2000. He didn't take any statuettes home that night but he was nominated for best male pop vocal performance and record of the year for "Livin' La Vida Loca" and best pop album for "Ricky Martin."
_
Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez hung out at a Grammys afterparty in February 2000 — years before they would team up to record music together.
_
Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera performed "Nobody Wants to be Lonely" in Monaco in April 2001. The two were both at the heights of their career when the hit song — which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — came out.
