Manny Manuel

Cruz Manuel Hernández Santiago (born December 1, 1972), known by his stage name of Manny Manuel, is a Puerto Rican singer. He sings merengue, boleros, and tropical music. He first became well known as a member of the group Los Sabrosos del Merengue. He started a solo career in 1994. Manuel was born on the mountain town of Orocovis, Puerto Rico. He studied elementary and high school in the José Rojas Cortés School at his hometown. Since a young age, he started performing in talent shows and other musical activities. He later joined the group Tempo Merenguero. He later became a singer and choreographer for the merengue duo of Mayra y Celinés.
After several years, Manuel joined the group Los Sabrosos del Merengue. He joined them at the same time they had their hit song "Fiera Callada". After the success of the song, the group released their first album, "Sin Fronteras". Manuel samg a large part of the lyrics on this album. The album included a cover version of Rocío Durcal's song "Te Amo". The group made a second album titled "Haciendo Historia". It had hits like "Colegiala" and "Frente a Frente".
After making these two albums with Los Sabrosos, Manuel chose to have a solo career. In June of 1994, Manuel left the group. In October 1 of the same year, he started as a solo performer. Several months later, he released his first solo album. It was titled "Rey de Corazones". The album was certified platinum after a few weeks. With the success of the album, on November, 1995, Manuel performed at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center. He sold out six shows.
In 1996, he followed with his second album titled "Auténtico". On May of the same year, he performed at the Guaynabo Performing Arts Center in a special Mother's Day concert. Later, in November, he had a very large concert at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.