Grupo Mania

One of the leading merengue ensembles during the 1990s, Grupo Manía topped the charts at the peak of the genre’s mid-decade popularity. Although their mainstream visibility gradually faded, the act kept issuing records for loyal listeners and earned repeated Latin Grammy nominations. The Puerto Rico-based group, also styled GrupoManía or Grupomanía, originated in 1993 with brothers Héctor (Banchy), Edwin, and Oscar Serrano alongside Alfred Cotto. Banchy had previously performed in ensembles fronted by Willie Berríos and Leny Pérez, while Oscar had played in Pérez’s Grupo Uno.

Under the name Grupo Manía the Serrano brothers released their first recording, A Bombazo...Si!, which moved briskly in Puerto Rico on the strength of local radio exposure and launched the quartet’s career. Edwin soon departed, replaced by Elvis Crespo, another veteran of bands led by Berríos and Pérez. The revised lineup cut Explotó el Bombazo in 1994, an independently distributed set that surpassed 50,000 units. Their follow-up, Dance Manía (1995), doubled those sales and introduced the breakthrough single “Como Me Haces Falta,” securing the group a third consecutive Tambora de Oro award. The success prompted a contract with Sony Discos’ Sony Tropical imprint.

Their Sony debut, Está de Moda (1996), adopted a more commercial approach. The revised sound produced the hits “La Condena,” “A Que Te Pego Mi Manía,” “Linda Eh,” and “Deja Que la Gente Diga,” carried the album to the top of the Tropical/Salsa chart, and placed it inside the Top Ten of Top Latin Albums. After Crespo exited to launch a solo career, the remaining trio recorded Alto Honor (1997). Though less dominant than its predecessor, the album still generated the singles “Me Miras y Te Miro,” “Corazoncito,” “Que Loco,” and “Mírala” while again reaching the Top Ten on the Top Latin Albums chart.

For The Dynasty (1998), Reynaldo Santiago, known as El Chino and formerly of rival merengue outfit Zona Roja, filled the vacancy. Further hits followed—“Como Baila,” “Niña Bonita,” “Voy a Ganar Su Amor,” and “Magia”—and the album received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Merengue Album, the first of several such nods. After one additional Sony release, Masters of the Stage (1999), the group moved to Universal Latino for Grupomanía 2050 (2001), their first project to win a Latin Grammy.

During the transition, Sony issued numerous compilations that mined the earlier catalog, among them 20th Anniversary (1999), Baila Mi Manía...Lo Mejor! (2000), Manía Mixes (2000), Oro Merenguero (2000), Bombazos (2001), Colección de Oro (2002), 22 Ultimate Hits (2002), 15 Exitos (2002), and Remixes (2002). Grupo Manía continued recording for Universal, next delivering Latino (2002), which earned their first standard Grammy. Over ensuing years membership shifted repeatedly, with Banchy and Oscar remaining the sole steady members. Following the exits of the other two, Cotto and Santiago formed the less prominent merengue trio Grupo Stars with Gabby Kenton. Despite ongoing Grammy nominations, the group’s audience contracted through the 2000s; singles rarely appeared on Hot Latin Tracks, prompting the 2006 re-recording project Re-Haciendo la Historia: Los Exitos! of earlier Sony-era material.