Sombras Y Figuras (Shadows and Figures) is the twenty-seventh studio album (18th in Spanish) by the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, released in 1988 by the Melody record label. The tracklist includes songs from a series of composers who were quite popular at the time, such as the Argentine Miguel Mateos.
The group members at that time included Ricky Martin, Sergio Blass, Rubén Gómez, Angelo García, and new member Robert Avellanet. Robert replaced Raymond Acevedo after Raymond suddenly quit the band becoming the fourth member (Miguel Cancel 1st, Robby Rosa 2nd, and Ralphy Rodríguez 3rd) ever to do so.
With the album, Menudo achieved their best commercial performance on the Latin Pop Albums chart of Billboard (reaching the Top 20), as well as their second-best performance (reaching the Top 40) during the 1980s, with the single "Historia Del Primer Amor" on the Hot Latin Songs chart of the same magazine.
Background
The quintet at this time consisted of singers Ricky Martin, Sergio Blass, Rubén Gómez, Angelo García, and Robert Avellanet, who replaced Raymond Acevedo.
Raymond Acevedo, a member since 1985, left the band at age 16. The decision was motivated by administrative differences and a lack of security with the new management. During a press conference at the Melody record label's studios in Mexico City, he revealed that his farewell would take place during the promotional tour in Puerto Rico, at a performance scheduled for the last week of July that year (1989), at the Teatro de Bellas Artes de San Juan.
Promotion
In October 1988, the newspaper La Opinion reported that the group would be in Mexico the following month to promote the album Sombras y Figuras throughout the country.
Singles
The singles "En Mis Sueños" and Niña Luna were released in physical format. The song "Historia Del Primer Amor" reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart at position 34, staying among the most commercially successful songs for just one week (February 25, 1989). The song "Gafas Oscuras" reached the top positions on music charts in Mexico, and Venezuela.
Commercial performance
The album achieved Menudo's best commercial performance on the Latin Pop Albums chart of Billboard, peaking at number 16 and staying on the chart for thirteen consecutive weeks, the longest duration the group had with one of their albums on the list. According to the book Menudo: el reencuentro con la verdad, the album earned a platinum record in less than four weeks for its sales.
Track listing
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Weekly performance of Sombras & Figuras
!Music Chart (1988)
!Peak<br>Position
|-
|United States (Billboard Latin Pop Albums)