Ricky Martin becomes father of twin boys

Los Angeles: Latin American singer Ricky Martin will swing to a new beat after becoming the father of twin boys through a surrogate mother, his spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday.

Martin plans to take time away from his career to raise them, his spokesman added.

"Ricky is elated to begin this new chapter in his life as a parent and will be spending the remainder of the year out of the public spotlight in order to spend time with his children," said the statement issued by his New York-based spokesman.

The boys were delivered "via gestational surrogacy," but no further details were released.

The Puerto Rican native rose to fame with his smash hit song “Livin' La Vida Loca'' in 1999, and has churned out hits including “She Bangs'' and “Nobody Wants to Be Lonely''.