Ricky Martin Always Wanted To Be a Dad

By Jessica Gold Haralson and Linda Marx

Friday August 22, 2008 01:45 PM EDT

Ricky Martin

Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty

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Ricky Martin may have shaken his "bon-bon" for many years as a worldwide pop sensation, but friends of the Latin singer have no doubt he can settle down and be a great father to his new twin boys.

"I know Ricky will be as good a papi as he is a dancer," says Rene Ruiz, a Miami based fashion designer and friend of Martin. "His kids will be livin' la vida loca!"

Another Miami friend agrees: "Ricky is a very giving person, and will make a wonderful parent. He has wanted his own children for quite a while."–

While Martin's fatherhood – via gestational surrogacy, his rep confirms – came as a surprise to most of the world, the singer told PEOPLE he planned to be a father long before the twins' arrival.

"I would love to have children of my own because I know I can offer them a good life," he said at a Latin Music festival in Miami in 2005. "I genuinely like kids."

Martin is known for his generosity to children's charities over the years through his Ricky Martin Foundation, ALAS, and the International Organization for Migration.

He also supported children affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.