Julio Iglesias

Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (Madrid, Spain, September 23, 1943), better known as Julio Iglesias is a singer, songwriter, musician, producer, Former soccer player, lawyer and Spanish businessman.

He is credited as the most successful Latin artist in history. In 1983 he was recognized as the artist who has sold the most records in the most languages in the world and in 2013 as the Latin artist who has sold the most music in history. He is also recognized as the European singer with the most international commercial success to this day. In 2006, he was noted as the best-selling Latin music artist in the male category with sales of 250 million US dollars, certified by Guinness World Records (equivalent to 250 million albums). Julio Iglesias has recorded 80 albums, sung in 14 languages, has more than 2600 certified gold and platinum records. It is estimated that during his career he has offered more than 5,000 concerts, he has also performed for more than 60 million people on five continents. In April 2013, he was awarded in Beijing as the Latin artist who has sold the most records. In Spain, his native country, is the artist who has sold the most albums with 23 million copies.^{[citation required]}

He has won important and prestigious awards from the recording industry such as: the Grammy and Latin Grammy, World Music Award, Billboard Award, Silver Gaviota, ASCAP, American Music Award and Lo Nuestro Award among others. He has been awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts from Spain and the Legion of Honor from France. He was named UNICEF Special Ambassador for the Performing Arts in 1989. He has also institutionalized September 8 as "Julio Iglesias Day" in Miami since 1997 and his star has been seen on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 1985. On April 2013, he was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.

On December 19, 2018, the American Recording Academy presented Julio Iglesias with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a special Grammy Award that honors solo or group performers who during their lifetime they have made an outstanding contribution in the field of record recording.

According to the book Riquísimos, by journalist Jesús Salgado, Julio Iglesias is the ninth-fortunate man in Spain with an estimated net worth of 5.2 billion dollars in 2009.

Biography

Origins and childhood

Julio Iglesias was born in the city of Madrid on September 23, 1943 in the old maternity hospital on Calle del Mesón de Paredes, into a wealthy family. He is the eldest son of the doctor Julio Iglesias Puga (1915-2005) and María del Rosario de la Cueva y Perignat (1919-2002). He shared his childhood with his brother Carlos Luis On his paternal side, he descends from Galicians. His father was born in Orense. His paternal grandparents were Manuela Puga Noguerol (1888-1965) and the pharmacist Ulpiano Iglesias Sarria (1876-1956). His grandfather José María de la Cueva y Orejuela (1887-1955) was a well-known Andalusian journalist, and his grandmother Her name was Dolores de Perignat y Ruiz de Benavides, a native of Guayama (Puerto Rico) when the island belonged to Spain, before the Spanish-American War.

Youth and studies

In his youth he signed as a goalkeeper for Juvenil B of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, one of Real Madrid's youth teams. He shared a dressing room with Manuel Velázquez Villaverde, Ramón Moreno Grosso, Pedro de Felipe, Luis Costa, Espejo and Hernández. An outstanding athlete, Julio harbored hopes of playing soccer professionally and achieved his dream by joining Real Madrid's first team as a goalkeeper. "I feel at home in the world of soccer and I love it immensely," said Julio, who alternated football with his law degree studies. He only had one subject left to finish his studies, when his professional career as a soccer player ended with a dramatic accident in 1962. He abandoned his law studies at the University of Madrid to later resume them at the University of Murcia during the 1990s. until finally in 2001 he finished his studies at the Complutense University of Madrid when he only had one subject left.

Accident, recovery and trip to England

At 2 in the morning on September 22, 1962, Julio Iglesias, together with a group of friends, celebrated a night of fun. The car in which they were traveling hit the Majadahonda road in Madrid. None of them remember how they later arrived at the Eloy Gonzalo Hospital. Julio Iglesias, according to the medical report, had no hope of walking again. He was semi-paralyzed for a year and a half and his ability to walk depended on constant therapy and exercises. Julio completely gave up football and his job at Real Madrid. Eladio Madaleno, a young nurse who took care of him in the hospital, was the person who gave him a guitar for the first time, as therapy for him to exercise his fingers and pass the time. Strumming the old guitar he began to accompany his poems with music and the poems became songs. Julio was recovering from his injury while writing poems and listening to the radio. From this sadness and pain and with the help of a guitar, he discovered this new passion that ended up involving his life and influencing the way of listening to music all over the world.

Part of his recovery was also carried out, during several summers, in the Castellón city of Peñíscola where his family spent the summer. A fact rarely mentioned in his biographies is that he played in the venues of the old town of Peñíscola, making a duet with other local musicians. In this same town there is a hotel dedicated to him and inaugurated by his father and named after one of his songs, "Hey!"

Once recovered, he resumed his studies and traveled to London to learn English, first at Ramsgate and then at Bell's Language School in Cambridge. Some weekends he would sing in a pub, the Air Port Pub, songs that were popular at the time by Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and The Beatles. And it was there, in Cambridge, where he met Gwendolyne Bollore and who inspired one of his most famous songs: "Gwendolyne".

Benidorm and Eurovision Festival

Julio Iglesias decided to go to a record company and offered one of his songs with the intention that a singer from the firm would interpret it. The manager, after listening to the recording, made on a simple tape recorder by Julio with the sole help of his guitar, asked him: "And why don't you sing it?" To which Julio replied: "Because I'm not a singer." In the end they convinced him and he appeared at the then famous Benidorm International Song Festival. On July 17, 1968, he was proclaimed the winner of this contest with his song "La vida sigue igual", which he composed during his convalescence. This first success made him sign a contract with Columbia Records, the Latin section of Columbia Records. Then he recorded his first single, with his first famous song, which was an award winner and quickly went to number one on the Spanish charts.

In February 1969, he participated in the International Golden Deer Festival in the Romanian city of Brașov. During this year, she also recorded her first album "Yo canto", at the DECCA studios in London and did her first tour in Spain. She participated in the X Viña del Mar International Song Festival, in Chile. She also performed at the Sanremo Song Festival and starred in her first film, an autobiographical film named after her first hit song, Life Goes On.

With his song «Gwendolyne» in 1970, Julio Iglesias won the Barcelona Song Festival at the Palacio de las Naciones in Montjuic and the right to represent Televisión Española in the Eurovision Song Contest, which that year it was held in Amsterdam; he achieved fourth place with "Gwendolyne".

First successes

Julio Iglesias at the Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión 1970 in Amsterdam.

Despite not winning Eurovision, Julio Iglesias recorded the song "Gwendolyne" in four languages. The Spanish version ranked first on the Spanish and Latin American charts. At the beginning of his career, he attended radio programs on Radio Madrid and Radio Intercontinental by veteran Ángel de Echenique —which were held live— where he won the Ruede la Bola contest and numerous other awards. During that time he was reviled on numerous occasions for not having a prodigious voice or extensive knowledge of singing and was constantly compared to singers of great projection and great talent such as his compatriots Camilo Sesto, Raphael or the Mexican José José. During 1970 the singer was invited to the Luxembourg Song Festival and to a television festival in Germany. He also participated in Midem in Cannes, France and in the Osaka Film Festival in Japan. Likewise, he broke a new record in Spain: 41 concerts in 41 different cities, over 30 days, one of them to inaugurate the Puerto Banús complex in Marbella, with the presence of Princess Grace of Monaco and the imam Aga Khan.

That year (1970) Julio Iglesias met María Isabel Preysler Arrastia at a party, the woman who would inspire his first romantic songs and who gave him three children. On January 29, 1971, in the Toledo municipality of Illescas, he married Isabel in the Chapel of La Quinta, and celebrated their honeymoon in Gran Canaria. On September 3 of that year in Estoril, his first daughter, María Isabel Iglesias Preysler, better known as Chábeli Iglesias, was born.

During 1971, he achieved his first million records sold, participated in the Knokke Festival in Belgium, made his first promotional tour through Latin America and traveled for the first time to Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico. He also makes a new tour of Spain and other European countries. He also traveled to Japan for the second time and that same year he recorded the song "Anatamo Uramo" in Japanese, a version of his song "Como el álamo al camino".

Consolidation in Latin America and Europe

In 1972, his song "Un canto a Galicia" occupies the first places in the charts and sales in Latin America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and reached number one in countries such as Germany and France. In addition, he receives the award as the largest record seller in the world from his company, Columbia Discos, and records his first German-language album, Und das Meer Singt Sein Lied , the best-selling album. of a million copies.

On February 25, 1973 in Madrid, while the singer was on a concert tour of Europe and Latin America, his second child was born, the first boy, Julio José Iglesias Preysler, better known as Julio Iglesias, Jr. In addition After reaching his first 10 million records sold that year, 1973, he managed to win more awards than any artist in Spain and Latin America. Among them: the Guaicaipuro de Oro in Venezuela, the Pueblo Popular in Spain, the Antena in Colombia and El Heraldo in Mexico, among many others. The following year, in 1974, his song "For the love of a woman", written by Danny Daniel and inspired by the Argentine actress Marcia Bell, became a great success around the world and occupies the first places in Europe, Africa, America. America, Asia, United States and Canada. He tours Europe, Latin America and Canada and has his first performance at Carnegie Hall in New York.

In 1975, immersed in international tours, his third child was born in Madrid on May 8, his second child, Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler, now also a singer Enrique Iglesias. It will be in that year when he releases his first album in Portuguese, Manuela , and also in Italian, with the same title. His first performance in 1976 at New York's Madison Square Garden achieved box office sales in less time, as far as a performance by a singer is concerned. That year he toured Latin America and Europe and released his second album in Italian, Se mi lasci non vale. In 1977, he broke the attendance record in Chile, where more than 100,000 people attend his concert at the National Stadium in Santiago. In the summer of 1977 the singer reached the figure of 35 million records sold worldwide, and his album Love reached the top positions in 44 countries. As a way of promoting his concert at the National Stadium, the Chilean National Television Press Department invites the singer to start the news program 60 minutos and he was named honorary presenter of said program by Raúl Matas informative. That same year he separated from Isabel Preysler, and they obtained an annulment of their marriage.

Contract with CBS

As the years go by, the fame and success of Julio Iglesias grows more and more. The Spanish conquers markets singing in English, Japanese, German, Portuguese, Italian and French. In 1978 he installed his official residence in Miami (United States), and signed a multi-million dollar contract with CBS International. Throughout that year, 1978, his album A mis 33 años, produced by Ramón Arcusa, reached the top charts in 56 countries, toured Europe and Latin America, and released his first album. in French, Aimer la vie; he was named artist of the year in France. He also releases his third album in Italian, I am a pirate, I am a signore and in Italy he is also named artist of the year.

Her 1979 album Emociones surpasses previous successes. It spent eight weeks as the best-selling LP in Germany and from it come great hits that reach number one in countries in Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East; It is the first time that songs in Spanish reach number one in countries with a different language. That same year, the song "Quiéreme mucho" reached number one in Germany. The French version of the album Emotions, called A vous les femmes [To you women], sells a million records in France and gives to Julio Iglesias fame in French-speaking countries.

Ramón Arcusa will become Julio's almost sole producer from 1978 to 1995, as well as arranger of his record songs and co-author of many of his hit songs, such as «Soy un truhán, soy un señor», «Quijote or "Poor devil" ["A vous les femmes"].

International success

According to CBS estimates, during the period 1979-1982, Julio Iglesias was the biggest record seller in the United States and Latin America. In 1980 he released the album Hey! , nominated for a Grammy Award in the Latin Pop Album category and which will be one of his greatest successes. The album reached the top positions in almost the entire world and it is estimated that some 20 million units were sold worldwide. He will go on several tours that year and even sing in front of the Egyptian Pyramids as a guest of President Anwar el-Sadat. At the end of 1980, the French weekly Paris Match chooses its favorites: a Spanish singer, Julio Iglesias, heads the list of his field, followed by Frenchmen Jean Ferrat and Renaud.

In 1981 he presents his concerts in Egypt, Israel, Australia, Europe and Latin America. He is invited by Princess Grace of Monaco to the Red Cross Gala in Monte Carlo. He sings at a benefit concert at the Wolf Trapp Theater in Virginia, which was attended by the first lady of the United States, Nancy Reagan. He obtains the Gaviota de Plata award in Viña del Mar (Chile). Julio Iglesias receives the CBS Cristal Globe Award in Paris as his best-selling artist. CBS awards him the Crystal Globe for exceeding 5 million albums sold worldwide —except in the United States— since he belongs to this company.

He is the third artist in the world to receive it. That same year, Julio Iglesias launched the Julio Iglesias concert in Jerusalem in Betamax format, recorded at La Piscina del Sultán Amphitheater in front of 20,000 people. On December 29, his father Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA, which kept him in Trasmoz (Zaragoza province) until the national police released him on January 19, 1982. This event caused Julio, already separated from Isabel Preysler, he moved his children to Miami where they settled in his mansion in Miami Beach.

In 1982, she broke the record of selling 1,200,000 copies of her album De niña a mujer in Japan. In six months and he is named Brightest Hope Male Vocalist by Japan's National Hit Committee. Also with the same album she breaks records in Brazil, it is multi-platinum, more than two million copies in eleven months and more than 80,000 people attend her concert at the Maracanã Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro. That year of 1982 his song "Begin the Beguine", sung in Spanish, is number one in the United Kingdom and all the tickets for five concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London are sold out.

A life-size wax statue of Julio Iglesias is inaugurated at the Grévin Museum in Paris. The Spanish magazine Cambio 16 named him character of the decade. His album Momentos reaches the top positions in 90 countries and will be nominated for a Grammy Award in the Latin Pop Album category. He toured Europe, Latin America and Africa and made his debut that year and sold out his first 14 concerts in Las Vegas. He also participates in the tribute to Bob Hope in Washington D. C., with the presence of Ronald Reagan and his wife.

Conquest of the US market

In 1983 in Paris, Julio Iglesias receives the first and only diamond disc award, which has never been given to a singer by the Guinness Book of Records, for having sold more records in more different languages than any other musical artist in history, 100 million copies in six languages, and the then mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, decorated him with the Paris Medal. He tours Canada, the United States, Africa, Asia, and Europe. In Spain he is received by Their Majesties Juan Carlos I and Sofía and performs in a packed football stadium, the Camp Nou in Barcelona, in front of 80,000 people. He does his first Japan concert tour with an attendance of four hundred thousand people in 23 concerts. In turn, in the United States, he obtained the gold record and sold more than 850,000 copies of his album July . He sings with Willie Nelson at the Country Music Festival in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a special guest at the Kirk Douglas Tribute in Los Angeles. He appears on three Johnny Carson shows and on Solid Gold and the Merv Griffin Show . He is invited by the White House to participate in the Christmas concert and show from Washington D.C. along with President Ronald Reagan and Andy Williams.

Julio Iglesias in an interview in Boston in 1984.

In 1984, he signed a global advertising and promotion contract with Coca-Cola and released his first album in English, 1100 Bel Air Place, which has sold eight million copies worldwide. In the United States the album is multi-platinum and four million copies are sold. The disc includes the song "To all the girls I've loved before", sung as a duet with Willie Nelson. They receive two nominations at the Country Music Awards and win the Single of the Year award. The disc also includes the single "All of you", sung as a duet with Diana Ross. That year she had six albums simultaneously on the Billboard 200 list of best-selling albums in the United States, a feat achieved only by the Beatles and Elvis Presley. All tickets for ten nights at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles are sold out and in just two hours, all tickets for eight nights at Radio City Music Hall in New York. In Los Angeles, he presents Michael Jackson with the Grammy for Best Song of the Year. He is invited to the White House for an official dinner in honor of French President François Mitterrand. He co-chaired that year Sprint (Special Preventive Research, Intervention and New Technology for Children at UCLA), a charitable organization specializing in prenatal surgery, and his research.

In 1985 he retired to live in the Bahamas for a year and recorded his album Libra there. She participates in a telethon to help the victims of the Mexico City earthquake. She organizes and participates in another telethon to raise funds to help the victims of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano disaster, in Armero (Colombia). She participates in the song "Cantaré, Cantarás" along with various American artists for the Hermanos philanthropic foundation to help children in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. She also leads an anti-drug campaign in France. On November 7, Julio Iglesias receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This star is located in the southern part of Hollywood Boulevard, between Orange and Sycamore streets, in front of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. He is also a guest that year for a Bob Hope special in London, with the presence of Duke Philip of Edinburgh. In Paris he sells all the tickets for twenty concerts.

In 1986, he performed with Plácido Domingo and Charles Aznavour (directed by Zubin Mehta) at the Lincoln Center in New York, in celebration of the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty. She organizes and participates in the homage to Don Pedro Vargas in Mexico, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. She sings with Frank Sinatra at a concert to benefit the Cancer Hospital in Palm Springs, California, and opens, with Willie Nelson, the Farm Aid concert to benefit American farmers. He is named that year honorary president of the American Muscular Dystrophy Association and performs a concert, in Los Angeles, to benefit the Ford Foundation for abandoned children. He tours Japan and another five-month tour of the United States, where he offers 93 concerts in 47 cities, to 550,000 people in 140 days, including in front of 45,000 people at the Houston Rodeo. He also becomes part of the Miami Heat NBA basketball team as an owner partner.

In 1987, the Bravo Award awarded Julio Iglesias the Vida Award as the greatest figure in Latin music. He is named Marshall of the Mardi Gras Festivities in New Orleans and at the Grammy Awards, he presents Burt Bacharach with the Best Song award. During this time, Julio Iglesias is regularly featured on American television as the most famous singer on the planet.

In 1988 he released his second album in English Non-Stop which includes a duet song with Stevie Wonder titled «My Love». She won the Grammy Award in the category of Best Latin Pop Performer of the year 1987 for the album Un hombre solo , composed and produced entirely by Manuel Alejandro. He is also artist of the year for the Aplauso & # 39; 92 awards, awarded by the Miami radio station FM92. He is named adoptive son of the Spanish town of Villareal, and father of the year by the American association The Father's Day Council. He does a world concert tour of the United States and 22 other countries. Among them, China, where he makes his first promotional tour and becomes the first international artist to have his own live television special, on the Chinese national television station, in Beijing, with an estimated audience of 400 million viewers, and sings a duet "To all the girls I've loved before" with the show's host. He also visits the Philippines, where he meets Philippine President Corazon Aquino at his concert in Manila, in which he sings the traditional song "Dahil sa'yo."

In Spain, he celebrates his twenty years of artistic career in the bullring of Benidorm. A concert of his is the official opening act of the 1988 International Exposition held in Brisbane, Australia, and he tops the list of stars performing at the opening ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games in Korea, which is televised worldwide. He also performs at the Royal Command Performance in London, attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne of the United Kingdom. That year he participated in the Aventura 92 project to take Hispanic children on the same journey that Christopher Columbus made, in a benefit concert for the Óscar de La Renta Foundation, in the Altos de Chavón, Dominican Republic, and in the Lou Rawls concert pro United Black Collage Fun Drive. He also holds a five-hour concert at Barcelona's Nou Camp football stadium in front of more than 100,000 spectators and is televised live to the entire world. Of said concert, 50 minutes are selected to form the video Julio Iglesias in Spain.

In 1989, Julio Iglesias is appointed by UNICEF as Special Representative for Artistic Performances, which includes concerts to raise funds around the world. That year he is awarded the title of honorary international professor of music by The New World School of the Arts in Miami, in addition a scholarship is created that bears his name, which is awarded to a student annually. He is performing at the 25th Crystal Ball event at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City to benefit Mount Sanai School of Medicine. He participates, along with other stars, in the Inaugural Gala for President George Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. On February 11, Julio Iglesias appears playing himself in the episode "Valentine's Day" in the popular American television series The Golden Girls. The Scopus Awards present him in concert as part of the tribute to Johnny Carson. He releases the album Raíces, which includes classic medleys in Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese. He also records the song "Soñadores de España" with Plácido Domingo. He receives a star in Nagoya (Japan). Eugenio Fontán, as president of Radio Spain, presents the award that accredits him as number 1 on the Onda Media and Top 40 lists. Only perfume is launched for sale by Julio Iglesias at a press conference in April. He goes on a world tour that includes a few days in the Soviet Union. He receives an artist of the year award along with Clint Eastwood and Bette Davis from The American Cinema Awards.

World Consecration

In 1990 he released his third album in English Starry Night, which was critically acclaimed. He records his first television special for HBO and is a guest on the most important programs on the major American television networks, such as Oprah Winfrey, Arsenio Hall, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and Joan Rivers. He tours Asia and performs at benefit concerts for UNICEF. On January 30, 1990, he received a tribute from the residents of Miami, the city where he lives, and was awarded a star in Little Havana's Stars of Fame, on Calle Ocho. Also that year he receives the Rudolph Valentino award along with Robert Mitchum and Jane Wyman. The 1991 tour spans Asia, Canada, South America and Europe. He also performs a benefit concert for UNICEF in Houston and another in Phoenix for the relatives of the soldiers who were in the Persian Gulf War and participates in the special program of Anne Murria at Disneyworld, which is televised in Canada and the United States. International news agencies highlight his concert in front of 170,000 people in Parque O'Higgins, in Santiago de Chile, considered the largest audience in South America for a similar event. Since January 28, 1991 there is a star of fame for Julio Iglesias in Scheveningen, the Netherlands. That year in Miami, Julio took the oath to the Spanish flag aboard the training ship of the Spanish Navy Juan Sebastián Elcano. Julio Iglesias presents in 1992, from Santo Domingo, his album Calor , which is released in five different editions: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and German. The album receives numerous awards around the world. That year's tour took him through Central America, the United States and Europe. In 1992 he received the title of "Universal Spanish" in Florida by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United States, and the Board of Galicia named him Ambassador of Jacobean Culture 93. In 1993 he recorded the song "Summer Wind" with Frank Sinatra and made a US tour; He performs at the James L. Knight in Miami with the usual success and performs concerts for six days at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, in March, July and September, always with the same success. He is also nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Latin Pop Album for Calor and is in charge of closing the 1993 East Asian Games, singing in Mandarin La paloma to duet with Chinese singer Wei Wei. He presents his album Crazy from Paris in 1994. The album features collaborations in duets such as "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" with Dolly Parton, or "Fragile" with Sting. In Taiwan, Debby Chang, Miss China 1988, presented her with a Double Platinum record for record sales, and Susan Kim, from Sony Korea, presented her with an award for sales of more than 340,000 copies in that country. He goes on a big world tour again. In May 1994, he participated in two episodes of the television series General Hospital invited by Ricky Martin, and in which Julio plays himself. This year he gave a gala concert in Miami to benefit the Jackson Memorial. And at the delivery of the Spanish Ondas Awards in 1994, Julio Iglesias was awarded a Special Award for being considered the artist with the greatest international career in the history of radio.

The album La carretera was released in 1995 in four editions: in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, and he became the first artist to achieve a platinum record in one day on sale. Spain. That year he toured 28 different countries in Europe in just two months. He is honored in Beijing, by the Chinese government, as the first foreigner in the history of this country to receive the prestigious Golden Record Award. In addition, on May 18, 1995, the coveted award, Premio Excelencia, which annually honors those who have contributed their talents to enrich Latin music, is presented to Julio Iglesias at the Lo Nuestro award ceremony in the Univision Network. In 1996 his album Tango was released with 35 gold and multi-platinum records all over the world. It is estimated that the sales of this album reach 10 million copies. IFPI awards Julio Iglesias the Platinum Europe Awards, a platinum record in recognition of sales in Europe of more than one million copies for his album Crazy and another for La carretera. This year he is nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Latin Pop Album for La carretera . This album receives the Billboard award for best Latin Pop Album of the year. In addition, the Spanish radio station Cadena Dial awards him the Dial of the Year Award, and he is honored by the Mexican program Siempre en domingo, presented by Raúl Velasco, where several Latino artists sing a duet with him. One of these artists is Thalía, who shortly after would be invited by Iglesias himself to be the main dancer in his video clip "Baila Morena". In 1997, Julio obtained the award for Best Latin Singer at the World Music Award, held in Monaco. He also receives a Gold Medal from the General Society of Authors of Spain (SGAE). In October of this year he received a special prize from the Radio City Music Hall Award for being the foreign artist who has presented the most concerts in this prestigious hall in New York City. On September 8, at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, he receives ASCAP's Pied Piper Award at the Fifth Anniversary of The Latin Music Awards (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) the most prestigious honor given to the artists. For the first time it is awarded to a Latino. Iglesias is also honored that night by Miami Mayor Joe Carollo, who proclaimed September 8 as Julio Iglesias Day. He performs at the presidential gala in honor of United States President Bill Clinton, and is awarded the IFPI Platinum Europe Awards in recognition of sales in Europe of over one million copies for his album Tango.

Julio Iglesias in 2008.

On June 19, 2000, he presented his album Noche de Cuatro Lunas. Julio Iglesias has for this album composers and producers such as Estéfano, Alejandro Sanz, Draco Rosa, Rubén Blades and the collaborations of Alejandro Fernández and Daniel. The album sells three million copies. The album is followed by a world tour which includes: Europe, South America and North America. On October 6, Correos España issues a stamp as a tribute to his artistic career. The circular stamp with a diameter of 33.2 mm and a value of €1.20 is published for legal use with a circulation of 650,000 copies.

In 2001, he toured 26 cities in Spain and a large part of the United States, and moved to El Salvador to offer a benefit concert in the capital of this country, so hard hit by earthquakes and floods. favor of the victims. On September 11, in Los Angeles, at the second edition of the Latin Grammys organized by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, LARAS, Julio Iglesias receives the Latin Grammy award for personality of the year. This tribute honors the professional achievements of Julio Iglesias. Michael Greene, President of the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy states: “Julio Iglesias is the ultimate ambassador of Latin culture and music throughout the world. It is rare to see a man with such talent, passion and dedication to his culture and his fans. It is a pleasure for the Academy to pay tribute to such an international treasure." In October he releases an album in Italian titled Una donna può cambiar la vita , and in November, another in Portuguese titled Ao meu Brasil . On December 12, the Spanish Independent Foundation awards the singer with the Universal Spanish award, a recognition that the artist thanks during a press conference held at the General Society of Authors and Publishers, SGAE.

On February 13, 2002, he was nominated for the Latin Billboard Awards as the best vocal duo with the song "Dos corazón, dos historias" with Alejandro Fernández. He finally wins the ALMA award (American Latin Media Award), on Saturday, June 1, for the best performance in Spanish in a television special on Telemundo's Latin Billboard program. The ALMA Awards were created in 1995 by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) to recognize the artistic achievement and enhancement of the image of Hispanics in the United States. The artist's mother, Rosario de la Cueva, passed away on March 14 after a long illness. On August 17, Julio Iglesias attends, in Puerto Banús, Marbella, the inauguration of the first street named after him in Spain: Avenida Julio Iglesias. In recognition of his international projection, on September 12, 2002, he was named ambassador of the cocido de Lalín and received the gold insignia of that Galician municipality from its mayor, who, as Grand Commander of the Cocido, carried out the symbolic imposition of a spoon on the singer. This, in said act, also receives the cape that distinguishes the members of the "Encomienda del Cocido", a gastronomic-cultural society whose objective is the promotion and dissemination of this traditional Galician dish, made in Lalín with famous delicacy. Also in 2002 he was named Winemaker of Honor at the Harvest Festival, which is held at the end of September, and ambassador of the Ribera del Duero for his passion for riverside wines.

Julio Iglesias leaves his footprints in the Olympiapark in Munich on July 27, 2003. Munich Olympic Walk of Star (MOWOS) is a walk along the Olympic lake where famous personalities, who have achieved success in the Olympic stadium, are immortalized with the prints of their hands or feet in cement. Onda Cero Radio Spain awards its 2003 Protagonistas prizes to Luis del Olmo, which go to, among others, Julio Iglesias, Ferrán Adriá and Joan Manuel Serrat. They are also invested as brothers of the Gastronomic Brotherhood of the Real Botillo del Bierzo.

On April 10, 2004, he is declared an illustrious son of Viña del Mar, the distinction is given to the artist by the mayor, who emphasizes that the municipality grants him that distinction because Julio Iglesias began his international career on the stage of the Fifth Vergara. On May 18, 2004, when Julio was 61 years old, Jaime Iglesias was born, his second brother and the son of Dr. Iglesias and Ronna Keitt. This year, Julio is the preacher of the August Fair in Malaga. He gives concerts in France, on June 11 and 12, 2004, at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, and on September 15 and 16 at the Olympia with the tour of the album Divorce, after 20 years absent on the French scene, he participates in many radio and television programs. Queen Sofía, accompanied by the then Princess Letizia, presides on Wednesday, September 22, at the Palacio de Vistalegre in Madrid, the charity gala "I forgot to live", in favor of Alzheimer's patients. Julio Iglesias participates with other artists in the gala, whose funds raised went to the Alzheimer Project of the Queen Sofía Foundation.

Churches in 2005.

In February 2005, the French channel France 2 dedicated a special program Un samedi soir avec Julio Iglesias and then broadcast it worldwide on the French-speaking channel TV5 Internacional. In May 2005 the album, sung entirely in French, L'homme que je suis, was released, directly reaching third place in sales in France. The promotion of the album is accompanied by a concert tour through France and Belgium, from May 27 to June 25. On November 29, 2005, the Queen of Spain, Sofía of Greece, presides over the gala dinner at which the gold medals of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in New York are awarded, which Julio Iglesias, Henry Kissinger and Beatriz Santo receive that year Sunday. The Reina Sofía Spanish Institute was founded in 1954 to promote understanding of Spanish culture, past and present, and its influence in the Americas through a variety of programs. Just a few days after announcing his second child with Ronna, Dr. Iglesias Puga dies suddenly on the morning of December 19, 2005, at the age of ninety.

On February 11, 2006, Julio Iglesias performs a benefit gala in memory of his friend and attorney Shep King (died 2003) to benefit the Shep King College Fund and the American Jewish Committee. Ruth, daughter of Dr. Iglesias, was born on July 26, 2006 (the day she would have turned 91). On September 18, Julio Iglesias launches his album Romantic Classics in New York and begins a promotional tour with live performances on American television programs such as Good Morning America, CBS Early Show, The View, Martha Stewart Show, Dancing with the Stars or Fox and Friends. In addition, he records in Mandarin and Indonesian (both for the first time) and in Filipino, performing a new version of his hit song "Crazy" for the Chinese, Indonesian, and Philippine editions of the album. For these last two countries, he records two new versions of his well-known duet with Diana Ross, "All of you", this time with the Filipina Lea Salonga and the Indonesian Anggun.

Living legend

I look for churches in Benidorm, Spain.

According to the Encyclopedia of Spanish in the World, presented by the director of the Instituto Cervantes in October 2006, Picasso and Dalí were the most consulted icons on the Internet in 2005, followed by Julio Iglesias, with just over 50,000 searches, and the actor Antonio Banderas. In fifth place is Goya, with 23,500 queries, and in sixth, Miró with 22,382. Thus, Julio Iglesias is the most searched-for Spaniard alive on the Internet.

Julio Iglesias has had a romantic relationship with Miranda Johanna Maria Rijnsburger, a Dutch model, whom he met in Leimuiden (Netherlands) since 1995. The couple have five common children: Miguel Alejandro, born on September 7, 1997, Rodrigo, born on April 3, 1999, the twins Victoria and Cristina, born on May 1, 2001, and Guillermo, born on May 5. from 2007.

The singer's life takes place between Punta Cana, to the east of the Dominican Republic, a country he calls a "second homeland" and from which he has acquired nationality, Miami (United States) and Marbella (Spain), along with Miranda and their children. The tours continue in 2007 and until the beginning of 2008. In June 2009, the plenary session of the Málaga Provincial Council approved naming the singer Julio Iglesias the adoptive son of the province, due to his links with Málaga, since the municipalities of Ojén and Marbella are his places of residence in Spain for years.

Julio Iglesias marries Miranda in Marbella on August 24, 2010.

On April 1, 2013, he receives two historic awards in Beijing: China's First and Most Popular International Artist of All Time, an award from Sony Music China, presented to him by world-famous Chinese artist Lang Lang, and the Guinness World Record for being the Latino artist who has sold the most records in the world, granted by Guinness World Records.

In 2015, the Berklee College of Music, one of the most recognized private universities worldwide in the field of music, granted Julio Iglesias the distinction of Doctor Honoris Causa, for his extensive and successful career and influence in the musical world.

In June 2016, Julio Iglesias receives the highest award an artist in Asia can receive, "The Brand Laureate", for his achievements as a musical artist around the world. world.

In May 2019, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences American, honorary award for her entire successful career.

Trademarks and certifications

Barrel signed by Julio Iglesias.

Guinness Book of Records

• First and only prize " diamond seafood" never given to a singer by the Guinness Book of Records for selling more albums, 100 million copies, in more languages than any other musical artist in history (Spanish, German, Japanese, English, Italian, Portuguese, French, tagalo...) (1983).
• It gains the record as the "most successful Latin interpreter in the world," with global sales of more than 300 million albums. July (1987) was the first non-English-language album to sell more than two million copies in the United States and the only non-English-language album to obtain double platinum certification there.
• Guinness World Record for being the Latin artist who sold most albums in the world, which was awarded by the Guinness World Records on April 1, 2013.

Tributes

Awards

World Music Award

• LEGEND Award in recognition of its global successes and its global contribution to the musical industry (1997).

ASCAP Award

• ASCAP Pied Piper Award for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publicists. It is the most prestigious honor given to artists in the United States and is given to those whose work has made significant contributions to communication and music. For the first and only time a Latino was granted (1997)

SGAE Award

• Condecorated with the Gold Medal of the General Society of Authors of Spain (1997)

AMA (American Music Awards)

• Award as Latin Artist Favorito (1998).

Grammy Awards

• Prize Best Latin Pop Performance by "A man alone" (1988).
• Nominated Best Latin Recording by "Hey" (1981).
• Nominated Best Latin Recording by "Moments" (1983).
• Nominated Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group by "As Time Goes By" with Willie Nelson (1985).
• Nominated Best Latin Pop Album for "Calor" (1993).
• Nominated Best Latin Pop Performance by "The Road" (1996).
• Nominated Best Latin Pop Performance by «Tango» (1998).
• Prize Lifetime Achievement Award (2019).

Latin Grammy Awards

• Personality of the Year Award, this tribute paid tribute to professional achievements (2001).

Billboard Latin Music Awards

• Award for Latin American Album Pop for the Year The road (1996).
• Nominated for Best Vocal Duo of the Year by Two hearts, two stories with Alejandro Fernández (2002).

CMA Awards (Country Music Association)

• Prize Vocal Duo Of The Year by "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" with Willie Nelson (1984).
• Nominated Single Of The Year by "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" with Willie Nelson (1984).

ACM Awards (Academy of Country Music)

• Prize Single Of The Year by "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" with Willie Nelson (1985).
• Nominated Vocal Duo Of The Year by "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" with Willie Nelson (1985).

Our Award

• Award for the excellence of Latin music (1995).

China's Golden Record Award

• Award awarded by the Chinese government, the highest musical distinction in China and the first and only foreign artist to receive it (1996).

ALMA Award (American Latin Media Award)

• Best interpretation on a TV special on the program Latin Billboard of Telemundo together with Alejandro Fernández (2002).

Other awards

• Columbia Records Award, as the largest record seller in the company's world (1972).
• The Herald of Mexico as Artist Revelation of the Year (1973).
• Guaicaipuro de Oro de Venezuela (1973).
• Pueblo Popular de España (1973).
• Antena Award of Colombia (1973).
• Artist of the Year in France and Italy (1978).
• Silver Gaviota at the Viña del Mar Festival in Chile (1981).
• CBS Crystal Globe Award for being the most selling artist of CBS (1981).
• Brightest Hope as a male vocalist by the National Hit Research Committee of Japan (1982).
• Vida Award for the greatest figure of Latin music, awarded by Bravo Award (1987).
• Artist of the year for the Aplauso 92 awards, awarded by the radio station of Miami FM 92 (1988).
• Artist of the year together with Clint Eastwood and Bette Davis, by the ACA American Cinema Awards (1989).
• Award that accredits you as n.o 1 in the lists of Onda Media and Top 40 in Radio España (1989).
• Rodolfo Valentino Prize together with Robert Mitchum and Jane Wyman (1990).
• Special Prize for the most international career in the history of the radio for the Spanish Ondas Awards (1994).
• Dial Award of Spain, as an artist of the year, awarded by the Dial Chain (1996).
• Radio City Music Hall Award by becoming the foreign artist who has most often acted on Radio City (1997).
• Music Legend Award as the most popular artist of all time in Latin America, award awarded by the International Academy of Art of Ischia, Italy (2007)
• First and most popular international artist of all time in China, a prize awarded by Sony Music China and delivered to him by the world-famous Chinese artist, Lang.

Titles, appointments and decorations

Boeing 787-8 of Air Europa baptized with the name "Julio Iglesias".

• At the Grévin Museum in Paris, a statue in wax and natural size (1982) is inaugurated in its honor.
• Condecorated with the Paris Medal, by Jacques Chirac, mayor of the city (1983).
• Receives the title of Universal Spanish in Florida by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United States (1992).
• Named Cultural Ambassador of Galicia for Xacobeo 93 (1992).
• Receives the title of Honorary International Professor of Music by the New World School of the Arts of Miami (1989).
• Named Honorary President of the American Association of Muscular Distrofia (1986).
• Named Mardi Gras Festival Marshal in New Orleans (1987).
• Named Father of the Year by the American Association The Father's Day Council (1988).
• Appointed Special Representative for Artistic Acts by UNICEF (1989).
• Honored by the mayor of Miami, Joe Carollo, who proclaimed September 8 as July Churches Day (1997).
• Receives the title of Ambassador of Valencia (1998).
• Honored in Puerto Banus, Marbella, with the first street that takes its name in Spain, Avenida Julio Iglesias (2002).
• Named Bodeguero de Honor and Ambassador of the Ribera del Duero for his passion for Spanish coastal wines (2002).
• Named Ambassador of the Cocido de Lalín and received the gold badge of that Galician municipality from the hands of its mayor (2002).
• Condecorated with the gold medal of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute of New York, by the Queen Sofia of Spain (2005).
• Condecorated as Knight of the Legion of Honour of France, by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic (2007).
• Adoptive Son of the Province of Malaga (2009).
• Gold Medal to merit in the Fine Arts (2009).
• Medalla de la Comunidad de Madrid (2012).
• Predilect Son of Madrid (2015).

Fame stars

• On the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles (1985).
• In Nagoya, Japan (1989).
• At the Little Havana's Stars of Fame in Miami (1990).
• In Scheveningen, Netherlands (1991).
• In the Boulevar of Stars of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (1998).
• At the Olympic Walk of Star in Munich, Germany (2003).
• On the Boulevard de la Fama de Puerto Banus.

In 2015, a study placed him among the ten world artists with the largest vocabulary, being the Spanish-speaking musician who uses the largest repertoire of words in his songs.

Predecessor: Salome with "Vivo singing"

Spain at the Eurovision Festival 1970

Successor: Karina with «In a New World»

Discography

• I sing (1969)
• Gwendolyne (1970)
• For a woman (1972)
• I am. (1973)
• Und Das Meer Singt Sein Lied (1973)
• A flower of skin (1974)
• Ich Schick Dir Eine Weiße Wolke (1974)
• Mexico (1975)
• Love (1975)
• Manuela
• America (1976)
• At 33 (1977)
• Aimer La Vie (1978)
• Da Manuela to Pensami (1978)
• Emotions (1978)
• A Vous Les Femmes (1979)
• Hey! (1980)
• Sentimental (1980)
• From girl to woman (1981)
• Moments (1982)
• 1100 Bel Air Place (1984)
• Libra (1985)
• A man alone (1987)
• Non Stop (1988)
• Roots (1989)
• Starry Night (1990)
• Calor (1992)
• Crazy (1994)
• Ao meu Brazil (1994)
• The road (1995)
• Tango (1996)
• Night of Four Moons (2000)
• A Donna Può Change the Vita (2001)
• Divorce (2003)
• L'homme que je suis (2005)
• Romantic classics (2006)
• Quelque chose de France (2007)
• Mexico (2015)
• Mexico & Friends (2017)
• Dois Coracoes (2017)

Collaborations on disks of other singers

• Without a Song by Willie Nelson (1983), song: As Time Goes By
• Joined voices by several artists (1985), song: I'll sing, you'll sing.
• Suspiros de España by Manolo Escobar (1987), song: A song to Galicia
• What a Wonderful World by Willie Nelson (1988), song: Spanish Eyes
• Dreamers of Spain de Plácido Domingo (1989), song: Dreamers of Spain
• Homenage by Lola Flores (1990), song: We're two walkers.
• Man's skin by José Luis Rodríguez «El Puma» (1992), song: Bullfighter
• The distance by Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira (1993), song: Brigas
• Duets by Frank Sinatra (1993), song: Summer Wind
• Sea in by Donato and Estéfano (1995), song: Nature
• Joined voices of several artists (1996), song: You can get...
• Friends by Paul Anka (1996), song: In my way (My Way)
• Since you've gone by Cecilia (Phost of 1996), song: A bunch of violets
• Nana latina by Nana Mouskouri (1996), song: I know you'll be back.
• ...And Friends of Raúl Di Blasio (piano) (1998), song: One.
• And he's still the king by José Alfredo Jiménez (1999), song: The king
• Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano de Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano (2002), song: Dois Amigos.
• Parenthèses de Françoise Hardy (2006), song: Partir quand même.
• The Ultimate Collection of Nana Mouskouri (2007), song: Return To Love.
• A star in the sky by Rocío Dúrcal (2010), song: How the years have passed.
• We are Young: 50 years of Dynamic Duo (2011), song: I am a truhan, I am a lord.
• Rendez-Vous de Nana Mouskouri (2012), song: Grande Grande.
• Los Del Río Tropical de Los Del Rio (2017), song: I am a truhan, I am a lord.
• Golden de Romeo Santos (2017), song: El Amigo.
• God The Cría de Andrés Calamaro (2021), song: Bohemio.
• Mía de Alfredo Taucher (2022),canción: Las Mujeres Latinas.

Videography

• Julio Iglesias en España (1989, 57 min) engraved in Spain (1988)
• Julio Iglesias en América (1990, 58 min)
• July Iglesias Tournée 88 (1989, 50 min)
• Starry Night (1991, 78 min)
• Julio Iglesias: My favorite characters (1992, 30 min)
• Julio Iglesias Rediscovered (2002, 50 min)
• July Churches in Jerusalem (2003, 50 min)

Filmography

• Life remains the same. Star Films Productions (Spain), 1969. Distributed by FILMMAYER (91 min)
• I forgot to live (every day, one day). Coral Films Productions (Spain), 1979. Distributed by FILMMAYER (97 min)