from julioiglesias.com translated by Kristin Nazaret
"My dear Rafa:
What an emptiness in my soul, what an emptiness on our stage and how sad the music without your music ...
How I miss those minutes after each concert ... those hours and hours talking about eternity, “the great beyond,” about the spirit ...Today, everything is already different, your magical notes are gone forever, you who were continually talking to me about your readings and your weariness and I, oblivious, never thought that we would go. You have gone, but your music stays in me and in all of us.The other day in Hawaii , I noted that you were distracted and I remember saying to someone "I've noticed that Rafa is not well." It seemed to me a farewell without a goodbye, however it was a goodbye without a farewell... My heart and my head are deeply sorry that I did not tell you at that moment how much I admired you and all that you represented for me and for the many millions of people who have loved your songs.I know we're going to see each other again in the universe of souls, of which you spoke to me so often. There you will be at your magic piano, waiting for all who love you and who miss you, to return to sing together in this universe of your talent.
Your friend and companion,
Julio"
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Rafael Ferro
Rafael Ferro passed away earlier this week. He was Julio's musical director and had worked with Julio for over 40 years.
He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as well as Julio's musical family.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Julio Iglesias speaks to his audiences
Julio Iglesias speaks to his audiences
Judith Salkin • Desert Post Weekly • June 24, 2010
If you think Julio Iglesias sounds sexy on the radio, try talking to him on the phone.
That smooth Spanish accent and voice are enough to make you melt, no matter how you feel about his music.
Iglesias, 66, returns to the Coachella Valley Saturday for a concert at The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage.
The singer kicked off his “Starry Night” tour in January in Uruguay and has included stops in Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, Hawaii and the Middle East before his stop in the desert.
He's squeezing in his desert concert before heading out to concerts in the rest of the United States and Canada. He finishes the tour in Europe.
“How is Palm Springs today?” Iglesias asks. “I have been coming there for 35 years, and I am always very happy when I am in the desert.”
Iglesias' early plans didn't include becoming a singer. He was studying law at Cambridge and playing goalie for the soccer team Real Madrid until a car wreck changed his life.
It was during his long recovery that Iglesias turned to music, learning to play guitar to regain strength in his hands.
Music “is in my blood,” he says. “It is who I am. You cannot change who you are.”
His career started in 1968 when he won the Festival de Benidorm song competition with “La Vida Sigue Igual.” Two years later, he won the Barcelona Song Festival with “Gwendolyne,” which also was Spain's entry in the Eurovision song festival.
There aren't a lot of singers who can claim Iglesias' international reputation. There are probably fewer still that sing in as many languages, including Japanese, Philippine Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesian and Mandarin Chinese.
It's translating his music into other languages that has challenged him over the past 40 years, Iglesias says.
“I am passionate about everything I do — when I fall in love, when I sing,” he says.
Translating that passion is what Iglesias strives for.
“The hardest part is that the phrases are not exact,” he says. “Like in America, the emphasis is on the end of the phrases. It was much harder for me to learn to sing this way.”
His duets with Willie Nelson (“To All the Girls I've Loved Before”), Diana Ross (“All of You”) and Stevie Wonder (“My Love”) helped him adapt to American music.
“It happened very naturally for me in the duets,” he says. “I was very lucky that Willie wanted to work with me. He was quite special. And Diana and Stevie, I learned the phrasing from (listening to) the sound of their voices.”
Even after more than four decades and hundreds of hits around the world, Iglesias is grateful for his voice and still being able to perform for his fans.
“I don't care what the size of the audience is,” he says.
“Forty or 50 thousand or 1,500. I don't take anything for granted, especially the people who come to see me.”
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Las Vegas Review
Julio Iglesias Sings His Canciones de Amor At the Las Vegas Hilton
Julio Iglesias is not your run-of-the-mill Las Vegas act. Now celebrating his 40th year in show business, Iglesias is playing the Las Vegas Hilton tonight and tomorrow (June 11 and 12). And, aside from his longevity, he is a rare entertainer in that he draws a vey large Latino audience along with the English-speaking people who come to his show. And, while it may skew slightly older, his audience is of all ages.
In addition to celebrating his career, Iglesias was given two awards before his show Friday night. The Las Vegas International Press Association bestowed its Maximum Hispanic Pride (Máximo Orgullo Hispano) award on him and the Clark County Commissioners declared June 10th “Julio Iglesias Day" ikn the county where Las Vegas is located.
But, of course, we're here to discuss his show, billed as an "Evening of Passion, Excitement, Romance."
Iglesias appears with a seven-piece band, three singers and two dancers. He mostly stands quietly as they all do their thing. Having never seen him in person before I have no comparison but he seems to be a classic crooner, quietly singing (with his eyes closed) and choosing songs very familliar to his audience. Of course, that means that only four songs were in English — All Of You, his hit with Diana Ross, To All The Girls I've Loved Before, the Albert Hammond song with which he had a hit with Willie Nelson and the two other Nelson numbers he recorded, Crazy and Always On My Mind. His interpretations of these four songs were lovely. Always On My Mind and To All The Girls I've Loved Before were especially so.
Iglesias' band was outstanding and the singers were good. The two dancers, however skilled they were, seemed superfluous as they distracted from the music.
Iglesias looks good and he sounds good. I must note that, unlike most concerts I've seen, even those performed by people who've been in the business as long as Iglesias, the audience tended to sing along with him as he did the music they know very well.. And by "sing," I mean they actually sang. Out loud. They didn't just mouth the lyrics. On one hand, it was distracting, even annoying. On the others, this man was clearly singing beloved songs that have meaning for his audience. So, I cannot exactly condemn them.
The show was, on the whole, quite a pleasant way to pass 90 minutes or so and different enough from the usual fare to be worth seeing.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Julio Iglesias Day- Las Vegas Newspaper Article
Julio Iglesias Receives award on Julio Iglesias Day
By Robin Leach (contact)
Friday, June 11, 2010 1:11 p.m.
Yesterday was a day of honors for Latin singer-songwriter superstar Julio Iglesias before the start of a three-night run at the Las Vegas Hilton. Julio, 66, received an honor from the State of Nevada proclaiming June 10, 2010, as Julio Iglesias Day; the Las Vegas International Press awarded him the Maximum Hispanic Pride Award; and Clark County Commissioners also proclaimed yesterday Julio Iglesias Day.
Julio, one of the Top 10 bestselling music artists in history, has sold more than 300 million albums from his 77 CDs in 14 languages. His sons Enrique and Julio Jr. followed in Dad’s footsteps and are successful artists in their own right. Fun fact amid the World Cup frenzy: Julio was a goalkeeper for one of Real Madrid’s teams, but a car accident in 1963 ended his soccer career.
(Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jun/11/julio-iglesias-receives-award-julio-iglesias-day-l/)
By Robin Leach (contact)
Friday, June 11, 2010 1:11 p.m.
Yesterday was a day of honors for Latin singer-songwriter superstar Julio Iglesias before the start of a three-night run at the Las Vegas Hilton. Julio, 66, received an honor from the State of Nevada proclaiming June 10, 2010, as Julio Iglesias Day; the Las Vegas International Press awarded him the Maximum Hispanic Pride Award; and Clark County Commissioners also proclaimed yesterday Julio Iglesias Day.
Julio, one of the Top 10 bestselling music artists in history, has sold more than 300 million albums from his 77 CDs in 14 languages. His sons Enrique and Julio Jr. followed in Dad’s footsteps and are successful artists in their own right. Fun fact amid the World Cup frenzy: Julio was a goalkeeper for one of Real Madrid’s teams, but a car accident in 1963 ended his soccer career.
(Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jun/11/julio-iglesias-receives-award-julio-iglesias-day-l/)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Julio Iglesias to melt hearts in Poughkeepsie
Julio Iglesias to melt hearts in Poughkeepsie
By Paula Ann MitchellFreeman staff
To all the girls he’s loved before (and those he hasn’t), guard your tender hearts. The man on the Bardavon Opera House stage this Sunday just may steal it away—in a glance or a song.
That performer could be none other than the Grammy-Award winning Julio Iglesias, the Spanish crooner, who’s sold more than 300 million albums in 14 languages, released 77 albums and been the recipient of more than 2,600 Platinum and Gold records in his illustrious career.
Sony Entertainment lists Iglesias as one of the top-10, best-selling music artists in history. In April, the singer received a Lifetime Achievement award from Sony Music Entertainment Malaysia for his extraordinary 43-year career.
Iglesias will be bringing his 2010 “Starry Night” world tour to the Poughkeepsie venue at 35 Market St. June 6 at 7 p.m., marking the first time the singer has ever been to the Mid-Hudson Valley.“I’m going to sing 43 years of music,” Iglesias recently told the Freeman. “For sure, I’ll be doing the classics, the songs people know. I play the music people want me to play,” he said in a phone call from Romania.
The “Starry Night” tour is named after his third English album, which enjoyed record-breaking sales in more than 50 countries. Iglesias will be traveling to five different continents for this year’s tour.It features some of his classic romantic ballads like “Crazy,” “Me Olvide de Vivir” (I Forgot to Live), “Hey!” and “Lo Mejor de tu Vida” (The Best of your Life).
He said he wants his entire audience, not just the female fans, to tremble with each note that he crafts and each breath that he takes.“For me, it is all about passion. I put passion into everything,” he said. “I sing because it is what I do with my life and what I love to do.”And it’s not just his velvety voice and the feeling he communicates in his music that steal the ladies’ hearts.
At 66, the debonair Iglesias still flaunts taut and chiseled features, gleaming white teeth and a muscular physique—the very picture of the “Latin Lover.”“I love them all,” he said of his fans all over the globe. “Not just the ladies, but I do love them most, and I learn from them and I respect them. It’s like a marriage between an artist and his audience.”Strangely, though, this wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out for the singer, who was born in Madrid in 1943 as Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva.In his younger days, Iglesias had studied law in Madrid and enjoyed success as a goalkeeper for the Real Madrid soccer team.
A car accident in 1963 ended his sports career, resulting in a compression of his spinal cord. It didn’t look too good for a man who was just 20 years old at the time.Doctors weren’t sure he’d ever be able to walk again, and it forced him to reach deep within to find courage and meaning.“There is much more acceleration in your brain and your soul when you have situations that cause you to change. You become a survivor,” Iglesias said.He began tinkering with stringed instruments, particularly the guitar, to regain hand strength, and in the process Iglesias discovered his musical gift.The singer’s big break came in 1968 when he won a music contest with his original song, “La Vida Sigue Igual” (Life Stays the Same).Not long after, he singed a deal with Discos Columbia, the Spanish branch of Columbia Records, and released his debut album La Vida Sigue Igual in 1969.Iglesias rose to international prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.
In addition to Spanish, he has recorded albums in German, French, Italian, English, Portuguese, Tagalog and Japanese.One of his most memorable English songs was the 1984 “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” a duet recorded with country legend Willie Nelson. The song earned a fifth-place spot in the Billboard Hot 100 that year.The following year, Iglesias was honored with a star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and three years later, he won a Grammy Award for best Latin singer with the album “Un Hombre Solo” (A Man Alone).Iglesias has also performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Sting.
Today, his son, Enrique Iglesias, is a noted pop singer and songwriter, who has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.
The elder Iglesias, meantime, is looking forward to his upcoming engagement in the Hudson Valley, although this certainly isn’t the first time he’s played in New York. At Radio City Music Hall alone, Iglesias has appeared at least 45 times.“I hope they (audience members) say to each other, ‘It was a good time.’ The best thing is they are going home … and they feel that passion. That is what I hope gets communicated,” Iglesias said.
WHAT: “Starry Night” at the Bardavon with Julio IglesiasWHEN: Sunday at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Bardavon Opera House, 35 Market St., Poughkeepsie
HOW MUCH: From $75 to $175. The higher-end tickets include a post-concert reception for the singer at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel.
CALL: Bardavon Opera House at (845) 473-2072 or the Ulster Performing Arts Center at (845) 339-6088.ONLINE:www.bardavon.org
(Source: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/06/04/entertainment/doc4c0841540d76a037925330.txt)
By Paula Ann MitchellFreeman staff
To all the girls he’s loved before (and those he hasn’t), guard your tender hearts. The man on the Bardavon Opera House stage this Sunday just may steal it away—in a glance or a song.
That performer could be none other than the Grammy-Award winning Julio Iglesias, the Spanish crooner, who’s sold more than 300 million albums in 14 languages, released 77 albums and been the recipient of more than 2,600 Platinum and Gold records in his illustrious career.
Sony Entertainment lists Iglesias as one of the top-10, best-selling music artists in history. In April, the singer received a Lifetime Achievement award from Sony Music Entertainment Malaysia for his extraordinary 43-year career.
Iglesias will be bringing his 2010 “Starry Night” world tour to the Poughkeepsie venue at 35 Market St. June 6 at 7 p.m., marking the first time the singer has ever been to the Mid-Hudson Valley.“I’m going to sing 43 years of music,” Iglesias recently told the Freeman. “For sure, I’ll be doing the classics, the songs people know. I play the music people want me to play,” he said in a phone call from Romania.
The “Starry Night” tour is named after his third English album, which enjoyed record-breaking sales in more than 50 countries. Iglesias will be traveling to five different continents for this year’s tour.It features some of his classic romantic ballads like “Crazy,” “Me Olvide de Vivir” (I Forgot to Live), “Hey!” and “Lo Mejor de tu Vida” (The Best of your Life).
He said he wants his entire audience, not just the female fans, to tremble with each note that he crafts and each breath that he takes.“For me, it is all about passion. I put passion into everything,” he said. “I sing because it is what I do with my life and what I love to do.”And it’s not just his velvety voice and the feeling he communicates in his music that steal the ladies’ hearts.
At 66, the debonair Iglesias still flaunts taut and chiseled features, gleaming white teeth and a muscular physique—the very picture of the “Latin Lover.”“I love them all,” he said of his fans all over the globe. “Not just the ladies, but I do love them most, and I learn from them and I respect them. It’s like a marriage between an artist and his audience.”Strangely, though, this wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out for the singer, who was born in Madrid in 1943 as Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva.In his younger days, Iglesias had studied law in Madrid and enjoyed success as a goalkeeper for the Real Madrid soccer team.
A car accident in 1963 ended his sports career, resulting in a compression of his spinal cord. It didn’t look too good for a man who was just 20 years old at the time.Doctors weren’t sure he’d ever be able to walk again, and it forced him to reach deep within to find courage and meaning.“There is much more acceleration in your brain and your soul when you have situations that cause you to change. You become a survivor,” Iglesias said.He began tinkering with stringed instruments, particularly the guitar, to regain hand strength, and in the process Iglesias discovered his musical gift.The singer’s big break came in 1968 when he won a music contest with his original song, “La Vida Sigue Igual” (Life Stays the Same).Not long after, he singed a deal with Discos Columbia, the Spanish branch of Columbia Records, and released his debut album La Vida Sigue Igual in 1969.Iglesias rose to international prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.
In addition to Spanish, he has recorded albums in German, French, Italian, English, Portuguese, Tagalog and Japanese.One of his most memorable English songs was the 1984 “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” a duet recorded with country legend Willie Nelson. The song earned a fifth-place spot in the Billboard Hot 100 that year.The following year, Iglesias was honored with a star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and three years later, he won a Grammy Award for best Latin singer with the album “Un Hombre Solo” (A Man Alone).Iglesias has also performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Sting.
Today, his son, Enrique Iglesias, is a noted pop singer and songwriter, who has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.
The elder Iglesias, meantime, is looking forward to his upcoming engagement in the Hudson Valley, although this certainly isn’t the first time he’s played in New York. At Radio City Music Hall alone, Iglesias has appeared at least 45 times.“I hope they (audience members) say to each other, ‘It was a good time.’ The best thing is they are going home … and they feel that passion. That is what I hope gets communicated,” Iglesias said.
WHAT: “Starry Night” at the Bardavon with Julio IglesiasWHEN: Sunday at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Bardavon Opera House, 35 Market St., Poughkeepsie
HOW MUCH: From $75 to $175. The higher-end tickets include a post-concert reception for the singer at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel.
CALL: Bardavon Opera House at (845) 473-2072 or the Ulster Performing Arts Center at (845) 339-6088.ONLINE:www.bardavon.org
(Source: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/06/04/entertainment/doc4c0841540d76a037925330.txt)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Las Vegas announces "Julio Iglesias Day"
Las Vegas decrees "Julio Iglesias Day", and honors the singer with the "Outstanding Hispanic Award" (Máximo Orgullo Hispano)
Julio Iglesias will be honored by the Las Vegas International Press Association, which will award him the prestigious "Outstanding Hispanic Award (Máximo Orgullo Hispano)." In addition, the city government authorities will proclaim that day, “Julio Iglesias Day”.The event will take place on June 10, before the first performance of the artist, scheduled to take place in the Hilton Hotel and Casino, to be followed by two consecutive days of concerts in the Hilton.The distinction recognizes his brilliant career, spanning more than four decades, and his prominent presence on the stages of the world´s entertainment capital, as well as his contributions to culture and music. Pablo Antonio Castro Zavala, president of Las Vegas International Press Association, stated: ´´It´s a great honor for our organization to pay a deserved tribute to such a living legend as is Julio Iglesias. His music has been played all over the world and has had an enormous impact on all languages”.The Outstanding Hispanic Award (Máximo Orgullo Hispano) has been given in the past to such prominent figures as Vicente Fernández, José José, Luis Miguel, Juan Gabriel, Alejandro Fernández, among other international celebrities.
(from: julioiglesias.com)
Julio Iglesias will be honored by the Las Vegas International Press Association, which will award him the prestigious "Outstanding Hispanic Award (Máximo Orgullo Hispano)." In addition, the city government authorities will proclaim that day, “Julio Iglesias Day”.The event will take place on June 10, before the first performance of the artist, scheduled to take place in the Hilton Hotel and Casino, to be followed by two consecutive days of concerts in the Hilton.The distinction recognizes his brilliant career, spanning more than four decades, and his prominent presence on the stages of the world´s entertainment capital, as well as his contributions to culture and music. Pablo Antonio Castro Zavala, president of Las Vegas International Press Association, stated: ´´It´s a great honor for our organization to pay a deserved tribute to such a living legend as is Julio Iglesias. His music has been played all over the world and has had an enormous impact on all languages”.The Outstanding Hispanic Award (Máximo Orgullo Hispano) has been given in the past to such prominent figures as Vicente Fernández, José José, Luis Miguel, Juan Gabriel, Alejandro Fernández, among other international celebrities.
(from: julioiglesias.com)