JULIO IGLESIAS ” I AM ASTOIC I HAVE AN IRON DISCIPLINE „

Direct and talkative,perfectionist and unpredictable,
with an acerbic sense of humour, he confesses that
the years have taught him that „sugar is bad and your hair falls out”. But he has also learned „not to judge people, to not feel guilty and to distinguish between generosity and avarice”, he said today to the EFE agency, during a telephone interview.

Julio Iglesias has captivated young people and the not so young throughout the world with something that remains unseen: his voice. He possesses an
extraordinary warm and visceral voice, with a
seductive tone. Over the years, this voice has
gradually taken on affection, bohemianism, love that has come and gone, a wealth of experiences and the conviction that happiness, as the writer Ramón Pérez de Ayala said, is, in the end, the product of our own efforts.

Today, when we hear him sing „El amor” or „Caruso”, one cannot help but think that there is a line of singers that has still not been lost.

On the 22nd of February, Spain’s most universal
singer will play before an audience in Miami, in the
American Airlines Arena, before continuing with his

long North American tour with performances in
Clearwater, Naples and Jacksonville (also in Florida) and in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, New Jersey, Texas and Nevada. On the 24th of April, he will sing in New York’s Carnegie Hall, in a gala paying homage to Óscar de la Renta.

This concert tour will also take him to Latin America (Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua) and all over Europe, with performances in Spain, England, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Northern Ireland, amongst other countries.

QUESTION: What emotions does this long world tour arouse in you, with more than 80 concerts,
approximately 30 of them in the United States?

ANSWER: That’s not what’s good about it. What’s
good about it is that I’m looking forward to doing
them. If I didn’t sing, I would die, physically and
mentally. Singing gives me the happiness of knowing that I am alive.

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Q: A tour that must place enormous demands on you in terms of physical and mental preparation…

A: At 70 years of age, taking to the stage isn’t that
easy. This is two hours of concert with a great deal of intensity and I am alone on the stage; everything is passion and emotion and giving your all up there.

Q: And how do you endure such an intense rhythm of performances? Are you very strict with yourself?

A: My life is wholly and completely disciplined, even
reaching the levels of masochism. I have an iron
discipline. I am very strict and disciplined with myself. I am a stoic.

Julio Iglesias never hides the fact that success forms
an essential part of the fabric of his life, as opposed to those who view it as an illusion that is undeserving of attention. Success, yes, but as the product of sacrifice.

„Success is marvellous, it puts a twinkle in your eyes; but, if it is not a success born of sacrifice, it is not an honourable success”, the Spanish singer affirms recipient of the Guinness Records award for the world’s best-selling Latin artist in April 2013.

He points to the tennis player Rafael Nadal as an
example of this inseparable bond between success
and sacrifice. „My beloved Rafa, playing with his hand full of blisters (during his matches in the Australian Open), in a show of will, complete sacrifice and in constant pain”, he recounts with admiration.

Q: In other words, in the end, anything that has
worth in life requires effort?

A: Yes. Happiness requires great effort. Happiness is never free. The only free happiness is winning the
lottery.

Q: What is the best language for making love?

A: The language spoken by the eyes. Words are
forgotten and swept away by the winds. The eyes
remain forever.

The singer from Madrid pauses, seems reflective, and turns his attention directly to discussing his
relationship with Miranda: „My relationship with my wife is of deepest love and a great deal of respect. For some years now, I couldn’t imagine life without her. Miranda leads a very generous life and possesses a number of exceptional qualities”.

He goes on to talk about his children and how difficult Lit proves to predict „what the youngest will become” in the future, the qualities that they might develop.
For example, he explains: „I did not expect Enrique to become the phenomenon that he is, the human and artistic capacity of Julio (Iglesias Jr.), or the kindness of my oldest daughter (Chábeli)”.

In relation to the five children he shares with Miranda (Miguel, Rodrigo, the twins, Victoria and Cristina, and Guillermo), he affirms that the most important thing is that they be, „foremost, generous with their mother, and then, competitive. They have to be aware that they have had, that they have a great deal of fortune and they must be worthy of it”.