Julio Iglesias: Encyclopedia II - Julio Iglesias - Career 1990-today

Julio Iglesias - Career 1990-today

In the 1990s, Julio went back to his Spanish music roots, and in 1996, he released a CD nicknamed Tango. He is slowly stepping out of the limelight now and enjoying his son Enrique's popularity, together with his long-time companion Miranda and their 2 sons Miguel Alejandro (September 7, 1997), Rodrigo (April 3, 1999) and twin daughters Cristina and Victoria (May 1, 2001). Julio is very amenable to signing autographs, although he can be a little difficult to reach sometimes, due to his and his family's security detail, which they have had since the 1985 kidnapping of Julio's father.

Iglesias returned to the headlines in October, 2003, when he went to Argentina and kissed show host Susana Gimenez three times during a live telecast of her show.

2003 saw the release of the Spanish album "Divorcio." (Divorce) In its first day of sales, "Divorcio" sold a record 350,000 copies in Spain; and quickly reached the #1 spot on the charts in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia.

The remainder of 2003 and early 2004 featured a mega 10 month world tour; which took Iglesias, fuled with the success of "Divorcio" from Europe and Asia to The United States, South America, and Africa. More than half the shows on the tour sold out within days of going on sale, showing that fans still adore Julio.

In December of 2004, Miranda and Julio recorded a duet of the Christmas song Silent Night. The song, which was not released also included a voice message from Julio, Miranda, and their 4 young children. The song was released online through the singer's web page, and was a holiday gift from the Iglesias' to their fans around the world.

Julio Iglesias obtained Dominican citizenship on August 30, 2005. He has made important investments in the Dominican Republic's eastern town of Punta Canta, a major tourist destination, where he spends most of the year when he is not on tour.

Julio, Jr. has a half-brother who is 60 years younger than him. Julio's father, Julio Sr. had a child at 89 called Jaime. The birth came after a 17-year romance with Ronna, which culminated in them walking down the aisle in 2001. His wife underwent fertility treatment in order to conceive first time around and medical science is believed to have played a role in her latest pregnancy too. After little Jaime made his debut in 2004, Julio Sr. rejected suggestions Ronna was the driving force behind their decision to start a family. "At my age, a child is marvellous," he declared. "If people say I just did it for my wife, I don't take it as an insult, but the truth is I wanted it just as much as her. Then tradegy struck as Julio Iglesias's father passed away just days after he announced he was to become a father for the fourth time at the age of 90. Julio Sr. died after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in Madrid. Julio Sr. confirmed that his wife of four years, Ronna Kneit, was expecting their second child together. He said he wanted his 42-year-old partner to have something to remember him by. "My wife wanted it and I owed it to her," he explained. "It was an act of generosity towards her. I leave her part of my blood, of my life. I need her so much that I said to her 'here, this is what you wanted for when I am gone'."

Currently, Julio is in the studio recordinig a new English Album titled "International" which is due out in early 2006. A series of promotional events, followed by a world tour will help promote the album in early 2006.

The singer's web page [1] is currently under construction, and will feature information from "International" when it is updated in late 2005.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Career 1990-today", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki