17 January, 2013

By VIVA Team

Iglesias owns a €150m property in Marbella

Eighty albums in 14 languages, more than 2,600 gold and platinum records, 300 million record sales worldwide – Spain’s Julio Iglesias is one of the top five best-selling music artists in history. But he’s not just magnificently successful – he is also universally adored and respected, his gentlemanly Spanish charm helping him win admirers far beyond music, in much the same way that the late Seve Ballesteros won the hearts of millions of non-golf fans.

Maybe it’s something in the Spanish water that consistently produces these iconic figures of manliness? Not your macho, swarthy types; but sophisticated, elegant, handsome and kind types, such as Antonio Banderas for example.

To be fair, Iglesias had something of a head start in life. Born the son of a Madrid doctor in 1943, Iglesias toyed with a career in law before it became apparent that football might well be his true calling. As a coveted young goalkeeper for Real Madrid Castilla, his sporting dreams were shattered – along with his lower spine – in a devastating car crash in his late teens.

The crash may have roadblocked the sporting dream, but it serendipitously led Iglesias down the musical path. When in hospital, unable to walk, a kindly nurse gave him a guitar in an effort to stave off boredom. It worked. As Iglesias’ fingers worked the frets of the guitar with consummate ease, it quickly became apparent that music was where his future lay.

In the ‘60s, Iglesias began making a name for himself on the coastal singing circuits, and in 1970 he became a household name when he represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in commendable fourth place. Throughout the late ‘70s, European success came easy to him – a string of hits in Spanish, Italian and French sent his name zipping through the great capital cities of Europe.

But the English-language market – the hardest to break but easily the most lucrative – evaded Iglesias until the early ‘80s. After moving to Miami in 1979 he signed for CBS International, who insisted that he at least recorded some songs in English. His 1981 album De Niña a Mujer (dedicated to his daughter) contained his first English-language hit, Begin the Beguine, which went to number one in the UK. Three years later in 1984, the hit album 1100 Bel Air Place sold four million copies in the US, and Iglesias never looked back, going on to record duets with Willie Nelson and Diana Ross.

The ‘80s was a whirlwind decade for Iglesias, and he quickly fell into the Miami way of life – yacht parties, sunshine, surf and an effervescent holiday vibe. However, like all good Spaniards, Iglesias retained a burning love for his home country. Wishing to enjoy the Miami style of life with traditional Spanish sensibilities, Iglesias snapped up a sprawling villa estate in the hills above Marbella.

Las Cuatro Lunas is Iglesias’ much-loved Andalusian residence, located between La Mairena and Elviria near Ojén and Marbella. It is here that the family – including his famous son, Enrique Iglesias – love to spend their summers shielded from the prying eyes of the media and the Miami glare. The singer has become so enamoured with the region’s climate, landscape and lifestyle that in August 2010 he finally decided to marry his Dutch partner of 20 years, model Miranda Rijnsburger, at a private ceremony in Marbella.

An idyllic setting of woodland, gardens and views across the Mediterranean, Las Cuatro Lunas is the epitome of luxurious Marbella living, and is estimated to be worth €150m. But in the summer of 2012, tragedy very nearly spoilt the idyll when the Málaga forest fires raged across the region, destroying some 500 acres of Iglesias’ estate. Despite the devastation, Iglesias has said that he felt lucky that he and his family (including his wife and his five children) were not at home when the blaze swept by.

Speaking to the UK’s HELLO! Magazine, he said: “News of the fire was some of the worst in my life. This home was – and is – the realisation of my dreams. I am devastated.

“I was in the Dominican Republic at the time but was in constant contact with the people who work on the property. It was distressing because they escaped quite late – just five minutes before the flames reached the house.”

Displaying the kindness and compassion for which he has been noted during his entire career, Iglesias added: “Life has given me a lot of opportunities, and I can rebuild what has been destroyed. But there are a lot of families who have been left with nothing.”

There have been doubts cast as to whether Iglesias will indeed rebuild what was destroyed. The singer regularly enjoys performing in Marbella and Málaga, and always loved having such a homely base from which to relax and recuperate in between shows. That might not be there at the moment, but the love of the people – and Iglesias’ own love for the region – cannot be extinguished by mere flames and smoke.