Photo: Pedro Portal
Enrique Iglesias
By Madeliene Marr
Enrique Iglesias got a good old-fashioned grilling at a news conference at Brickell restaurant Dolores But You Can Me Lolita, while promoting his new greatest hits album, UNO 95/08.
Though Iglesias probably would have preferred to discuss his songs, the questions inevitably bounced back to his relationship with Anna Kournikova, with whom he shares a home in Miami Beach. The two met during the sexy video for his 2001 song Escape and they're seen all over town - catching a movie at Regal South Beach, eating rolls at Sushi Siam and sitting courtside at many a Miami Heat game.
The SoFlo Spanish press peppered the 33-year-old mega-talented son of Julio Iglesias with personal question after personal question. But the Madrid-born Iglesias - speaking in perfect Castilian - remained calm, cool and collected. Make that way cool.
''I don't mind the press,'' said Iglesias, dressed casually in jeans, track suit jacket and baseball cap. ``If they come up to me when I'm in a bad mood, it's different. And obviously, I don't agree with paparazzi who go over the line and break the law. You have to have respect. But it's a small sacrifice for fame.''
Are you going to have kids with Anna?
It's a great responsibility to be a father, a much bigger responsibility than marriage. In the stage I'm in now I don't really feel prepared for it. I'll have them when I'm ready, whether I'm 40, 50, 60 - or 80 like my grandfather. [Julio Iglesias Sr., a gynecologist, had a baby when he was 87; he died at age 90 in 2005 before his last child was born.] But we don't mind practicing!
What are you getting Anna for her birthday? [She'll be 26.]
Uncomfortable silence, then: ''It is? Thanks for telling me,'' he joked.
After a few more Anna-related queries, the conference thankfully shifted to Iglesias' album, a compilation of chart toppers over 13 years, with songs like Si tu te vas (If You Go), Experience religiosa (Religious Experience) and Heroe (Hero).
Have a favorite?
That's really hard to say. It's very personal. There are certain songs that mark a stage in my career or a time in my life. Some songs I love and think are great and they don't do well. Others I don't think are going to do well are all over the radio.
Do you prefer to sing in Spanish or English?
Some songs are meant to be sung in Spanish, others in English. I'm not too keen on translations at times because I think the song can lose a lot. But I love singing in both languages. I grew up in Miami so I grew up speaking English and speaking Spanish. I've always said I don't speak perfect English, I don't speak perfect Spanish.
Is your father proud of your success?
This may seem strange, but I've never asked my father his opinion of what he thinks of my music.
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