Julio Iglesias thrills fans at intimate concert in Dominican Republic

Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias, the Latino entertainer who has sold the most albums worldwide, performed on the weekend in a more intimate setting in Punta Cana, a resort city in the eastern Dominican Republic.

The 70yearold singer took the stage at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino’s Fillmore Ballroom at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, leading off with “Amor,” and running through a list of 19 more of his hits.

“Good evening. Thank you very much,” the artist told the public, who at the beginning appeared to be a little timid in their response to him but who quickly warmed up and then didn’t stop applauding him for a moment.

Iglesias, who owns a home in Punta Cana, talked about the “deep” love he feels for the Dominican Republic, a love he said he inherited from his father, Julio Iglesias Puga, to whom he dedicated the song “Un campo a Galicia,” to the applause of the crowd.

“I deeply love this land,” the singer said, adding that the children he has had with Miranda Rhysburger have grown up in this Caribbean country. In fact, two of those children, twins Victoria and Cristina, were in the audience to see their father perform.

Also on hand for the concert were Iglesias’ friends Frank Rainieri, the president of the Grupo Puntacana, and wellknown Dominican fashion designer Oscar de la Renta.

Iglesias, who last year set a Guinness record for being the male Latino artist who has sold the most albums worldwide, wrapped up the concert with “Me va,” but he returned to do an encore that included “Corazon partio” by Alejandro Sanz and the wellknown “A mi manera” (My Way) made famous by Frank Sinatra.