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Inside out with Enrique
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Enrique. Just let the word roll on your tongue. See what we mean? No? Then let PRASHANTH G.N. tell you
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Enrique Iglesias: less than a fortnight to go... — Photo: Reuters
THERE ARE more than two sides to Enrique Iglesias. But look at these two: Karen Bliss is doing an interview with him.
... How do you make the hotel room home?
I put on a red light, I put a pole in the middle and pack it up with strippers (laughs). No, I'm kidding. As long as the bed is comfortable and the bathroom is clean, I don't care.
Do you get misinterpreted a lot when you make such jokes?
Oh yeah, sometimes. I don't care. I find it funny. I gotta have fun with it. Can you imagine answering the same questions every single day? Boy, if I don't have fun with it, then I would go nuts.
What's the most outrageous interpretation?
They said I was a virgin once, and that did bother me...
... What else do you do besides music?
That is all I do. That is all I have time to do. You really have to have time for nothing else. I end up playing in a different city every single day. What would I have time for?
***
You could take him to be a flirt or a serious musician (you can of course be both!). Take both, they make him colourful — like all Latinos. In the last eight years, Enrique has turned on his Latino charm on America like no one else has. Spain and Portugal can't think of anyone else. Enrique is the talk in the continents that matter. And now the man is performing right here, at the Bangalore Palace Grounds on April 13 as part of The Seven Tour, 2004.
And, like everywhere else, he will bring those terrific Latin drums — conga, timbal, timbale, surdo, and the alfalia.
This 1975-born star is a looker. His thick eyebrows, deep, black-and-gold eyes, sharp nose, and that double stubble have had fans screaming for more. They come just to look at him. That his numbers "Rhythm Divine", "Bailamos", "I'm Your man" and so many more are hits is another matter. They also help you lose control of yourself, which is good once in a way. The lyrics, like in Ricky Martin or Marc Anthony, are a bit mushy, but if you are or looking to fall in love, this is your scene.
"Rhythm Divine", one of his most popular numbers, goes like this:
From the coast of Ipanema
To the island of Capri
All the way to Kuala Lumpur
I will follow you wherever you may be...
... . Put tomorrow's cares out of
your mind
As the music draws you closer
And you fall under my spell
I will catch you in my arms now
Where the night will take us no
one can tell
All I need is rhythm divine...
or the other number, "Bailamos" that has a nice mix of Spanish and English:
Tonight we dance
I lay my life in your hands
We take the floor
Nothing is forbidden anymore
Don't let the world in outside
Don't let a moment go by
Nothing can stop us tonight
Bailamos, let the rhythm take
you over
Bailamos, te quiero amor mio
Bailamos wanna live this night
forever
Bailamos, te quiero amor mio...
In these and some of his other English and Spanish numbers, look out for the cello, the guitar, and the piano. The first and the last are particularly haunting. The thing about his Spanish numbers is the language itself. If speaking Spanish is music, what about singing in that most musical of languages? ... You will love "Quizas", "Tres Palabras", and "Marta". But don't miss "Mentiroso", the ballad from the album Quizas... Bangalore will be lucky if Enrique croons some of these numbers, not to forget "Escape", "Hero", "Be With you", "Addicted" ... The story of Enrique is what you expect of stars like him. Despite being the son of the hugely successful singer, Julio Iglesias, he slipped out at 16 to check out the music scene with no one in the family knowing. And when he began his career at 20, his two albums, Enrique Iglesias and Vivir, sold nearly 11 million copies, winning two platinum records en route. Nine of his songs have ranked number one on the radio stations of over 19 countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The Spanish numbers singles, "Si Tu Te Vas", "Por Amarte", "Experiencia religiosa", "Trapecista" and "No Llores Por Mi" from Enrique, and "Enamorado Por Primera", "Vez, Solo En Ti," "Miente y Revolucion", have been number one on the Billboard Magazine list in the United States and in 18 other countries.
And he has won the Grammy for the Best Latin Pop Performer. Sweet revenge for the singer who was once turned down by a British recording company.
Enrique records in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, and English. It was in Miami that he got the Hispanic and American sheen. The European came with him anyway.
One doesn't know if this is about versatility, but this is what he told Karen Bliss when she asked him about his first offer. "Yes, and I got rejected.
So, whatever they gave me, I signed. If they had given me Chinese, I would have signed!" This happy-go-lucky Latino, who has filmed Once upon a Time in Mexico with the other heartbreaker Latino, Antonio Banderas, has come a long way since then.
The Enrique concert on April 13 at the Bangalore Palace Grounds begins at 7.30 p.m.. The gates open at 6.30 p.m..
Tickets for the show, priced at Rs. 600 and Rs. 900, are available at all Planet M and Café Coffee Day outlets.
For tele-booking and home delivery of tickets, call Current Booking Hotline 25705858. For more information, call DNA at 23616683.
* * *
The pop star and his paraphernalia
* Enrique is performing with a multi-ethnic, 10-member band.
* The production is being taken care of by a 40-member technical team.
* Enrique is flying in with 22,000 kilos of theatrical equipment for the concerts in Mumbai and Bangalore.
The equipment includes three giant LED screens integrated into the stage-set to project clean digital images of the artiste.
* The stage will be a split-level arrangement.
Enrique will perform on one, his accompanying artistes on the other.
* Three-up stage ramps being flown in will extend into the audience in three different areas to help Enrique be part of them.
* Enrique will sing along with a range of percussion instruments such as conga, timble drum, LP timbale, surdo drum, and the Alfalia drum, apart from guitars, bass, and keyboards.
* Enrique will give you both Spanish and English numbers; you can look forward to "Escape", "Hero", "Bailamos", "Be With You", "Rhythm Divine", "Addicted", and many from his album, 7.
* The concert begins at 7.30 p.m., Palace Grounds. The gates open at 6.30 p.m..
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