| Julio Iglesias, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Julio Iglesias Puga July 25, 1915 Ourense, Spain |
| Died | December 19, 2005 (aged 90) Madrid, Spain |
| Occupation | Gyneacologist |
| Spouse | Maria del Rosario de la Cueva y Perignat (1943-1983) (div.) Ronna Keit (2001-2005) (his death) |
| Children | Julio (1943) Carlos Jaime (2004) Ruth (2006) |
| Relatives | Enrique Iglesias (grandson) |
Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga (July 25, 1915 — December 19, 2005) was a Spanish gynecologist. He was the father of singer Julio Iglesias[1] and grandfather to the singers Enrique Iglesias and Julio Iglesias, Jr.. He became one of the youngest gynecologists of Spain. He was nicknamed Papuchi, "Daddy".
Iglesias was one of the youngest gynaecologists to work in the Spanish public health system. He helped to found the Madrid Maternity Clinic and became the head of its sterility, infertility and family planning unit.
Contents |
Iglesias was born in Ourense. During the Spanish Civil War, Iglesias fought for the Nationalists led by General Franco. In 1943, he married Maria del Rosario de la Cueva y Perignat and the couple had two sons Julio Iglesias and Carlos. They divorced in 1983.
During the 1980s he was kidnapped by Basque ETA and held for two weeks, eventually being found unharmed. He became a fixture of gossip magazines, always ready to chat with journalists revealing information about his famous descendants.
In the early 1990s, he met US citizen Ronna Keitt. The two married in 2001 in a secret ceremony witnessed by close family and photographers from a magazine.
On May 18, 2004, Ronna gave birth to a boy, Jaime Iglesias. Dr. Iglesias was 89 and Ronna was 40. The baby's half brother, Julio, was 61-years-old. The baby's nephews were 31-year-old Julio, Jr. and 29-year-old Enrique. After Jaime was born in 2004, Dr. Iglesias rejected suggestions Ronna was the driving force behind their decision to start a family. "At my age, a child is marvellous...I felt just like Abraham," 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 to do it just as much as she did...My wife wanted to do it and we did it...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.'"
Barely after announcing the arrival of her first baby, Ronna underwent fertility treatment in order to conceive again. IV treatment is speculated to have been used for their second child. Iglesias died suddenly in Madrid the morning of December 19, 2005, at the age of 90. Ruth was born July 26, 2006, 7 months and 8 days after her father died.
In his 1972 hit "Un canto a Galicia" (a song to Galicia), Julio Iglesias Jr sings about his parents, with the words "Un canto a Galicia, Terra do meu pai. Un canto a Galicia, miña terra nai" (a song to Galicia, land of my father, a song to Galicia, land of my mother). The song is sung in Galician, the regional language of Galicia.