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Gurgaon गुड़गांव
—  city  —
Gurgaon Location of Gurgaon in Haryana and India
Coordinates	28°28′N 77°02′E / 28.47°N 77.03°E / 28.47; 77.03Coordinates: 28°28′N 77°02′E / 28.47°N 77.03°E / 28.47; 77.03
Country	India
State	Haryana
District(s)	Gurgaon
Parliamentary constituency	Gurgaon Lok Sabha Constituency
Assembly constituency	Gurgaon City {Ch. Sukhbir Kataria (MLA)}
Planning Agency	Haryana Urban Development Authority
Civic agency	Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon {Vimal Yadav Mayor}
Population	1,514,085 (2011[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 220 metres (720 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 122001 to 122017 • Telephone • +91 124 XXX XXXX • Vehicle • HR 26 (Personal), HR 55 (Commercial)
Website	http://gurgaon.nic.in/

Gurgaon pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: गुड़गांव) is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital. Gurgaon is one of Delhi's four major satellite cities and is part of the National Capital Region (India).^[1] Gurgaon is within commuting distance of Delhi via an expressway and Delhi Metro.^[2]

Gurgaon has the 3rd highest per capita income in India after Chandigarh and Mumbai.^[3] . Gurgaon is also the only Indian city to have successfully distributed electricity connections to all its households.^[4] However, because of its heavy vehicular traffic and inefficient public transportation apart from the Delhi Metro, Gurgaon ranks 11th amongst Indian cities on the "Life after Work" index of Business Today.

Over the past 25 years the city has undergone rapid development and construction.^[5] A wave of multinational companies choose to locate their operations in Gurgaon after GE did so in 1997. The presence of large domestic and international firms such as SAP, PwC, Airtel, American Airlines, American Express, Aricent, Bain & Company, Bank of America, The Coca-Cola Company, DLF Limited, Ericsson, EXL, Fluor Corporation, Hero Honda, IBM, Indigo Airlines, KPMG, Maruti Suzuki, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Oracle, Sapient, Tata Consultancy Services, ThoughtWorks and ZS Associates have made Gurgaon an important financial center of India,^[6] as well as one of India's major outsourcing hubs.^[7]

Etymology[link]

The origin of the city's name is steeped in Hindu mythology. Legend has it that Gurgaon village located into the heart of gurgaon city is the ancestral village of Guru Dronacharya (or Drona), the teacher of martial arts to the Pandavas and Kauravas princes in the Indian epic of the Mahabharata.

In Sanskrit, Guru means teacher, which in this case refers to Dronacharya and both Gram and Gaon mean village. According to Hindu mythology, the village was gifted by the Pandavas and Kauravas - specifically, by King Dhritarashtra of Hastinapur - to Dronacharya, the son of Rishi Bharadwaja, and was therefore known as guru-gram. Over time the colloquial term gaon (which also means village in Prakrit) was substituted for gram and the name Gurgaon emerged.

The 'Dronacharya Well' still exists within the Gurgaon city, along with a village called Gurgaon.^[8] (see Drona).

History[link]

Gurgaon in Punjab Province in 1903.

In historically verifiable times, Gurgaon has been under the control of a succession of rulers appointed by the ruling power in Delhi including Yaduvanshi Rajputs,^[9] Mughals, Marathas in this order. For a few years Farrukhnagar was taken from the Nawab and Ghasera from the Badgujar Rajput Rao Bahadur Singh^[10] of Ghasera ^[11] by Jat Raja Surajmal of Bharatpur Kingdom in 1753 and held till 1763. Rewari was under Khoro clan Ahir rulers.^[12] It remained under the rule of the Scindhia clan of the Maratha Empire, until in 1803, the East India Company took control of Gurgaon through the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon after the Second Anglo-Maratha War. By the mid nineteenth century Gurgaon was part of the princely protectorate of Pataudi which is a part of Gurgaon district today. The British integrated Gurgaon into the Punjab Province where it served as district and tehsil headquarters. After India's independence, Gurgaon continued to be a part of the state of Punjab until 1966 when Haryana was formed a separate state.

Gurgaon remained a small farming village in the neighbourhood of Delhi India's political capital. The launch of the automotive company Maruti jump started Gurgaon's growth and changed its future. In addition, Delhi's economic rise attracted a large influx of labourers from neighboring regions like Rajasthan, Orissa and Bihar, rapidly increasing Delhi's population.^[13] By the early 1990s, Delhi was one of the most populous and crowded cities in the world and the need for a satellite city became more apparent. Gurgaon seemed like an ideal choice given its vast undeveloped farming lands and proximity to Delhi. Haryana Urban Development Authority bought large areas of land from farmers in Gurgaon and developed residential and commercial sectors.

In the 1990s the Government of India reformed the tax laws, thereby attracting private companies to build world-class buildings in Gurgaon.^[6] The close proximity of Delhi International Airport also attracted private firms.^[6] The recent completion of the privatized Delhi-Gurgaon expressway provides Gurgaon with world-class connectivity to Delhi International Airport, which has in turn attracted even more firms to locate their offices in Gurgaon.^[6]

Ethnic groups and politics[link]

Gurgaon lies in Ahirwal and Ahirs are in the majority, however there are a few villages of Jats, Yaduvanshi Sainis in Gurgaon city and Gujjar villages on Gurgaon Faridabad road.

Large population of ethnic groups of Ahirs and Gurjars .

Meo Muslims were in majority in the Firozpur Jhirka state, where they still reside in large numbers though some migrated to Pakistan after partition. Thousands of Punjabi Hindu immigrants from the western part of Punjab that became Pakistan came here as refugees after partition of the country in 1947 and made their home here. Apart from receiving population from across the country, the city has also allegedly seen a heavy growth in illegal Bangladeshi population.^[14][15]

Geography and climate[link]

Sarus Crane at Sultanpur National Park

Gurgaon district comprises five blocks: Badshahpur, Pataudi, Sohna, Gurgaon village, and Farrukhnagar. On its north, it is bounded by the district of Jhajjar and Delhi. Faridabad district lies to its east. On its south, the district shares boundaries with the Mewat District. To its west lies the Rewari district and the Rajasthan state. Gurgaon city is situated at the northern edge of Aravali mountain range. The length of the district is about 21 km (13 mi) and the breadth is 27 km (17 mi).^[16]

A dust storm blots out the sun, Gurgaon,Haryana,India

The Sultanpur National Park located about 15 km from the centre of the city is a protected migratory bird sanctuary for the Sarus Crane, Indian Peafowl, Eurasian Wigeon and other birds.

Demographics[link]

Gurgaon's district population has increased from some 870,539 in census 2001 to 1,514,085 in census 2011.^[17] In the 2001 census, Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Gurgaon has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 65.38%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 73%. In Gurgaon, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

District administration[link]

The Deputy Commissioner, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service, is the overall in-charge of the General Administration in the district. He is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Haryana Civil Service and other Haryana state services.

The Constitution of the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) took effect on on 2 June 2008. The MCG elected municipal councillors, for the first time, in elections held in May 2011.

Economy[link]

A major office complex in Gurgaon. IT services form the largest sector closely followed by retail.

Favorable tax policy by the Haryana government, pressure from Rajiv Gandhi to allow private companies to build properties and its proximity to Indira Gandhi International Airport saw the emergence of Gurgaon as one of the most prominent outsourcing and offshoring hubs in the world. It has also become a major hub of telecom companies. Prominent companies headquartered here include Bharti Airtel, Nokia, Motorola, Alcatel Lucent & Ericsson.

Automobile manufacturing, garment manufacturing, world-class real estate^[18] and shopping malls are the other main industries. Gurgaon and Faridabad together generate over 50% of Haryana's income tax revenues.^[19]

The distribution of outsourcing companies is skewed towards non-IT services^{[citation needed]}. Gurgaon's outsourcing industry was born in 1997 when GE Capital International Services (GECIS) was set up as the India-based business process services operations of GE Capital.^[18] In 2005, GECIS became an independent company - Genpact, which is now headquartered in Gurgaon. This trend continued after several other firms established themselves in the city. Gurgaon also has a major manufacturing industry. Car manufacturing facilities include India's largest passenger car company, Maruti Suzuki. Hero Honda, the world's biggest motor cycle company is based in Gurgaon.

Many migrant residents of Nathupur work as domestic workers in Gurgaon.^[20]

Infrastructure[link]

One of the attractions for international companies to operate factories and offices in Gurgaon is nearby Delhi Airport. Although the local government has claimed to provide electricity to almost all residents, the city people are frustrated by high costs, frequent cuts & low voltage problems which has resulted in some people fleeing to neighboring Delhi for a better standard of Living. Most of the official complexes and societies are running on Diesel gensets. Summer months are worst in Gurgaon with no proper water & electricity supplies.^[21][22]

Private real-estate giants, such as Tata Housing, Emaar Properties, DLF Limited and Unitech Group have built gated communities in Gurgaon, which have 24x7 water and security although electricity is a major concern, owing to 7–8 hours of power cuts which leads to high diesel costs and pollution.^[23] These gated complexes range from apartment complexes to integrated mini-cities such as Raisina Residency, Primanti, DLF City, Nirvana Country and Suncity.^[24] Gurgaon has been deemed a non-city due to the lack of comprehensive infrastructure and its corporate enclaves, including a dearth of sidewalks, convenience stores, and public parks.^[25]

In the aftermath of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, private companies are now hiring armed security guards and CISF officers.^[26]

Real estate hub[link]

DLF City Phase III, Cyber Greens

Private real estate companies such as DLF Universal, Tata Housing, Unitech Group and others constructed offices in Gurgaon, near Delhi Airport and National Highway 8 and then leased them to Fortune 500 and Indian companies at rates cheaper than Bangalore or Mumbai.^[27] The rapid urbanization resulted in some farmers in Gurgaon becoming millionaires when they sold their land to private property developers.^[28] The increased Change of Land Use fees and Licence Fees levied by the Haryana government earned thousands of crore Rupees in taxes from property developers.^[29] Retail is another big industry in Gurgaon, where there are 43 malls, including the biggest, Mall of India, giving Gurgaon the 3rd highest number of malls in an Indian city.^[30]

Northern Peripheral Road[link]

Northern Peripheral Road road is being developed under the public private partnership (PPP) model. This stretch will connect Dwarka with National Highway 8 at Kherki Dhaula and will pass Pataudi Road. The NPR stretch has been planned as an alternate link road between Delhi and Gurgaon, and is expected to ease the traffic situation on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. The road will also provide connectivity to the much-touted Reliance-HSIIDC SEZ besides the Garhi Harsaru dry depot.^[31]

Much like Delhi, Gurgaon too will have a BRT corridor to decongest traffic on the Northern Peripheral Road. In several sections, the NPR will have provisions for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor to ensure smooth flow. The road will be fully developed in March 2012.^[32]

Industry[link]

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project[link]

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (DMICDC), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) floated by the government of India for implementing the DMIC projects, had appointed a consultant to undertake a study & formulate the master plan for the Manesar-Bawal Investment Region (MBIR) and pre-feasibility studies for two early bird projects. Haryana government had identified four Early Bird Projects to be implemented as a pilot initiative within the DMIC region: Mass Rapid Transportation System between Gurgaon-Manesar-Bawal, exhibition-cum-convention centre, integrated multi-modal logistics hub and new passenger rail link.^[33] The first phase of the project is likely to be completed by 2012 with an estimated $90 billion ( Rs 4,23,000 crore) to be invested in infrastructure in the investment regions.^[34]

[edit] Reliance 25,000 acres (100 km²) SEZ

Reliance Venture, a group company of India’s largest private sector company Reliance Industries, and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (HSIIDC),signed a joint venture to set up a multi-product special economic zone in Gurgaon.^[35][36]

After the truce between the Ambani brothers the new and old business seems to be coming back on track. RIL is planning to kick-start its SEZ plan in Gurgaon and Jhajjar with around Rs 3000 crore being pumped in. Agreements are virtually done with Japanese and Korean companies like Panasonic and Mitsubishi for setting up large manufacturing and logistics facilities in the Gurgaon SEZ and estimated to create 1.5 million jobs.^[37][38]

Urbanism[link]

Initially a small farming village located southwest of Delhi, Gurgaon saw a massive increase in its population and economy after the real estate developer, DLF Group, bought farms owned by local people^{[citation needed]} and started developing housing societies. Many residential parts of Gurgaon are located within a numbered DLF "Phase".

In Hindu and Mughal times the city was largely made up of the temples and forts which were used as a barrier to secure Delhi. The present city of Gurgaon can be considered the metropolitan area encompassing every settlement around the original city, and expanding even further with the establishment of new neighbourhoods and districts.

Transportation[link]

Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.

Road[link]

An eight lane expressway runs between Delhi and Gurgaon and connects to NH8 (Delhi-Jaipur-Mumbai national highway). The expressway connects to Dhaula Kuan in Delhi over a distance of 28 kilometres (17 mi). Buses connect Gurgaon bus station to Delhi and to cities and towns in Haryana and neighboring states.

The expressway is being extended to Jaipur 225.6 kilometres (140.2 mi) and will be completed in June 2011. In a shocking revelation made by the first analysis of public-private partnership in the implementation of NHAI’s road projects, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings has said no road safety audit was ever conducted in respect of the Delhi-Gurgaon project either at the planning or the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage.^[39] The corridor has no provision for road-warning signs where high-tension power lines are crossing the Expressway, removal of rings from drainage covers or training and deployment of marshals at the entry points for restricting two-wheelers from entering the high-traffic danger zone.^[39][40][41] Infrastructure major Reliance Infrastructure has taken up a project to widen and upgrade the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road link, which is due to be completed by May 2011 and includes 4-laning of the road which is 2-laned at present. Source ^[42]

The main bus depot of the city connects to neighboring towns including Delhi, Jaipur, Alwar and Chandigarh. There are also buses to Uttar Pradesh, Jammu, Faridabad, Dharuhera and others. Recently, the Gurgaon administration and Haryana Roadways have bought a number of Ashok Leyland low floor buses and started some new city bus service routes in New Gurgaon that connect MG Road to the many business parks like DLF City and Unitech International Business Park.^[43] The Delhi Transport Corporation also runs buses on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.^[44] Shared auto-rickshaws are also a very common, cheap and convenient means of transport in Gurgaon.

To improve the public transport system in the Millennium City, the state government has finally decided to start a city bus service in Gurgaon on public-private-partnership (PPP) mode.To facilitate the move, the state transport department has decided to purchase 450 new buses which will hit the streets by August-end in 2010. There will be an inter as well as intra-city service. Buses will ply from Gurgaon to Faridabad and Delhi.^[45]

Delhi Metro[link]

The Gurgaon-Qutub minar section of Delhi Metro opened to public on 21 June 2010. The line has been extended up to Central Secretariat on 3 September 2010 and is ultimately merged with the existing Yellow line between Jahangirpuri and Central Secretariat.^[46] The travel time for the 30 km between Qutub minar and HUDA city center on the currently open section is around 14 minutes.^[47] The stations in Gurgaon are Guru Dronacharya, Sikanderpur, MG Road, IFFCO Chowk and Huda City Centre.

Phase III Extension

On 3 May 2011 Delhi Metro head E Sreedharan announced that the IGI link, which presently covers New Delhi railway station to Dwarka sector 21 via the IGI airport, will be extended up to Gurgaon as part of Phase III. ^[48][49] The 14 km extension will bring the Millennium City considerably closer, providing a faster link to reach Gurgaon in just 35 minutes. This metro link will be connected to the Iffco Chowk Metro Station in Gurgaon.

Haryana will set up its own Metro Corporation to extend the metro-rail facility to areas in the national capital region (NCR) falling in Haryana, and also plans to extend the Metro-rail up to Manesar town.^[50][51] However no plans or work has started and Metro officials denied any possibility even in near future.^[52]

Gurgaon Metro[link]

Also, a privately owned and operated Gurgaon Metro Rail Link is planned to connect the Delhi Metro's Sikanderpur Station to NH-8, with 6 stations on a 6 km elevated link. It will be financed by DLF. This rail link will complete in 2013.^[53][54]

Bus terminal[link]

Haryana Roadways is building a state-of-the-art bus terminal in sector 29 near HUDA City Centre Metro station. The contract of building the bus stand has been given to a private company. Bus Terminal is equipped with facilities that are generally available at airports. The bus terminal covers an area of 3 acres (12,000 m²) after completion will be unique and house around 500 buses. It is expected to be inaugurated in December 2012, and will have a shopping mall, multiplex and a rest house inside the complex.^[55] The buses catering to the intra city service would ply from the proposed stand. Gurgaon residents would be able to commute to Farrukhnagar, Manesar, Badshahpur, Pataudi and Sohna.^[56]

Train[link]

The Gurgaon railway station located at western end of the original city and connects to Rewari towards the south and Delhi Cantt. towards north.The first train is ahmdabad mail for haridwar at 4:03 AM.and after that every half an hour train is available for delhi

Indira Gandhi International Airport[link]

Indira Gandhi International Airport is just 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the city center, which is only 15 minutes car drive and the city is well connected to the airport by the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway also known as NH 8.

Education[link]

Gurgaon is home to one of India's top business schools like Management Development Institute or MDI & IILM Institute for Higher Education and School of Inspired Leadership(SOIL). ITM University is the only private university. Other educational institutions are Apeejay College of Engineering, Institute Of Business Management & Research, Gurgaon Institute of (ILMS), Ansal Institute of Technology, Gurgaon Institute of Technology and Management, The Mahachindi World University, World Institute of technology, Gurgaon College of Engineering, World College of Technology and Management, First India School Of Business, KNS World Management College, JK Business School and Savera Group of Institutions, Dronacharya College of Engineering, Global Institute Of Technology & Management,Institute of Apparel Management, Deen Dayal Rustagi College of Management etc.

Indo-Israel training academy[link]

The International College for Security Studies (ICSS) and Israeli College for Security and Investigations (ICSI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for setting up of a Security Training and Intelligence college. Spread over 150 acres (0.61 km²) of lush green environs with best-in-class facilities, the ICSS academy will provide extensive training methodology and modules in all disciplines of Security Intelligence and management for young graduates, serving security professionals in the Government and Private Sectors, NCC C and NCC B certificate holders and youth at large.^[57]

Healthcare[link]

Gurgaon residents have few of the most modern facilities in large corporate hospitals like Medanta the Medicity,^[58] Artemis Health Institute, Alchemist Institute, Paras Hospital,^[59] Max Hospital, Columbia Asia Hospital and the upcoming Fortis Hospital and The Park Hospital. These hospitals have made Gurgaon the hub of medical tourism in India.^[60] In addition, Gurgaon also has several private nursing homes, the district-level Civil Hospital and several dispensaries run by ESI, ECHS and in partnership with various NGOs. Several independent private practitioners, as well as chains of family practice clinics like Ross Clinics,^[61] provide outpatient care to the populace.

Sports and recreation[link]

Gurgaon has a large golfing population. Gurgaon has two 18-hole golf courses. Gurgaon is also home to two sports stadiums - Tau Devi Lal Stadium ^[62] has facilities for cricket, football, basketball and athletics as well as a sports hostel, while Nehru Stadium has facilities for football and athletics. Nehru Stadium has Hockey turf for matches. Football is a very popular sport with the youngsters of the city and every "colony" (district) has its own team. The Mir Iqbal Husain u-16 National Football Tournament was held at Tau Devi Lal stadium in 2009. The Indian national football team uses this ground as a training venue. These days, Football has also got some children's attention.

In December, 2010 it hosted the Indian Super Cup between Dempo SC and East Bengal FC. Quest Diagnostic center- US based worlds no. 1 Diagnostic center has been started their operation in gurgaon.

Lifestyle and culture[link]

MGF Metropolitan Mall,MG Road,Gurgaon

There are over 40 malls in Gurgaon city. Notable amongst them are the Ambience Mall (near the Gurgaon-Delhi toll plaza), Sahara Mall, Metropolitan Mall, City Centre Mall and Plaza Mall, (all on the MG Road, also known as the Mall Road), Wedding Mall (near Sohna Road). Newly opened Star Mall (on NH-8, near 32nd milestone) and Omaxe Mall (Sohna Road) are also drawing attention. In March 2008, the state administration mandated that all malls and shopping centers should be closed one day per week in order to conserve electricity and help traffic flow. Consequently, all malls and shopping centers are closed on Tuesday. There are also leisure parks, such as Leisure Valley Park and Kingdom of Dreams situated in Sector-29.^[63][64]

See also[link]

Delhi portal

• Faridabad
• Manesar
• Pataudi
• Pachgaon (Manesar)
• Pinangwan
• Noida

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gurgaon

• Official Website of Gurgaon Municipal Corporation
• Gurgaon administration web site
• Property in Gurgaon
• Gurgaon travel guide from Wikitravel

Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias, during an interview with MuchMusic.
Background information
Birth name	Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler
Born	(1975-05-08) May 8, 1975 (age 37) Madrid, Spain
Genres	Pop, Latin pop, R&B, dance-pop, soft rock, rap
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, model
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Fonovisa, Interscope, Universal Music Latino, Universal Republic, Polydor
Website	www.enriqueiglesias.com

Enrique Iglesias (born Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler; May 8, 1975) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and occasional actor, popular in both the Latin market and the Hispanic American market in the United States. He is the son of the famous Spanish singer Julio Iglesias. Within five years of beginning his musical career in the 1990s, he became the biggest seller of Spanish-language albums of that decade. He made his crossover into the mainstream English language market before the turn of the millennium, signing a multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for an unprecedented US$50,000,000 with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. In 2010, he parted with Interscope and signed with another Universal Music Group label, Universal Republic.

Iglesias has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling Spanish language artists of all time.^[1] He has had five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, including two number-ones, and holds the record for producing 22 number-one Spanish-language singles on the Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks.^[2] He has also had ten number-one songs on Billboard's Dance charts, more than any other single male artist. Altogether, Iglesias has amassed 55 number-one hits on the various Billboard charts. Billboard has called him The King of Latin Pop and The King of Dance. Billboard also named Enrique the number two Latin artist of the years 1986–2011 (Luis Miguel taking the first spot).^[3]

Early life[link]

Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain,^[4] and is the third and youngest child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. His mother is Filipina^[5][6] and his father is of Spanish ancestry from Galicia.^[7][8] His parents' marriage was annulled in 1979.

In 1986, Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga, was kidnapped by the armed Basque terrorist group ETA. For their safety, Enrique and his brother, Julio Iglesias, Jr., were sent to live with their father in Miami.^[9] He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia, for one year with his mother.^[10] As his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended the prestigious Gulliver Preparatory School, where he made his singing debut in a production of Hello, Dolly!.^[11] Iglesias later went on to study business at the University of Miami.^[12]

Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. He borrowed money from his family nanny and he recorded a demo cassette tape which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father's former publicist, Fernan Martinez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name 'Enrique Martinez' with the backstory of being an unknown singer from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed the Mexican label Fonovisa. After dropping out of college, he traveled to Toronto to record his first album.^[13]

Music career[link]

[edit] 1995–96: Enrique Iglesias

On July 12, 1995, Iglesias released Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including hits such as "Si Tú Te Vas", "Experiencia Religiosa", and others. The record sold half a million copies in its first week, a rare accomplishment then for an album recorded in a language other than English, going Gold in Portugal within the first week of release, and sold over a million copies in the next three months.^[11]

His song "Por Amarte" was included in Televisa's telenovela Marisol, but with a twist: instead of Por amarte daría mi vida (To love you, I'd give my life), the words were Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD also yielded Italian and Portuguese editions of the album, with most of the songs translated into those languages.

Five singles released from this album, such as "Por Amarte", "No Llores Por Mí", and "Trapecista" topped the Billboard's Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.

[edit] 1997–99: Vivir and Cosas Del Amor

Iglesias with Ronald McDonald in 1999, his Cosas del Amor tour was sponsored by McDonald's.

In 1997, Iglesias' star continued to rise with the release of Vivir (To Live), which put him up with other English language music superstars in sales for that year. The album also included a cover version of the Yazoo song "Only You", translated into Spanish as "Solo en Tí".

Three singles released from Vivir ("Enamorado Por Primera Vez", "Sólo en Ti" and "Miente") topped the Latin singles chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luis Miguel, Iglesias was nominated for an American Music Award in the first-ever awarded category of Favorite Latin Artist. It was said beforehand that the elder Iglesias would walk out if he did not win the award. Iglesias lost out to his father, but did perform the song "Lluvia Cae" at the event.

Insisting on playing stadiums for his first concert tour, that summer, Iglesias , backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries. Beginning in Odessa, Texas the tour went on to three consecutive nights in Mexico's Plaza de Toros, two consecutive nights at Monterrey's Auditorio Coca Cola and two at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina to over 130,000 people as well as 19 arenas in the U.S.^[14]

In 1998, Iglesias released his third album, Cosas del Amor (Things of Love). Taking a more mature musical direction, the album, aided by the popular singles "Esperanza" and "Nunca Te Olvidaré", both of which topped the Latin singles chart, helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.

Iglesias did a short tour of smaller venues to accompany the release of the album, with one show being televised from Acapulco, Mexico. This was followed by a larger world tour of over eighty shows in even bigger venues. The Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by McDonald's.

He won an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Latin Artist against Ricky Martin and Los Tigres del Norte. The song "Nunca te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme music for a Spanish soap opera of the same name and he sang the song himself on the last episode of the series.

[edit] 1999–2000: Enrique

By 1999, Iglesias had begun a successful crossover career into the English language music market. Thanks to other successful crossover acts, most notably that of Ricky Martin and Selena, Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream music. After attending one of his concerts Will Smith asked Iglesias to contribute to the soundtrack of his movie Wild Wild West, his contribution "Bailamos" was released as a single and became a number one hit in the US.

After the success of "Bailamos", several mainstream record labels were eager to sign Iglesias. Signing a multi-album deal after weeks of negotiations with Interscope, Iglesias recorded and released his first full CD in English, Enrique. The pop album, with some Latin influences, took two months to complete. It contained the song Rhythm Divine, a duet with Whitney Houston entitled "Could I Have This Kiss Forever", and a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes".

In 2000 Iglesias performed at the Superbowl halftime show with Christina Aguilara. Shock jock Howard Stern repeatedly played a tape of a supposedly very off-key Iglesias on his radio show and accused the Iglesias of not being able to sing live. On June 8th 2000 Iglesias sang the song live on Stern's show with just a guitar accompanying him. After the performance Stern remarked "I respect you for coming in here; you really can sing".^[15] Iglesias would remark that the controversy was the best promotion he could have. The album's single Be With You became Iglesias's second #1 single on Billboard's Hot 100.

[edit] 2001–02: Escape

In 2001 Iglesias released his second English language album Escape. Where most of the Latin crossover acts of the previous year experienced some difficulty matching the record sales of their first English language albums, Iglesias actually went on to sell even more. The album's first single, "Hero", became a number one hit in the United Kingdom, and in many other countries. The entire album was co-written by Iglesias.

Escape is his biggest commercial success to date. The singles "Escape" and "Don't Turn Off The Lights" became radio staples, fairing well and placing highly or topping various charts both in North America and elsewhere. A second edition of the album was released internationally and contained a new version of one of Iglesias's favorite tracks, "Maybe", as well as a duet with Lionel Richie called "To Love a Woman".

Iglesias capitalized on the album's success with his "One-Night Stand World Tour" consisting of 50 sold-out shows in 16 countries. Including Radio City Music Hall and three consecutive nights in London's Royal Albert Hall, the tour ended with a big show at Stadium National Lia Manoliu in Bucharest, Romania. The concert launched MTV Romania, with the video for "Love to See You Cry" being the first to be shown on the channel.

The second leg of the tour, "Don't Turn Off The Lights", was completed in the summer of 2002, with two sold-out nights in Madison Square Garden and another two in Mexico's National Auditorium. The tour finished with a single show in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[edit] 2002–04: Quizás & 7

In 2002, Iglesias chose to release a fourth Spanish-language album titled Quizás (Perhaps). A more polished musical production than his previous Spanish albums and containing more introspective songs, the album's title track is a song about the strained relationship Iglesias has with his famous father.

The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the highest placement of a Spanish language album on the chart at the time. Quizás sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in 5 years. The three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of 16 number ones on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most number one singles on Billboard's Latin Chart. His last single from the album, "Para Que la Vida", reached a million spins on U.S. radio, the only Spanish language song to do so.^[16]

The video to the song "Quizás" was the first Spanish language music video to be added to the selection on one of MTV's popular show Total Request Live. Iglesias performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, becoming the first to sing a Spanish song on the show, and opening doors for other artists such as Ricky Martin, Juanes and Jorge Drexler to perform their Spanish material. Iglesias included songs from Quizás in his "Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album went on to win a Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.

By 2003 Iglesias released his seventh album, which he called 7, the second to be co-written by Iglesias. Among its more 1980s-inspired material, it features the song "Roamer", which he wrote with his friend and longtime guitarist, Tony Bruno. The CD also contained the song "Be Yourself", a song about independence (the chorus talks about how Iglesias' own parents did not believe he'd ever succeed in his singing career). The first single was the song "Addicted", and was followed closely by a remix of the song "Not in Love", featuring Kelis.

With this album, Iglesias went on his biggest world tour to date. The highly publicised tour started with twelve shows in the United States ending with Iglesias playing at Houston Rodeo and continued on to several countries, most of which he'd never previously visited playing to sold-out arenas and stadiums in Australia, India, Egypt and Singapore before ending his tour in South Africa.

[edit] 2007–08: Insomniac

Iglesias performing on August 29, 2007.

Iglesias released his new album Insomniac on June 12, 2007. The album was so named due to it being recorded mainly at night. The album contained a more contemporary pop style than that of previous albums. The album's highlights include "Push", with rapper Lil' Wayne, as well as "Ring My Bells", and a cover of Ringside's "Tired of Being Sorry".

The first single "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" was released on April 10, 2007. It was the Iglesias's highest charting song on the Hot 100 since "Escape" it was also a hit throughout Europe peaking in the top 10 in many countries and the Spanish version entitled "Dímelo" was #1 on Hot Latin Tracks for 12 weeks becoming his second best performing song on that chart.

Iglesias followed up with the ballad "Somebody's Me", which was released as a single in the American continent. The song was played extensively on AC radio and peaked high on Billboard's Hot AC, where the Spanish version also performed well. In Europe, the second single was "Tired of Being Sorry", which performed well in many countries; he recorded a version of the song with French singer Nâdiya which was #1 in France for eleven weeks.

On July 4, Enrique Iglesias became the first Western artist to play a concert in Syria in three decades when he performed for a sold-out crowd of 10,000 in the capital [Damas] and in the same week performed on Live Earth in [Hamburg].

The Insomniac World Tour was launched at the Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same venue he ended his last world Tour and took him to sold out arenas throughout Europe. It was his first arena tour of the UK with him playing venues such as Manchester's MEN Arena and Wembley Arena. The tour ended with Iglesias performing at newly opened L.A. Live. A second leg of the tour has taken him throughout Latin America from Mexico to Argentina.

A solo version of "Push" was added to the soundtrack of the movie Step Up 2 the Streets. The song was regarded as the third single from the album. A music video was shot which features the film's lead actors. Despite never being officially added to radio the song has charted in several countries and is one of his most highly rated songs amongst fans.

Iglesias's song "Can You Hear Me" has been chosen as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament.^[17] He performed the song live at the June 29, 2008 final in Vienna, Austria.^[18] The song featured on a re-issue of the Insomniac album being released in certain countries.

[edit] 2008–09: Greatest Hits albums

Iglesias released a Spanish Greatest Hits album on March 25, 2008 which included his seventeen #1 songs on Hot Latin Tracks chart, plus two new songs. The first single was the song "Dónde Están Corazón", which is written by Argentine star Coti and became Iglesias's 18th #1 single on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Latin Albums Chart and #18 on the overall Billboard 200 albums chart. It was Iglesias's second Spanish album to debut in the top 20 of the Billboard 200 (Quizás debuted at #12 in 2002). The album was certified double Platinum (Latin field) in the U.S. and in some Latin American countries.

The album's second single "Lloro Por Ti" had an official remix featuring Wisin & Yandel which also reached #1. Iglesias did a tour of the US. Beginning in Laredo, Texas and ending at the Izod Center in New Jersey he was accompanied though most of the tour with Bachata band Aventura who also performed "Lloro Por Ti" with him at the Premios Juventud.

Iglesias was a surprise performer at the Lo Nuestro Awards, opening the show with a medley of "Dónde Están Corazón" and "Dimelo". He also performed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where he received a special award.

After the success of his Spanish Greatest Hits compilation, Iglesias released a compilation of his English language hits on November 11. The album includes "Can You Hear Me" as well two new songs. The first single is entitled "Away" featuring Sean Garrett and was followed by "Takin' Back My Love" featuring Ciara.^[19]

The compilation includes English hit songs such as "Bailamos", "Hero", "Be with You", "Not in Love" and "Escape" which have topped various Billboard charts (two of which did so on the Hot 100) as well as songs such as "Rhythm Divine", "Tired of Being Sorry" and "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)", which have also topped charts in Europe.

After the successful collaboration with Nadiya Iglesias has recorded a second duet with her called "Miss You" which featured on a deluxe edition of the album.

The album debuted at #3 on the official UK Albums Chart and sold over 80,000 copies in its first two weeks of release alone.

Iglesias was the winner of two World Music Awards in the categories of "World's Best Selling Latin Performer" and "World's Best Selling Spanish Artist", in the ceremony held in Monaco on November 9, 2008.

[edit] 2010–present: Euphoria

Earlier in 2010, Iglesias featured in the charity song We Are the World 25 for Haiti along with 25 other top artists from USA in order to raise funds for the Earthquake hit Haiti area. It was produced by Quincy Jones, and executively produced by Lionel Richie, and Haitian-American musician Wyclef Jean. Enrique also recorded the song "It Must Be Love" for the album Download to Donate for Haiti for the same cause.

On July 5, 2010, Iglesias released his ninth and tenth studio albums, Euphoria, his first work to be released under his new label, Universal Republic. The album is Iglesias's first bilingual album with seven original English songs and six original Spanish songs.^[20] The album has won Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Album, Billboard Latin Award for Latin Album of the Year and Latin Pop Album of the Year and was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Iglesias worked with three (actually four but one isn't mentioned) producers whom he has worked with before; RedOne, Mark Taylor and Carlos Paucer. The album features collaborations with Akon, Usher, Nicole Scherzinger, Ludacris, Pitbull, Juan Luis Guerra and his third duet with Wisin & Yandel. In a joint venture with Universal Latino Iglesias will release different singles in both languages simultaneously to different formats.

The first English single from the album, "I Like It", which features the rapper Pitbull, was released on May 3, 2010 in the U.S. and became a success, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Cuando Me Enamoro" was released as the lead Spanish single from the album. The song debuted at number 8 and number 25 on U.S Latin Pop Songs and U.S. Hot Latin Songs, respectively. The song became his 25th top 10 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs & after 4 weeks of its release date it became his 21st No.1 song on this chart.^[21][22]

As of January 2011 "Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)" broke into the top 10 on the Billboard charts reaching no 4.^[23] The song was released only for digital download in the U.S. although was featured on some Editions of "Euphoria" in Europe and some Asian areas. The song has became his first #1 on the US Pop Songs and Hot 100 airplay Charts.^[24]

A remix version of "Dirty Dancer" was released and became his ninth Dance Club play chart topper making him the male with the most number-one dance singles. tying with Prince & Michael Jackson.^[25][26] "Ayer" serves as the albums seventh single.

The Euphoria Tour has taken him across the US, Canada UK and Europe. A second which has taken him to Australia will include leg will include fellow artists Pitbull and Prince Royce and will be across North America. Iglesias was finalizing production for an extension to Euphoria, titled Euphoria Reloaded, however due to the poor commercial performance of I Like How It Feels featuring rapper Pitbull, plans of the rerelease were cut.The song topped the Billboard Hot Dance-Club Songs,making him the male artist with most number-one dance singles. Iglesias has recently collaborated with Dev on a song called "Naked". It was released on iTunes on December 20, 2011. This song was written by Iglesias.

Iglesias announced on 30 April, 2012 in a press conference at Boulevard3 that he would go on a joint world tour titled Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias in Concert with Jennifer Lopez & Wisin & Yandel. The trek is presented by State Farm Insurance and promoted by AEG Live. ^[27]

On May 22, 2012 Iglesias performed at the first Q102 Springle Ball 2012 concert, among the songs he performed were "Tonight I'm Loving You", "Hero", and "I Like It".

Songwriting, producing, and acting[link]

Iglesias has collaborated with songwriter Guy Chambers to write "Un Nuovo Giorno", the lead single from Andrea Bocelli's first pop album. The song was later translated into English as "First Day of My Life" and recorded by Spice Girl Melanie C. The song has since gone to become a huge hit throughout Europe, and peaked in the number one spot in numerous countries. Iglesias also wrote the single "The Way" for American Idol runner up Clay Aiken. Four songs co-written by Iglesias appear on the UK band The Hollies' current album. Many times Iglesias has said that should he ever retire, he wants to write and produce songs for other artists. In 2010 Idol Allstars 2010 (Swedish Idol Series) released a song "All I Need Is You" co-written by Iglesias with Andreas Carlsson, Kalle Engström and Kristian Lundin. It went straight to iTunes #1.

In 2000, Iglesias co-produced an off Broadway musical called Four Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer Named Maria. In the musical, four Americans of Latin heritage possess a common interest in music and meet and decide to put on a show. The show contained many references and allusions to many classic and contemporary Latin and pop songs by the likes of Carmen Miranda, Selena, Richie Valens, Santana, Ricky Martin and Iglesias himself.

Iglesias also developed an interest in acting, starring alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, in which he played the foul-mouthed gun-wielding Lorenzo. In 2007, he had guest starred in the TV comedy Two and a Half Men as a carpenter/handyman. He says that he would act again if given small roles that he could fit in between his musical commitments.

He also guest starred as Gael, an Argentinean guitar playing/surfer/massage therapist love interest of Robin in season 3 of the CBS hit TV show How I Met Your Mother.

Iglesias also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an ambitious TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour. He starred alongside Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink, who turn the tables on him in the commercial. He's also starred in commercials for Tommy Hilfiger, Doritos and for Viceroy watches.

Personal life[link]

Iglesias started dating tennis player Anna Kournikova in late 2001 (she appeared in his video, "Escape"), and rumors that the couple had secretly married circulated in 2003 and again in 2005. Kournikova herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships. But in May 2007, Enrique Iglesias was quoted (incorrectly, as he would clarify later) in the New York Sun that he had no intention of marrying Kournikova and settling down because they had split up^{[citation needed]}. The singer would later deny these rumors of "divorce" or simply separation^{[citation needed]}. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated.^[28] In an interview with Graham Norton in 2010, Kournikova confirmed that she and Iglesias have been together for over eight years but have no plans to marry in the near future.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

• Enrique Iglesias (1995)
• Vivir (1997)
• Cosas del Amor (1998)
• Enrique (1999)
• Escape (2001)
• Quizás (2002)
• 7 (2003)
• Insomniac (2007)
• Euphoria (2010)

Filmography[link]

Tours[link]

• Vivir World Tour (1997)
• Enrique World Tour (2000)
• One Night Stand World Tour (2002)
• Insomniac World Tour (2007)
• Greatest Hits Tour (2009)
• Euphoria Tour (2010-12)
• Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias in Concert (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

• Enrique Iglesias is one of the most celebrated Latin musical artists of all time. He has won 16 Billboard Music Awards and 23 Billboard Latin Music Awards, as well as 5 American Music Awards, a Grammy, a Latin Grammy and 7 World Music Awards. He also won an award for Best International Pop Act at the MTV India Awards. As well as being named "King of Latin Pop", he has won 15 Premios Lo Nuestro awards. In 2000, he was also awarded Most Fashionable Artist at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards. In 2001, for the release of his second English studio album Escape, he received awards for Best-Selling Pop Male Artist and European Male Artist at the World Music Awards.^[29] Iglesias also won an award for Most Successful Spanish Artist of the Decade at Premios Ondas in 2002.

See also[link]

Latin American music portal

• List of best-selling Latin artists
• List of best-selling music artists
• List of best-selling singles worldwide

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Enrique Iglesias

• Enrique Iglesias at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Enrique Iglesias website
• Official Interscope Records website
• Enrique Iglesias on Myspace
• Enrique Iglesias's channel on YouTube
• Enrique Iglesias on Facebook
• Enrique Iglesias profile at NNDB