Julio To Be Honored @ Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences 2001.

International recording legend Julio Iglesias will be honored as the 2001 Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Person Of The Year, it was announced by Michael Greene, President/CEO of the Recording Academy and Latin Recording Academy. The honor recognizes Iglesias’ professional and philanthropic accomplishments. A portion of the proceeds from the LARAS Person Of The Year tribute dinner will benefit the Latin Academy’s outreach and education programs.

“Julio Iglesias is the preeminent ambassador for Latin music and culture throughout the world,” said Greene. “It is so very rare that a man of such talent, passion and commitment to his fans and culture comes along, and it is the Latin Academy’s great pleasure to honor this international treasure.”

Iglesias will receive the honor at a star-studded tribute dinner and concert on September 11 in Miami. The Latin Academy Person Of The Year tribute dinner is one of the most prestigious events of Latin GRAMMY® Week and will precede the 2nd Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards which will be held at AmericanAirlines Arena on September 12. The Latin GRAMMYs will air on the CBS Television Network and on radio via the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation worldwide.

In a career that has spanned over four decades, Iglesias has become one of the world’s best-selling male vocalists. He has sold more records in more languages than anyone in the recording industry, and has broken box office records everywhere from New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s Royal Albert Hall to the Parque do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.

Since signing his first recording contract in 1968, Iglesias has toured the globe tirelessly, visiting cities in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Middle East. A prolific artist, he has recorded numerous albums and singles which have gone to No. 1 worldwide. Some of these include “Manuela” (1974), El Amor (1977), Emociones (1979), Hey! (1980), Momentos (1982) and My Life: The Greatest Hits (1998) to name just a few. His major crossover success started in 1984 with 1100 Bel Air Place, a collection of duets featuring such artists as Diana Ross and Willie Nelson. The record was his first Top 10 album in America and earned him two worldwide hit singles, “To All The Girls I’ve LovedBefore” and “All of You.” Today, Iglesias has over 2,500 platinum and gold records internationally, and his most recent release, Noche De Cuatro Lunas, has already achieved multi-platinum success.

Iglesias’ talent has been honored and recognized the world over and even a partial list of his accomplishments is staggering:

– He has recorded albums in seven languages
– He has received seven GRAMMY® Award nominations and won a GRAMMY in the Best Latin Pop Performance category for his album, Un Hombre Solo
– He was the first international performer to have his own TV special broadcast on the National Chinese Television Network in Beijing
– Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
– Selected by UNICEF as Special Representative in the Performing Arts

Julio Iglesias is as well known for his humanitarian efforts as for his musical talent. In the U.S., he has donated his time to benefit many different causes including the GRAMMY Foundation®’s GRAMMY in the Schools program, Farm Aid, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Special Preventative Research, Intervention and New Technology (SPRINT — an organization specializing in pre-natal surgery and research) and the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). On an international level, Iglesias has actively worked to raise funds on behalf of children in Latin America, as well as for the victims of many natural disasters throughout South America.

Iglesias has promoted and supported UNICEF for over a decade, traveling the globe extensively making personal appearances and doing benefit concerts — including the first-ever benefit for UNICEF in the former Soviet Union — on behalf of the world’s underprivileged children.

Iglesias is the second Latin Recording Academy Person Of The Year honoree following the celebration of Emilio Estefan’s achievements in conjunction with the 1st Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards in 2001.

For more information at http://www.grammy.com.