We went all the way to New York to shoot this magazine cover with Paty Manterola and Enrique Iglesias! Both artists are in important moments of their careers. Paty, just one year after going solo as a singer, is showing in her first soap opera role that she can also act! Enrique has released his first CD and with it wants to make it perfectly clear that in addition to having a famous last name, he has all the talent necessary to succeed on his own. The interview was very casual, very friendly. Each of them asked the other what they most wanted to know about them. We also had a chance to ask some questions.

The first to ask her questions was Paty:

Enrique, why did you decide to start singing?
I have always wanted to sing, since I was young. It's something I've always felt.

Paty: What type of music do you like?
I listen to everything, music in Italian, French, English, even Japanese. Whatever it is, as long as its music. On my album I have focused on romantic songs, which are the kind that touch me the most.

Paty: Tell us about your CD. How did you get the idea, what is your favorite song...
There are 10 songs on my CD. I wrote five of them myself. Three others were written by Rafael Pérez-Botija, another is by the "Buki" Marco Antonio Solís and the other is by Chein García. It was produced by Rafael Pérez-Botija, and it's very nice. Of all the songs, the one I like best is "Experiencia Religiosa". It's the most interesting because it compares religion with love and suggests that in the end, they're both the same thing. It doesn't talk about what religion is, if it's being Catholic or Jewish or whatever, the thing is to believe in something. The CD is being released worldwide, and I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

Paty: Do you like Mexican women?
I love them! (turns his head to look at Paty)

Paty: What type of women do you like?
I don't have a type. It doesn't matter to me if she's blonde, brunette, tall, short, fat or thin. I don't care, as long as I like her.

Paty: Just like your father!
Exactly!

Paty: And do you have a girlfriend?
No, I don't have a girlfriend.

Paty: What sign are you?
Taurus, on May 8, 1975. But a very unassuming Taurus, simple. I keep a lot of things inside and express them through my music. As a matter of fact, it's the way I best express myself-- singing. I'm very sensitive, more than I seem, but I'm strong when I need to be. I have a lot inside, a lot of energy that can be seen in my eyes.

Paty: What did you do before you started singing?
I finished high school and went to the university to study Business. I was there for two years, but fortunately, I was given this opportunity, and I had to do it. I feel that there will always be time for college but not for an opportunity like this. A door opened for me and if I didn't go through it, it was going to close again.

Paty: How many times have you been in love?
It depends on what you mean by being in love. Because if being in love is when your legs tremble, you lose sleep and you don't remember to eat, hundreds of times! No, that's not true. I'm one of those people who believes that you can only fall in love once in your life-- with the girl you love the most-- and that moment hasn't come for me yet.

Paty: Do you believe in marriage?
Not much, but I believe (laughter). No, seriously, of course I believe in it. Even though I don't think about marriage now. Maybe in the future when I'm 60 or 70 I will think about getting marriage for the rest of my life (laughter).

Eres: What has it meant for you to be the son of the most famous Spanish-speaking singer in the world?
Look, I see Julio Iglesias in two different ways: one, as my father, and another, as a singer. As a singer, to me, he's the best, and I admire him 100%. And as a father, I think he has been the best father he could be.

Eres: What has your life been like having such a famous last name?
My last name has never been something that has (guided) me because my last name doesn't determine my fate. I go around knowing that my name is Enrique, but never Enrique Iglesias. Come on, I know that's my last name, but it has never gone to my head. That's the most important thing. The Iglesias name can give me a lot of opportunities, and in fact, it has opened many doors for me. In fact, I know that if that weren't my last name maybe the record company wouldn't have given me everything they've given me. But I'm sure the next time you interview me it won't be because my last name is Iglesias but because I've done good work.

Paty: What are your goals?
I never set goals. For example, being a singer wasn't a goal for me because I knew I was going to be a singer, whether I was successful or not. I determine my destiny, but I don't set goals for myself. I feel like if I set a goal for myself, the day I reached it, I would stop. And if I didn't reach it, I would go crazy. That's why I don't like to do it.

Paty: Do you have a hobby?
Writing music.

Paty: And where is your favorite place to write?
In my bed at 4 o'clock in the morning.

Eres: What do you think about talent?
Talent is something one is born with, but you have to develop it little by little. The bad thing is that then there are people who don't realize that they have talent, so even for that you need intelligence. Talent can be inherited, but most of the time it's something you carry inside. It makes me laugh when I hear people say, "That guy is the son of a singer, so he should be able to sing well," because it's not like that. If you're a singer, you're a singer. The same, if you're a painter, you're a painter, and if you're not, you're not.

Paty: What is fame to you?
To me, fame is nothing. I put happiness before fame. I think that sometimes fame can destroy your happiness. In fact, I think that if you're famous it's difficult to be 100% happy. And you have to sacrifice a little, I believe.

Paty: So what would you be willing to sacrifice?
For fame, nothing. For singing, everything. Sometimes I think that I'd even sacrifice happiness. That's what scares me the most-- to sacrifice happiness to sing. When I'm singing I'm happy, but you're not always singing, you know? To be a singer you have to have a little nostalgia and sadness inside you. You can't always be happy even if you're singing rock and roll, or a ballad or whatever.

Paty: When did you start to study music?
I have never studied music. I went into a room five years ago, six or eight hours a day, to sing with some poor musicians. Nobody knew about it. I would come home from school and without anyone knowing, would sing and write music with them.

Paty: Do you play any instruments?
No, I don't play any instruments, other than my mind. I think the mind is the best instrument there is for music. If I played an instrument I think I would go crazy trying to write music. I always carry a tape recorder with me and when a melody comes to me I write down the words. It's the best way. I think there are two types of writers: those who write with their brains and those who write with their hearts. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, but I write with my heart. If I did it with my brain, it would come out really messed up. I would love to play the piano or the guitar, but it doesn't kill me [that I don't play]. It doesn't matter to me.

Eres: Is it true that you recorded your album without your father hearing it?
Exactly. My father just heard the single a few days ago. What happened is that when I was 10 years old I knew that I wanted to be a singer. And you already know that all children when they tell their parents they want to be singers or actors, they think they're crazy and tell them to go away. So, I knew that if I said anything I was going to get the same reaction. That's why I kept it a secret. I kept it inside until the day the door opened up for me and I had my future built up a little, then I told him about it.

Paty: So what did he say to you when you talked to him?
He said, "Son of a ....!!" (laughter). No, he said to do it, but to do it right. He didn't want to get involved, and it would have been the biggest mistake of my life. I want to take the blows for myself and assume my responsibilities. If I make a mistake, I want it to be my mistake and no one else's. These past few years I've learned not only what I experienced in that little room with my "family", I've also learned about life-- how to get along with poor people and rich people, with talented people and people without talent, to know what talent is and what it is not, and to judge people by their hearts, not by other things. These have been the five most important years of my life. Mentally, I have matured from an ordinary 15 year-old kid-- mischievous, a little stupid, not at all conceited-- into another person, mentally-speaking.

Eres: With whom did you live, your mother or your father?
Until I was eight years old I lived with my mother, and then I went to live with my father. But you know what? There's a special person who is very important in my life, who has raised me and my brother and sister. We call her "La Seño", and I owe everything to her. She's the woman who was our babysitter, our nanny. She was like a second mother to me. She devoted her entire life to my sister, my brother and me.

Eres: In fact, she is the first person you mention in the dedication of your CD, before your parents. Why?
That's right, but that doesn't mean she's more important than my father. It's just that she has dedicated her entire life to me, and the least I can do is dedicate my CD to her. She deserves heaven, everything. I will never be able to repay her for everything she has done for me.

Eres: In that respect, would you like for your childhood to to have been different? Would you have liked to have your parents closer?
I wouldn't change any part of my life. I like being who I am and the way I am. I'm sincere, straightforward, a guy who feels happiness and sadness, who laughs, who cries, and most important, I'm fair in what I do. I would never hurt anyone, nor do I regret anything about my childhood. I have always had someone, whether it was my mother, my father, "La Seño" or whomever. And if at one time I lacked something, I now have more than I ever hoped for.

Paty: You're a very handsome man. What does physical appearance mean to you?
Wow, thank you. Someday I'd like to come out singing naked. No, it's a joke! Truthfully, beauty lasts about two days, I have realized. I have known beautiful girls who have nothing inside, and they leave in two days. Anyway, if you are good-looking and you don't have talent you will sell CDs the first time, but not again. In the end, what gives you constancy is talent-- not image, not good looks.

Eres: In spite of being famous from the time you were little, you're a really good guy, very modest. What have you done to keep it from going to your head?
I have always been this way. I was born like this. First, you always have to keep grounded because the moment you aren't, you will fall, and fall hard. And once you fall, nobody will help you. That's the worst thing. But anyway, that's not why I don't let it go to my head. This is just the way I am. I was born like this and raised to be this way. I'm 100% sincere, 100% Enrique.

That concludes Enrique's answers. These are the questions he asked Paty:

Enrique: Okay, Paty, what do you think about when you are singing?

How many children would you like to have?