He’s back. Dark hair, white teeth, brown skin. In the Spanish-speaking world, it’s July when Julio Iglesias takes over the Internet.
Laughs at the memes: Julio Iglesias Photo: Siegfried Pilz/Roba/UA/imago
‘Juli’ means ‘Julio’ in Spanish – and is also a given name. A simple fact that is the basis for a seemingly endless number of puns that flourish as memes on social media. With Julio Iglesias, probably the most famous Julio in the world after Julio (Julius) Caesar, as the main character.
Iglesias arrives just in time for July 1st (“El uno de julio”) with a deck of cards And Fiat therefore. You can talk to him about the weather (“The July is very humid“ – Baby Julio with diaper), above Historical (Julio in 18th century uniform and sword) and urge to urinate (“Julio is no longer bearable” with double entendre “Julio can’t take it anymore.’) or with Bob Ross Afro or painter about hopeful things (“July is looking good / doesn’t paint well.”), professional successes (“Julio viene con Bono”, i.e. “Julio gets a bonus” but is pictured with U2 singer Bono) and problems (“July will be tough” – Iglesias as a long-haired heavy metaller).
Memes (pronounced as you read it in Spanish): These are internet things that someone has put together a photo, a drawing, an audio clip, a video clip with a saying. They wobble or stand still, make a sound or don’t make a sound – and are simply passed on through social media. They usually have to be funny, from satirical to stupid. Julio Iglesias has provided a lot of photo material in his long life – the rest only requires the user’s imagination and minimal Photoshop talent.
Photo: Instagram
How Julio Iglesias and memes began is not definitively clear. And due to the lack of deep gaps in Julio Iglesias meme research, it will likely never be clarified. The same reports on this topic, like memes, are released every year (Here CNN shamelessly recycles a report from 2022), according to the taz study.
Confession in the Spanish Bunte
The first memes apparently date back to 2015. Since then, the Spanish-language international press has (probably still the only) Exclusive interview by Iglesias on the subject from the magazine Hello! (actually the Spanish colorful). In it, Iglesias said of his memes: “I know them, they are nice and they make people happy… I think that’s good, as long as they are not offensive.”
Photo: Instagram
And another ‘confession’: ‘I don’t see them all, but sometimes friends send me one and I laugh my head off.’ A reaction ‘with the good sense of humor that has always distinguished Julio Iglesias’ analyzed Hello! razor sharp.
During the corona pandemic, when the Spanish-speaking world also needed something to laugh about, came a sharp blow. And since then the memes have continued, with no end in sight. No one would think of getting rid of Santa Claus.
Wordplay and double meaning
Like the gingerbread in German supermarkets, the Julio memes are now flooding the internet in May and trickling into August. “July is in sight”“July on the horizon” (Iglesias at sunrise, Iglesias peeking out of a hole, Iglesias in a tractor outfit) – and for advanced Spanish jokers: “We have May, July is still waiting for us” (“Julio espera” / “Julio es pera” – with an Iglesias head mounted in a bright green pear = pear, matching his song “Espera”).
Then turn back: “July leaves us” (Iglesias gets on the subway) or “The last minutes of July” (Iglesias in the electric chair). If Julio Iglesias ever diesthe thing could still macabre become.
Although: it has been possible without him for a long time, as evidenced by a meme. Here an elderly gentleman wearing a tie can be seen standing under an air conditioner. “No es Julio, pero tiene un aire” i.e. “That’s not Julio, but he has air conditioning”, ambiguous “looks like him”.
Ballads with a lush schmaltz factor
Julio Iglesias is from Madrid, one of his first hits, “Un canto a Galicia”, was a declaration of love for his father’s Galician homeland – it couldn’t be more Spanish. In Latin America, the view of the country of the former colonial masters is still mixed, to say the least. If you speak on the Spanish mainland in Colombia, you’d better stop lisping quickly. But by July, that will be forgotten. Humor connects.
Iglesias was many things in his life. Singer, composer, musician, producer, footballer, lawyer and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most successful Spanish-speaking musicians, oh boy, he has sung in 14 languages. Mostly ballads with a lot of schmaltz.
The author had to abandon her attempt to write this text with YouTube’s Best Of Julio Iglesias mix in her ears. It’s doubtful his meme fans will be hearing him on repeat come July. More likely they don’t even know his songs. He has on Instagram Last posted four months ago (and no, not a meme of yourself).
Photo: Instagram
Tax evasion to the Caribbean
Now 80, the father of eight (his youngest is 14), he announced his retirement from the limelight almost two decades ago. He is said to live between Miami and the Bahamas with his second wife (a blonde ex-model). In 2021, he surfaced in the Pandora papers as one of the celebrities who committed tax evasion in the Caribbean through a group of offshore companies.
But none of this dampens Julio’s enthusiasm one bit. There’s one coming soon Netflix series about his life away from here. Maybe then the internet users will learn who they laugh at every year.