Top 5 Spanish Men Have Something in Common

What do Cervantes, Picasso, Franco, Julio Iglesias and Antonio Banderas have in common? It is more than just being Spanish. Their prominence is due to fame, fortune, adulation, or notoriety. Four of these famous men also have strong connections with the south of Spain.

There are many prominent figures in Spanish history who are dead and buried but whose legacy lives on. There are also many contemporary figures who are enjoying fame and fortune while still alive. This article mentions only five, two of whom are still living, and their names will be familiar to most.

Miguel de Cervantes was born in 1547 and died aged 69 (1616) in Madrid. He was a novelist, playwright and poet. His most famous work was Don Quixote, a satirical story of lessons in romance and chivalry. His book is regarded as one of the best works of fiction ever written. His influence on the Spanish language was so formidable that Spanish was often referred to as La Lengua de Cervantes (the Language of Cervantes). In his early days, Cervantes was a valet, soldier and tax collector until success came with the publication of the first part of Don Quixote in 1605. The second part was published a year before his death on or about April 23, a date which UNESCO has named in his honour as International Day of the Book.

The artist Pablo Picasso, born in Málaga (1881-1973) is another Spanish Great. He was a painter, draughtsman and sculptor. He knew financial and romantic fortune during his lifetime and was married twice and had four children by three women. He co-founded analytic cubism with Georges Braque and lived most of his adult life in Mougins, France, where he died. There was as much interest in his personal life as his work due to his attraction to women and, in particular, younger women. Two women he had been involved with died during his lifetime and two by their own hand not long after his death. However, Picasso was a prolific artist and some of his works are of the most highly valued in the world. His painting Nude, Green Leaves and Bust sold at Christies in London for 6.5 million in May 2010.

Another prominent Spaniard is Francisco Franco (1892-1975). He was a Spanish military general and dictator. One claim to fame was that he became in the youngest general in Europe by 1926 but he was also responsible for the Spanish Civil War which followed a failed coup d’état against the Popular Front government. With military aid from n*** Germany and Fascist Italy, Franco won the war and took power. His methods of control of Spain were severe. Dissidents and ideologists were suppressed, censored or imprisoned. Franco also pursued policies of forced labour in prisons and the death penalty. He was, however, popular with American President Richard Nixon, who resigned after the infamous Watergate scandal. After Franco’s death, Spain set on a path to democracy after nearly 40 years of dictatorship rule. Franco’s Imperial Eagle, which used to appear on the national flag, has since been banned by law. It is said his granddaughter owns the department store chain El Corte Inglés (meaning The English Cut). There are two branches in southern Spain: Málaga and Marbella.

Singer-songwriter Julio Iglesias was born in 1943 and has sold over 250 million records worldwide. He is one of the top best-selling music artists ever. A true linguist, in Paris 1983 Iglesias received the Diamond Record Award from the Guinness Book of Records for selling more records in more languages than any other artist in history. Iglesias studied law in the 1960s in Madrid and was also a goalkeeper for Real Madrid until he was severely injured in a car crash in 1963. It was believed at the time he would never walk again. Prostrate in his hospital bed, he began to learn the guitar and the rest, as they say, is history. Another family near- tragedy was when his father was kidnapped by ETA, the Basque terrorist group, in 1985 but found alive after two weeks and at age 89 went on to have two more children, the second of which he did not live to see. Julio Iglesias re-married in August 2010 in Marbella and his son from his first marriage, Enrique, is also a famous singer-songwriter, actor and model.

Born in Málaga, 1960, Antonio Banderas is the youngest of these five most prominent figures in Spanish history. Like Iglesias, he is also a singer and at age 14 wanted to be a football player but broke his foot. At age 19 he began his acting career and is now a renowned actor, film director and producer. He has starred in films every single year since 1982. He owns 50% of a winery in Northern Spain and has invested in Andalusian products, which he promotes in Spain and the USA. He is able to switch easily between his native Andalusian accent and a Castillian accent. In 2005 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is married to the American actress Melanie Griffith. They own a house on the beach in Marbella.

Iglesias and Banderas are, of course, not yet finished. In 2010 Banderas turned 50 and has yet many heights to which he can aspire. We will already be meeting him again in 2011 in the film Puss in Boots.