Birth Name: Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva
Place of Birth: Madrid, Spain
Date of Birth: September 23, 1943
Ethnicity: Spanish (including Galician Spanish), 1/4 Puerto Rican (Spanish), possibly Sephardi Jewish
Julio Iglesias is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He is the son of Julio Iglesias Puga and María del Rosario de la Cueva y de Perignat. His son is musician and actor Enrique Iglesias.
The surname “Iglesias” is Spanish for “churches”. Julio’s paternal ancestry comes from Galicia. Julio has stated that he has, or that he thinks he has, some degree of Sephardi Jewish ancestry on his mother’s side. It is not clear if this ancestry has been documented/verified. Julio’s recent ancestors were not Jewish. Julio’s mother’s surname, “de la Cueva y Perignat” (literally “of the cave”), referring to Jewish people in hiding, is evidently a common Jewish name.
Julio’s paternal grandparents were Ulpiano Iglesias Sarriá and Manuela Puga Noguerol.
Julio’s maternal grandparents were José de la Cueva y de Orejuela (the son of Manuel de la Cueva y Campo Redondo and Rosario de Orejuela y Prieto) and Dolores Perignat y Ruiz de Benavides. Dolores was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico (of Spanish descent).
Source: Genealogy of Julio Iglesias – http://www.geni.com
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