BARCELONA – Julio Iglesias aimed directly at the hearts of his fans and found the target with an emotional concert in which he performed many of his greatest hits and encouraged Spaniards to trust in the country’s ability to overcome its current economic woes.

Wearing a white shirt and jacket, the 68-year-old heartthrob raised the passions of the audience, especially when he took off his jacket and his fans were unable to restrain their shouts of “guapo” and “te quiero” (“handsome” and “I love you”).

Both women and men in the audience sang along almost the entire time with Iglesias, and the performer held the microphone out to the crowd a number of times whereupon the fans repeatedly proved that they knew the lyrics to all the songs.

In fact, Iglesias’ musical tour that arrived in Spain on Wednesday night is designed to promote “1,” a double CD on which he has once again recorded the most popular numbers from his lengthy career.

The Spanish crooner stirred the audience with his music but also with his words, speaking a number of times directly to the public.

He became emotional when he spoke about his daughter Chabeli before performing “De niña a mujer” and when he recalled his father before singing “Un canto a Galicia.”

But his family was not the only subject he talked about onstage, although his wife and his five children were in the audience, also referring to his love for Spain and to his concern about the country’s economic situation.

“It’s not fair for a country as beautiful as this one, with such wealth and talent, to be suffering so much. I believe in the future of this country,” he said. EFE