Julio Iglesias
31 May, 2014
Osaka, Japan
FAQ: Say, as a limo driver, you must have met a lot of famous people, right?
During my stint as a chauffeur, I drove, saw, met, and interacted with a great deal more than my fair share of celebrities. This is very understandable.
One of my most memorable celebrity jobs was one I did with Galician-Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias, probably best known for his duet with Willie Nelson "All the Girls I've Loved Before."
(I knew many other of his songs in Spanish, and my favorite is "Un Canto a Galicia," a song to Galicia, sung in Gallego, his native language.)
At the early part of my time driving limousines, New Orleans was hosting a World's Fair in 1984. Since I spoke Spanish, it fell upon my lot to be assigned him for the day and evening, as he had a performance at the fair. What should've been a prestigious job turned out to be anything but!
I was quite happy to meet an entertainer whose music I really enjoyed, and I have always been a fan of sorts. So naturally, I was looking forward to seeing him in concert, and one would think that, as his chauffeur, I could probably get to see the show for free.
Well, I took him to his performance at the fair that evening, but didn't get to hear him sing a single note. Sadly, conditions were that I needed to remain with my vehicle.
Limos are conversation-starters, and some girls I knew from the Japanese Pavilion were BIG Julio fans. They went nuts when they found out I was driving him, so, in typical Japanese style, they had their picture taken - not with Julio Iglesias, but with his chauffeur and limo! I got a kick out of that, and willingly agreed to the picture.
When it was time to pick him and some friends up after the concert, he asked about dinner. Being from Galicia, on Spain's NW Atlantic Coast, I suggested seafood, to which he readily agreed.
I told him about not the most expensive restaurant, but one of the best places to get typical Louisiana seafood. He loved the idea! So I called my dispatch and had him make reservations for a party of three at Ralph & Kackoo's Restaurant, and I took them there directly.
I was starving, but in the limo business, the client's every need comes first, and often your most basic of needs are not met.
I went into the tiny parking lot to search for a cubbyhole in which to temporarily divest myself of my block-long auto, so I could at least grab a burger or whatever, while my client enjoys the finest seafood the city of New Orleans has to offer.
Missing a meal was not the worst of my problems that night: The parking lot was cramped and very poorly lit. I made a slow curve inside the lot - but I wasn't driving my old Chevrolet - what I was driving was much longer. I heard a low "WwOOOO" sound.
I did not like that at ALL. I stopped the instant I heard the noise, and got out to see if I could determine the cause of it.
There was this car parked on the end, where I was making the turn. It had nice, thick, black, rubber bumpers, invisible in the dark shadows. The front bumper made a nearly two foot long crease or linear indention on the side of the car. I was beside myself!
I extricated poor Lincoln 6 from the rubber bumper, and took it out into a lit area for an inspection. It would need some minor body work, and that meant $$$$.
Many chauffeurs recommend restaurants they might get a free meal from, and often for that reason. Nothing wrong with that, necessarily: restaurants often fed us so we'd be familiar with their cuisine and would be more likely to recommend those restaurants, even if it was because we got a bite to eat on the house. Quid pro quo. Besides, we had to eat, too. Why not slip the man who's bringing you business a plate of chow? I'm sure Julio Iglesias dropped several C-notes there that night.
My philosophy was to take care of the client: that was my job. I recommended eating establishments I thought my CLIENTS would like, and often went hungry and stood around waiting on the corner as re-payment for my trouble. That night was no different: I didn't get a free meal - not even a cup of coffee! Worse than that, I had to pay the insurance deductible for the limo repairs, which was $300.00.
When I finally got home, late, tired, and hungry, family, friends, and even neighbors called or came over to talk to the great Julio Iglesias' personal chauffeur for a day. The Japanese Pavillion girls even sent me a picture to remember the evening by.
I did not look at it in such a positive light: I had to work very hard for that $300.00, and so my experience on the night I drove Señor Iglesias was really nothing to croon about.
"La Vida Sigue Igual" -
(Life remains the same)
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