| |  | | Pak: Are you one of those artist who constantly tweaks their songs? Do you listen to them over and over and feel like you could spend a million years on each one? Or do you just let it go once it's done?
Iglesias: Once you capture that magic, you've got to let it go. If not, you'll go nuts. But at the same time, it's better to have more time than not enough time. That's what I had with this album. I had enough time to tweak it to the point that I thought it was good enough.
Pak: Did the success of the previous album create any extra pressure when you went in to record this one?
Iglesias: No. I knew I had so much time. I said whatever comes, comes. I knew I didn't want to do "Bailamos Part 2," or "Be With You Part 8." I just wanted to do something completely different. If I can play the song on the guitar and it sounds good, then that's what I like.
Pak: How do you know when you've written a song worth putting on an album? Who do you use as a sounding board for ideas?
Iglesias: A lot of times, I write late at night. I'll go to sleep at seven in the morning and wake up at noon. I wake up, listen to the song and if it still makes me cry, or if it still gives me goose bumps, that's when I know it is special. You have to go with your own ear. Because you're the one who has to stand up onstage and be believable.
Pak: A couple of years ago, the media coined the phrase "Latin explosion." You were lumped into that category. How did you deal with that categorization, personally and professionally?
Iglesias: I really feel like I've moved on, but I'm always going to be Latin. I'm proud of who I am and where I come from. The only word I don't like there is "explosion," because when there is an explosion it's not bound to last too long. I think it all comes down to the artist and to the song.
Pak: Do you feel like you have to straddle a line between the Spanish-speaking fans, who've loved you for years, and your English-speaking fans, many of whom just discovered you with the last album?
Iglesias: I think a lot of my fans in the U.S. are kids who speak a lot more English than Spanish. I remember when I first came out, there weren't a lot of young singers out there singing in Spanish, so it was perfect for me. They had someone that they could identify with. Those fans are the ones that have helped me ... I don't want to say "cross over," because I'm already on your soil, but ... What's funny is that I used to put out Spanish albums and the place where I sold the most albums and packed the most arenas was in the U.S. I'd be in an American restaurant and suddenly the people that did the valet parking, the people in the kitchen, who were Spanish or Mexican or Puerto Rican would be like, "Can I have your autograph?" All the Americans would be like, "Who the hell is that?" That's my audience. That's what got me here, and I love those people to death. I'll never stop singing in Spanish.
Pak: You just finished a role in Robert Rodriguez's new movie, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico." What was that experience like?
Iglesias: It's a small role, and they might edit me out. I might just be seen in the background. It was fun. I had just finished the album and I said, "Why not?" I loved his movies and I'm not an actor, but he said, "You don't have to be an actor. You can do it." I said, "It can't be that hard to pick up a couple of guns and shoot." I went to Mexico and shot there for about 25 days. I had a blast. I just fell in love with the character. I knew he wasn't going to make me look stupid. And the cast was so good: Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke.
Pak: Is it intimidating to walk in your first day and see all these screen legends?
Iglesias: It was a little intimidating, but you know what? It was like doing a never-ending video. Except there's a lot more waiting.
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