In his own words: Pete Astudillo's songs

In his own words: Pete Astudillo's songs.

Artists walk up to Pete Astudillo and ask him, practically beg him, for a song. They know that his words really are gold. And although Pete began as a Tejano artist, it isn't just Tejanos that ask him for songs. Grupero, conjunto, and international artists all line up with equal enthusiasm, first complimenting him on his writing style then invariably asking for a song from him. But in spite of that, Pete remains relatively humble. All he wants is for people to accept him and his songs. And they have. This year alone, he's won more awards than many artists will ever win in their lifetime. For example, BMI awarded him with Songwriter of the Year, an honor he shared with Juan Luis Guerra. And for this interview, I was able to talk to him backstage at the Pura Vida Awards, minutes after he was awarded the Composer of the Year award June 4th.

LA PRENSA: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WINNING THE PURA VIDA COMPOSER OF THE YEAR AWARD?

PETE ASTUDILLO: It feels really good because that's something that I'm really proud to say as a writer, that I've been recognized, and I've been doing it for a very long time with some very good people that help me, and that I've been co-writing with. So it feels really good to be recognized as a writer. Because writing is as important as my performing.

LP: SOME WOULD ARGUE THAT YOUR WRITING HAS EVEN OVERSHADOWED YOUR PERFORMANCES.

PETE: I think they're both important to me. The only problem is finding time to send off all the stuff. To me it's a double blessing. Of course when I get old and gray, I can just dedicate myself to writing So I'm going to take advantage of both as much as I can. But I love doing both.

LP: WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE A WRITER?