His voice is a passionate calm in elusive loves when it comes to heartbreak, and in that shadowy love Astor Torres lived, he set that wound to music in an absolute duel of emotions—all with his new unreleased single titled “Ya No Hay Amor,” a production by Carlos Cartaya that includes nine songs he wrote, out of the ten that will be part of the new album.
“One day, my friend Xavier Mili and I were trying to write a song, and I told him a story that had happened to me some years back. He said, ‘Let’s do it,’ and that’s how it came to be, because without a doubt, you relive the movie.
It was a Cuban girlfriend I had here in Miami. We met at a nightclub, and it turned out we always saw each other at night. When the morning light came, she’d disappear. When I started falling in love and confessed my feelings, she told me she didn’t want anything serious.
That hurt even more because I realized all she wanted was to party. Now, as I’ve been promoting the song on the radio in different countries like Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Chile, and the Dominican Republic, or through social media, I know this is a very common story. That, in turn, is gratifying—knowing there’s a song out there people are relating to.”
“Ya no hay amor / solo quedan sombras / de lo que una vez creímos ser”
And those loves that hurt the most, Astor turns into ballads with the poetry of everyday life.
“I have romantic songs like ‘Enamorado de Ti,’ which I wrote for a girlfriend who had me completely smitten. It was that kind of relationship where if you didn’t see each other for a day, you’d miss that person.
I was quite the ladies’ man, (laughs), and even though I’m happily married now, I can tell you that when I see a beautiful woman who talks to me, I still get butterflies in my stomach and can only think, ‘What a beautiful woman.’
In my case, I tend to write songs about these experiences and find inspiration in them, like I’ve done with some soap opera actresses. So, I try to take advantage of that.”
Though true love came later for the Guatemalan artist, Diana Torres is the inspiration behind many of his muses.
“I’ll tell you, our first date was taking her to one of my father’s concerts where he invited me to sing.
That was part of the falling in love—she had no idea what she was getting into, (haha). It’s not easy being the wife of a musician who’s always traveling; even I find it tough.
I’ve written many songs for Diana. One of the first was when we were already dating, and I remember I was working on my first album. That’s when the song ‘No quiero perderme ni un minuto lejos de ti’ was born—pretty innocent, I’d say, of my first beautiful love.”
The singer-songwriter admits he not only carries a heavy last name but also the legacy of his father, Álvaro Torres, in his veins.
“The tribute album to Álvaro Torres that I recorded was a testament to the love and respect I feel for my father. It was a celebration of the music that has touched the lives of millions of people worldwide.
Recording that album was a huge responsibility, and it was super difficult because he has such a unique and peculiar voice. When I heard him say, ‘Oh, my boy, you gave me a taste of my own medicine,’ I felt fully rewarded,” concluded the charismatic artist.
By Rossana Azuero
RossanaAzu@aol.com
