Bobby Pulido is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is well known for inspiring his nephew Antonio Pulido III to learn guitar and follow in his musical legacy, and he is credited for introducing Tejano music to a youthful crowd and became a teen idol and one of the most influential Tejano recording artists among Mexican American teenagers.
Pulido debuted on the music scene in 1995 as the lead vocalist of his eponymous band. That same year he signed a recording contract with EMI Latin and released his debut album, Desvelado. The album peaked at number nine on the United States Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and at number three on the U.S. Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 100,000 units. The title track of Desvelado launched Pulido as a popular Tejano musician, but he was criticized by veteran musicians, who believed he was successful in the genre because of his father Roberto Pulido’s established music career.
Enséñame (1996), which peaked at number two on the Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart, earned Pulido a nomination for the Tejano Music Award for Male Entertainer of the Year and the Lo Nuestro Award for Regional Mexican New Artist of the Year. In 1998, he performed to a sold-out Auditorio Coca-Cola in Monterrey, becoming the first Tejano musician to do so. He also became the youngest recipient to be awarded the Orgullo de la Frontera by the Fiestas Mexicanas in February 1999. By 2000, the popularity of Tejano music was declining, resulting in Pulido’s subsequent albums to not chart anywhere. Despite this, in 1998 he won Male Entertainer of the Year, which he won three consecutive times.
In 2003, Pulido made his acting debut by starring in the made-for-television film La Decada Furiosa. He also appeared in the telenovelas Fuego en La Sangre and Qué pobres tan ricos. His album Enfermo de Amor (2007) was commercially unsuccessful, and he took a three-year hiatus. Pulido returned to music in March 2010 and released an album titled Dias de Ayer; he also returned to acting and guest-starred in the film Noches Con Platanito. Aside from music and film, Pulido married Eliza Anzaldua in July 1996. Pulido filed for divorce in September 2013, after having fathered three sons with Anzaldua.