Pedro Infante


Pedro Infante Cruz was a Mexican actor and singer. Hailed as one of the greatest actors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, he is considered an idol in Mexico and other Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Guatemala and Peru. He along with Jorge Negrete and Javier Solís are considered the best ranchera singers.
Infante was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, but raised in nearby Guamúchil. He died on 15 April 1957 in Mérida, Yucatán, in a plane crash during a flight en route to Mexico City, after an engine failed on takeoff. His remains were later identified by a bracelet found.
His film career began in 1939 with him appearing in more than 60 films – 30 of them with his brother Ángel Infante, and starting in 1943 he recorded about 350 songs. For his performance in the movie Tizoc, he was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival.

Childhood and early career

Pedro Infante was the son of Delfino Infante García, who played the double bass in a band, and Maria del Refugio Cruz Aranda. He was the third of fifteen children, of whom nine survived. Although the Infante Cruz family stayed for some time at Mazatlán, in early 1919 they moved to Guamúchil. In 1920 they moved to El Rosario, Sinaloa. As a teen, Infante showed talent and affection for music. He managed to learn strings, wind, and percussion instruments in a short time.
His wife, María Luisa León, who died of cardiac arrest on 27 October 1978, was somewhat well-off, economically. According to her memoir Pedro Infante en la intimidad conmigo , she convinced him of the need to move to Mexico City where they would find opportunities for this talented young man.
In Mexico City, he sang the songs of composers including Alberto Cervantes, José Alfredo Jiménez, Cuco Sánchez, Tomás Méndez, Rubén Fuentes, Salvador Flores Rivera , René Touzet and others. His first musical recording El Soldado Raso was made on 19 November 1943, for the Peerless Records Company. Infante first appeared as an extra in the movie En un Burro Tres Baturros, or the more correct and succinct transliteration, "Three Baturros on a Burro". His career as an actor in leading roles started with La Feria de Las Flores, literally translated as "The Flower Carnival," in 1943.
In that same year, a friend and neighbor of Infante's wife, Carmen Barajas Sandoval, offered to introduce them to Jorge Negrete, a singer whom he admired. Barajas, who knew people in the business as she was the aunt of the child actress Angélica María, worked then at The Sindicat of Workers of the Movies Production, S.T.P.C.. She succeeded in convincing Negrete to recommend Infante to the producer Ismael Rodríguez, and others. As a result, he was invited to appear in different pictures, such as Vuelve el Ametralladora
While married to María Luisa León, Infante met the dancer Lupita Torrentera Bablot, with whom he had three children: Graciela Margarita, Pedro Infante Jr., and Guadalupe Infante Torrentera. Irma Infante was born from his marriage to young actress Irma Dorantes.

Actor

Infante appeared in such motion pictures as:
es, cha-cha-chas, rancheras and boleros placed him among the most popular singers of the mariachi and ranchera music. Some of his most popular songs include: Amorcito Corazón, Te Quiero Así, La Que Se Fue,
Corazón, El Durazno, Dulce Patria, Maldita Sea Mi Suerte, Así Es La vida, Mañana Rosalía, Mi Cariñito, Dicen Que Soy Mujeriego, Carta a Eufemia, Nocturnal, Cien Años, Flor Sin Retoño, Pénjamo, and ¿Qué Te Ha Dado Esa Mujer?. He sang "Mi Cariñito" to his frequent on screen grandmother, Sara Garcia, so many times in so many of their movies together, that it was played at her funeral.
The world-famous song Bésame Mucho, from the composer Consuelo Velázquez, was the only melody that he recorded in English and he interpreted it in the movie A Toda Máquina , with Luis Aguilar.

Death and homages

Infante's hobby was aviation, which then led to his death. According to Wilbert Alonzo-Cabrera, his biographer, the actor was co-piloting a Consolidated B-24D, which had been converted from heavy bomber to freighter in San Diego, California. The plane crashed five minutes after taking off from Mérida, Yucatán, in southeast Mexico. An engine failed on takeoff, causing the plane to spiral to the ground, killing two on the ground as well as all three on the plane.
The death of Pedro Infante on the morning of 15 April 1957, was announced by radio personality Húmberto Sánchez-Rodríguez, of radio station XEMH of Mérida, after one of the firefighters discovered a bracelet engraved with the name "Pedro Infante", plus the winged insignia that symbolized his aviator license. This was around 8:15 am; at 11:12 am, Manuel Bernal, of Mexico City radio station XEW, gave the news saying: "this Monday, 15 April 1957, Pedro, our beloved Pedro...this has been confirmed, has died in a tragic accident in Mérida, Yucatán."
Year after year, Infante attracts a great number of fans of every age to his shrine in the Panteón Jardín of Mexico City, as well as one at 54th through 87th streets in the center of Mérida. Infante died along with mechanic Marciano Bautista, and Captain Victor Manuel Vidal.
Four statues have been erected in his honor. The one in Mexico City was made out of thousands of bronze keys donated by his fans to a Mexico City TV station after a request by TV host and producer Raúl Velasco. For the statue in Mérida another TV presenter made a request and received keys. The third statue is in his birthplace, Mazatlán, Sinaloa.
At the Paseo de Olas Altas at Mazatlán there is a statue of Pedro Infante on a motorcycle, in honor of his role in the movie A Toda Máquina with Luis Aguilar and "¿Qué te ha dado esa mujer?" also with Luis Aguilar, Rosita Arenas and Carmen Montejo. The fourth statue is in the town square of Guamúchil, his adopted home town.

Legacy

Infante died intestate. The prime beneficiaries of his legacy were the producers of the extremely successful movies in which he starred, as well as the "Peerless" music company
According to producer Jorge Madrid y Campos, who was also his legal representative, Pedro Infante's fame has increased greatly since his death. The presence of so many admirers at his shrine on the anniversary of his death is remarkable, as are the musical tributes from singers of the ranchera and mariachi genres that pay homage to him. As Mexican American author, Denise Chávez, in her book "Loving Pedro Infante" put it humorously, "If you're a , and don't know who he is, you should be tied to a hot stove with a yucca rope and beaten with sharp dry corn husks as you stand in a vat of soggy fideos. If your racial and cultural background or ethnicity is other, then it's about time you learned about the most famous of Mexican singers and actors."
Some fans have speculated that his death was faked. These rumors were fueled by, among other factors, the fact that Infante's body was burned beyond recognition in the airplane crash, and by the appearance, in the 1980s, of a man named Antonio Pedro, who was thought to have resemblance to Infante.

Filmography