| Pedro Infante |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT PEDRO INFANTE | |
| 1917 births | |
| 1957 deaths | |
| mexican film actors | |
| mexican stage actors | |
| mexican singers | |
| plane crash victims | |
| people from mazatlán | |
José Pedro Infante Cruz ( November 18 , 1917 - April 15 , 1957 ), better known as '''Pedro Infante''', is perhaps the most famous actor and singer of the Golden Age Of Mexican Cinema and idol of the Mexican people, together with Jorge Negrete or Javier Solís . He was born on November 18 , 1917 at Mazatlán , Sinaloa , Mexico . He was raised as a child in Guamúchil . He died on April 15 , 1957 at Mérida , Yucatán , during a flight that he piloted himself to Mexico City . Starting in , for the Best Actor in a Leading Role, awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at Hollywood . CHILDHOOD AND EARLY CAREER Son of Delfino Infante García, who played the double bass in a band, and Refugio Cruz Aranda. Pedro was the third of fifteen brothers, of which only nine survived. Although the Infante Cruz family stayed for some time at Mazatlán, in the early 1919 they moved to Guasave . Later in 1920, they moved to Rosario , Sinaloa . From adolescence, Pedro showed talent and affection for music. He managed to dominate strings, wind, and percussion instruments in a short time. He took Guitar classes with Carlos R. Hubbard. Pedro Infante's wife, María Luisa León, who was somewhat well-off economically, convinced him to move to Mexico City where they could find opportunities for the talented young man. Already in Mexico City, he sang songs of , Cuco Sánchez , Tomás Méndez , Rubén Fuentes , Salvador Flores Rivera (Chava Flores) and others. His first musical recording ''El Soldado Raso'' (''The Soldier'') was made on November 19 , 1943 , for the Peerless Company. Infante first appeared as an extra in the movie ''En un Burro Tres Baturros'' (''In a donkey three Aragonese {Link without Title} ''). His career as an actor in leading roles started with ''La Feria de Las Flores'' (''The party of the flowers'') in 1943. ]] In that same year, a friend and neighbor of Pedro's wife, Carmen Barajas Sandoval, offered to introduce them to Jorge Negrete , a singer that Pedro admired. Carmen, who knew people in the business because she was the aunt of the child actress Angélica María , worked then as secretary at the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Producción Cinematográfica, S.T.P.C. (''Workers of the Cinematographic Production Union''). She succeeded in her purposes and Negrete recommended Pedro to Ismael Rodríguez, among other producers. From that moment on he was invited to act in different movies, such as ''Vuelve el Ametralladora'' (''The Machine Gun Returns'') While married to María Luisa León, he met the dancer Lupita Torrentera , with whom he had three children, Graciela Margarita, Pedro Infante Jr. and Guadalupe Infante Torrentera, born in 1947, 1950 and 1951, respectively. Irma Infante was born from his relationship with the young actress Irma Dorantes , whom he met when she was only 16 years old. Irma Infante has had a relatively solid career as an actress and singer. ACTOR ]] His natural talent for acting was made evident in movies such as:
MUSICAL INTERPRETATIONS Waltz , Chachacha , Mexican , Ranchera and even Bolero songs, made him the most popular among the singers of the Mariachi and Ranchera music. It was him who popularized the Bolero Ranchero . Some of mis most popular songs include: '' Amorcito Corazón '' (approximately ''My Little Love and Heart''), "Te Quiero Así" (''I Want You Like This''), ''La Que Se Fue'' (''The One Who's Gone''), '' Corazón '' (''Heart''), ''El Durazno'' (''The Peach''), ''Dulce Patria'' (''Sweet Fatherland''), '' Maldita Sea Mi Suerte '' (''Cursed Be My Luck''), ''Así Es La vida'' (''Life Is Like This''), ''Mañana Rosalía'' (''Tomorrow Rosalía''), '' Mi Cariñito '' (''My Little Darling''), '' Dicen Que Soy Mujeriego '' (''They Say I Am A Womanizer''), '' Carta a Eufemia '' (''Letter to Eufemia''), ''Nocturnal'', '' Cien Años '' (''Hundred Years''), ''Flor Sin Retoño'' (''Flower Without Sprout''), ''Pénjamo'', and ''¿Qué Te Ha Dado Esa Mujer?'' (''What Has That Woman Give You?''). The world famous song '' Bésame Mucho '' (''Kiss Me A Lot''), from the composer Consuelo Velázquez , was the only melody that he recorded in English and he interpreted it in the movie ''A Toda Máquina'' (ATM) (''At Full Speed''), with Luis Aguilar . " Amorcito Corazón " from Manuel Esperón is one of the most famous interpretations of Pedro. Infante was very often accompanied by the great musical ensembles of the time like the Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán , Noé Fajardo's Orchestra, the Trío Calaveras and Antonio Bribiesca , among others. By then, Pedro Infante had already created his characteristic mariachi shout . DEATH AND HOMAGES Pedro was a fanatic of Aviation , a hobby that would lead to his death. He was piloting a Consolidated Aircraft X B-24-D (a variant of the B-24 Liberator ), which crashed 5 minutes after take-off from Mérida , Yucatán , in southeast Mexico . Year after year Pedro Infante attracts a great number of fans of every age to his shrine in the Panteón Jardín of Mexico City , as well as the one at 54th through 87th streets in the center of Mérida. Pedro Infante died among friends, mechanic Marciano Bautista, and copilot Manuel Vidal. Many friends, family and fans still dress up as the characters that he played in film: Pedro Chávez, Pepe el Toro, Tizoc and a number of personas incarnated from the Mexican culture that Infante symbolized. His fans honor him every year with a mass, honor guards, music and the songs made famous by the ''Idol of Guamúchil''. Until now they have all been spontaneous, without any official authority or institution organizing them.http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/04/16/a06n1esp.php. 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 director , Rosita Arenas and Katy Jurado . The fourth statue is in the town square of Guamúchil, his adopted home town. Since the fatal plane crash, the anniversary of the death of Pedro Infante is celebrated at the Don Rubén Canto Sosa and Doña María Remigia García Suaste family estate. To this day, in Mérida, the son of this family, the lawyer Luis Canto García, continues with that commemoration. The death of Pedro Infante on the morning of , gave the news at 11:12 thus: "This Monday April 15, 1957, Pedro, our beloved Pedro...this has been confirmed, has died. In a tragic accident in Mérida, Yucatán". SOCIAL PHENOMENA (right) with Luis Aguilar (left)]] The Mexican idol died intestate, i.e. without a last will and testament, so that the main beneficiaries of his legacy have been the producers of the extremely successful movies he starred, as well as the "Peerless" music company [http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?cid=6488 (now associated with Warner Music), and thanks to the great incomes that Pedro Infante still generates, it has been they who have contributed greatly to promote and update him. The Mexican press reported some cases of women committing Suicide related to his Death . He represented not only the fun-loving and partying Charro , but also the urban hero of the working class, and it was this character that won the love and admiration of the public in Mexico and other countries like Venezuela and Guatemala . According to the producer Jorge Madrid y Campos, who was also his legal representative, Pedro Infante's fame greatly increased after his dying. The presence of so many admirers at his shrine at every anniversary of his death is remarkable, as are the musical tributes from singers of the Ranchera and Mariachi genres that pay homage to this character. Some fanatics even speculate that his death was faked. They believe in the possibility that he is living "hidden" somewhere; there have also been cases of people that claim to be Infante themselves, being even reported as such in the Mexican press. This case is similar in a sense to other famous deceased celebrities, such as Elvis Presley or Jim Morrison with people claiming to be those characters. The constant broadcasting of his movies on television, and the broadcasting of radio programs dedicated to his memory and music contribute to the popularity of Pedro Infante for several generations of Mexicans, and fans in other Spanish-speaking countries. Similar phenomena occur with other late actors, such as Germán Valdés ''Tin Tán'' or Mario Moreno '' Cantinflas ''. The radio program ''La Hora de Pedro Infante'' (''The Hour of Pedro Infante'') on the radio station ''La Más Perrona'' (Radio Sinfonola de NRM Comunicación, on AM 1410) has had a run of 55 years on Mexican radio, with more than 20 thousand hours on the air. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/01/27/index.php?section=espectaculos&article=a10n1esp . FILMOGRAPHY
DISCOGRAPHY The following sites contain a relation, allegedly complete, of all the recordings made by Pedro Infante, in 78 RPM discs and always with Discos Peerless. LINKS The links are all in Spanish:
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