Photos of pedro infantes airplane crashes

Mexican actor and singer (–)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Infante and the second or maternal family name is Cruz.

Pedro Infante
Infante, c.&#;s
Born	Pedro Infante Cruz ()18 November Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México
Died	15 April () (aged&#;39) Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Spouses	Maria Luisa León &#; &#; (m.&#;; div.&#;)&#;
Partners	Guadalupe López Lupita Torrentera&#;[es]
Children	6, including Pedro Infante Torrentera&#;[Wikidata]
Relatives	Lupita Infante (granddaughter)
Musical career
Occupations
Instruments	Classical guitar piano violin trumpet drums
Years active	–
Musical artist

Pedro Infante Cruz (Spanish:[ˈpeðɾojɱˈfante]; 18 November – 15 April ) was a Mexican ranchera singer and actor whose career spanned the golden age of Mexican cinema.

Infante was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, and raised in nearby Guamúchil. He died on 15 April in Mérida, Yucatán, while en route to Mexico Municipality when his plane crashed due to engine failure.

From until his death, Infante acted in over 60 films (30 of them with his brother Ángel) and recorded over songs.

His ranchera album Cuando sale la luna was rated No. 56 in a ranking of the greatest Latin music albums of all time. For his show in the movie Tizoc, he was posthumously awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 7th Berlin International Motion picture Festival.

Childhood and early career

Pedro Infante was born 18 November in Mazatlán, Sinaloa,^[1][2] the son of Delfino Infante García (24 December – 17 March ), who played the double bass in a band, and Maria del Refugio Cruz Aranda.^{[3][failed verification]} He was the third of his parents' fifteen children, nine of whom survived.

Although the Infante Cruz family stayed for some time at Mazatlán, in early they moved to Guamúchil, where he was raised.^[1][4] As a teen, Infante showed talent and affection for music, made his own guitar in a carpenter shop, played in the Luis Ibarra Orchestra led by his father, and formed his own band called La Rabia (The Anger) in ^[1][5] He managed to learn strings, wind, and percussion instruments in a short time, having received harmony lessons from Carlos R.

Hubbard.^[6][7][8]

He won a charro suit in an amateur contest at the Colonial Theater, singing Vereda Tropical.^[5] In , he became part of the Orquesta Estrella de Culiacán (Culiacán Star Orchestra) and was a singer, violinist, and drummer for a year and a half.^[9]

His wife, María Luisa León (who died of cardiac arrest on 27 October ) was somewhat well-off.

According to her memoir Pedro Infante en la intimidad conmigo () (Pedro Infante in intimacy with me),^[10] she convinced him to travel to Mexico City for finer career opportunities in radio.^[1] In , at the age of 21, he auditioned for a position at the radio station XEB, with Julián Morán accompanying him on piano.

Ernesto Belloc, the station's artistic director at the time, advised Infante to continue his career as a carpenter, as he was nervous during the audition. Nonetheless, he auditioned the following week and was hired to sing on the air three times a week.^[11]

In Mexico City, he sang the songs of composers including Alberto Cervantes, José Alfredo Jiménez, Cuco Sánchez, Tomás Méndez, Rubén Fuentes, (some of the most renowned composers from the golden age of Mexican Cinema) Salvador Flores Rivera (Chava Flores) (better known for his humorous songs), René Touzet and others.

His first musical recording, El Soldado Raso (The Private), was made on 19 November for the Peerless Records Company. Infante first appeared as an extra in the movie En un Burro Tres Baturros (Three Men from Aragon on a Donkey), 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 (The Fair of Flowers), literally translated as "The Petal Carnival," in

In that alike year, Mexican writer Carmen Barajas Sandoval, a friend and neighbor of Infante's wife, offered to introduce them to Jorge Negrete, a singer he admired.

Barajas, the aunt of the toddler actress Angélica María, worked at the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Producción Cinematográfica, S.T.P.C. (Union of Cinema Production Workers). She convinced Negrete to recommend Infante to the producer Ismael Rodríguez and others.

As a finding, he was invited to show up in different pictures, such as Vuelve el Ametralladora (The Machine Gun Returns).^{[citation needed]}

While married to María Luisa León, Infante met the dancer Lupita Torrentera Bablot (b.

2 November ), with whom he had three children: Graciela Margarita (26 September – 20 January , poliomyelitis), Pedro Infante Jr. (31 March – 1 April , suicide), and Guadalupe Infante Torrentera (b. 3 October ). Irma Infante (b. 27 March ) was born from his marriage to immature actress Irma Dorantes.^[12][13]

Actor

Infante acted in over 60 films, 30 of them with his brother Ángel.^[14] His career spanned the golden age of Mexican cinema.^[1] He appeared in such motion pictures as:

• Tizoc, along with María Félix, gained him the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 7th Berlin International Production Festival, posthumously.^[1][15] The film itself won a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film (Mexico) in ^[16] The Silver Bear and the Golden Globe are housed at the Museo API de Pedro Infante in Isla Arena, Campeche, Mexico, as adequately as the Ariel award.^[17]
• The huge migration from the countryside to the cities (mostly to Mexico City) during the s fed the required labor force for rising manufacturing industries.

  This urbanization created the "working neighborhoods" and the culture of "la vecindad" (group of small apartments around a common patio), and create in Pedro Infante an distinguishable icon for these, the recent urban working class, with his character Pepe el Toro (Pepe the Bull) in the melodramatic trilogy made up of Nosotros los Pobres, Ustedes los ricos, and Pepe el Toro (We the Poor, You the Rich, and Pepe the Bull), costarring with Evita Muñoz "Chachita".^[1]

• He worked with Sara García ("Mexico's grandmother") in many movies for Mexican cinema.

  Sara Garcia frequently played the role of his loving but "no nonsense" grandmother in their movies together, in which she constantly tried to receive him to behave, but never succeeded.^[18]

• The Mexican child star María Eugenia Llamas, who was only four at the time, made her screen debut with him in the film Los tres huastecos (The Three Men from Hausteca) as "La Tucita", a screen name she used ever since.^[19] She played with him again under the screen label La Tucita in his classic film comedy, "Dicen que soy mujeriego" ("They Say I am a Womanizer").^[20]
• One of his improved roles was that of Juventino Rosas in the movie "Sobre las Olas" ("Over the Waves"), based on the life of the Mexican waltz composer.

  Infante's natural musical abilities contributed to helping him to get into character.^[21]

• An important point in his career as an actor was winning the Ariel Award given by the Mexican Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences for Best Actor for his role in La Vida No Vale Nada (Life is Worth Nothing, a line from the tune Camino de Guanajuato).^[1][22]

Musical interpretations

Infante recorded over songs.^[1] His ranchera album Cuando sale la luna was rated No.

56 in a ranking of the greates Latin music albums of all time.^[23]Waltzes, cha-cha-chas, rancheras and boleros placed him among the most famous singers of the mariachi and ranchera music. Some of his most popular songs include: Amorcito Corazón (approximately My Little Adore, Sweetheart), Te Quiero Así (I Love You Like This), La Que Se Fue (She Who Left), 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 Short-lived 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 Chick Given You?).

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.^[24]

The world-famous song Bésame Mucho ("Kiss Me a Lot", or more loosely translated to get its elusive Spanish meaning closer to its English meaning, "Give Me a Lot of Kisses"), from the composer Consuelo Velázquez, was the only melody that he recorded in English and he interpreted it in the feature A Toda Máquina (ATM) (At Full Speed), with Luis Aguilar.^[11]

Plane crash and death

Death

Infante's hobby was aviation, logging 2, flight hours, under the pseudonym Captain Cruz, which then led to his death on the morning of 15 April Infante had survived two prior plane crashes, the first one occurred in , and another in in which he had received an injury to his forehead that left him with a metal plate.

According to Wilbert Alonzo-Cabrera, his biographer, the actor was co-piloting a Consolidated BD, which had been converted from heavy bomber to freighter in San Diego, California. On the day of the crash, he was on his way to Mexico Municipality from Mérida, Yucatán to oppose the ruling that annulled his marriage with Irma Dorantes.

The air traffic controller, Carmen León, was the last person to hear Infante's voice.^[25] 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 earth, killing two on the basis as well as all three on the plane, Infante, pilot Víctor Manuel Vidal Lorca and Marcial Bautista.^[26] A year-old female named Ruth Russell Chan, who was on the ground at the time of the strike, also died.^[13][25]

Infante's death was announced by radio personality Húmberto Sánchez-Rodríguez, of radio station XEMH of Mérida,^[13] 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 &#;am; at &#;am, Manuel Bernal, of Mexico Metropolis radio station XEW, gave the news saying: "this Monday, 15 April , Pedro, our beloved Pedrothis has been confirmed, has died in a tragic accident in Mérida, Yucatán".^[13] His remains were later identified by the gold bracelet he wore.^[13][27] Additional identification was done during the autopsy by Benjamín Góngora, from the metal plate in Infante's forehead that he received after his injuries in the crash.^[25]

The death of Pedro Infante caused an unprecedented outpouring of grief in Mexico and Latin America leading to reports of suicides, faintings, and nervous breakdowns among his fans.^[28][29]

Two days later he was laid to rest at the Panteón Jardín cemetery amid , people who had reach for the gathered to the closed casket funeral after a tribute at the Jorge Negrete Theater.

Rodolfo Echeverría, who was Secretary-General of the National Actors Association at that time, delivered Infante's eulogy.^[13][30] Infante died intestate.^[31][32]

Homages

In , the radio state KWKW, located in Los Angeles, CA, which was at the period broadcasting a Pedro Infante hour that aired songs as adv as readings of fan letters, organized a campaign to adjust one of Boyle Heights avenue names to Pedro Infante Highway.

Later it was decided Euclid Heights would become Pedro Infante Street, and the unveiling of the street sign was in August ^[1]

Infante was awarded a star on the Hollywood Hike of Fame on 1 August His star is located at Hollywood Boulevard.^[33]

On 2 April , Infante was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in an awards ceremony that also included Xavier Cugat and Ruben Blades.

The event was held at the Hostos Center For The Arts And Culture, located in the Bronx, New York City.^[34]

Museums

There are five museums dedicated to his experience and career:^[35]

• Hotel Boulevard Infante, Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico – Located at Avenida Itzáes # in Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico there is a small gallery dedicated to Infante's life and career called "Amorcito Corazon" in the Hotel Boulevard Infante.

  The building was formerly Infante's residence, acquired by him in , and was where he lived with Irma Dorantes up to his death. The room air-conditioned building was turned into a hotel in ^[36][37][35]

• Pedro Infante API Museo, Calkini, Campeche, Mexico – Inaugurated on 16 February , the Pedro Infante API Museo is located in the Isla Arena Lighthouse and houses Infante's Silver Bear and Golden Globe awards as successfully as costume replicas and production contracts.^[38][35]
• Museo del Centro Cultural Nacional Pedro Infante (Museum of the Pedro Infante National Cultural Center), Cuajimalpa, Mexico City, Mexico – Inaugurated on 1 March , this museum houses costumes worn by Infante in three of his films: Pepe el Toro, A toda carga, Tizoc and Los tres huastecos as good as music, singing and production workshops.^[39][35]
• El Rincón de Pedro Infante (Pedro Infante Corner), Mazatlán, Sinaloa – Located at his birthplace, in the house he lived in as a young minor, the Pedro Infante Corner houses Costumes, posters, and photographs.

  The museum is located at 88 Constitution St in Mazatlán.^[40][35]

• Museo a Pedro Infante – In a museum called Museo a Pedro Infante (Pedro Infante Museum) was opened in Guamúchil, Mexico to commemorate Pedro Infante's career.

  It contains a Jeep and other personal articles that belonged to him as well as show and music memorabilia that pertained to his career.^[41][42][35]

Statues

At least five statues have been erected in Pedro Infante's honor:

• In Mérida, Infante is depicted on a rearing horse and is the work of Yucatecan sculptor Humberto Peraza y Ojeda, and is located at 62 and 91 streets.^[43] This statue was made out of thousands of bronze keys donated by his fans to a Mexico City TV station after a key control by TV host and producer Raúl Velasco.^[44][45]
• At the Paseo de Olas Altas at Mazatlán, Sinaloa (Infante's birthplace)^[1] there is a statue of Pedro Infante on a motorcycle, in honor of his role in the feature A Toda Máquina with Luis Aguilar and "¿Qué te ha dado esa mujer?" also with Luis Aguilar, Rosita Arenas and Carmen Montejo.^[46]
• In Mérida, there is a bust of Infante at the site of his fatal airplane crash, at the intersection of 54th and 87th Streets.^[47]
• In Guamúchil, at the Museo a Pedro Infante, he is depicted as a singer, wearing his traditional charro suit, with a guitar by his side.^[42] This statue is in the town square of Guamúchil, his adopted hometown.^[14]
• In Mexico City there is a statue of Infante on a motorcycle that also displays him in his role in A Toda Máquina, which was sculpted by Ariel de la Peña.

  For the statue in Mérida there was another key drive by La Más Perrona radio station for bronze keys to be used in the statue.^[48] The statue was erected in after a convoy through city streets that drew attention from many onlookers.^[49]

• Also in Mérida there is a statue of Infante seated on a park bench with a guitar by his side, and his arm outstretched and was erected in for what would have been his th birthday.

  The statue is located in a park that bears his name.^[50]

Legacy

According to producer Jorge Madrid y Campos, who was also his legal representative, Pedro Infante's fame has increased greatly since his death.

Infante attracts a great number of fans of every age to his shrine in the Panteón Jardín of Mexico Capital, as well as the one at 54th and 87th streets in the historic center of Mérida. Singers of ranchera and mariachi^[which?] have paid posthumous musical homage to him.

Denise Chávez, said in her book Loving Pedro Infante: "If you're a [Mexican], 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 legendary of Mexican singers and actors."^[51]

In , for what would hold been Infante's th birthday, his life and career was famous with a Google Doodle that featured a slideshow with six graphics depicting Infante wearing traditional Mariachi garb, as a singer, a boxer as well as others.^[52][53] Infante was also briefly depicted in the animated Disney movie Coco, along with Jorge Negrete.^[54]

Some fans have speculated that his death was faked.^[55] These rumors were fueled by, among other factors, the fact that Infante's body was burned beyond recognition in the airplane slam, and by the appearance, in the s, of a singer named Antonio Pedro, who was thought to resemble Infante.^[56] Antonio Pedro even went to the Maria Laria television talk present in the U.S.A., to claim he was Infante.^[57]

Selected filmography

Awards

See also

References

External links