Pedro Infante

Pedro Infante Cruz (Mazatlán, Sinaloa, November 18, 1917-Mérida, Yucatán, April 15, 1957) was a Mexican actor and singer. He is considered one of the most remembered film actors in Mexico.

For his performance in the film Tizoc (1956), he was the winner of a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in the "best leading actor" category, and also won a Golden Globe Award for best foreign film, which was awarded to him by the foreign press accredited in Hollywood.

Biography and career

Pedro Infante Cruz was born on November 18, 1917 in the port of Mazatlán, Sinaloa. His parents were Delfino Infante García and Refugio Cruz Aranda. At the age of eighteen, in Guamúchil, he became a father for the first time. time, of the girl Guadalupe Infante López, due to the affair he had with Guadalupe López, who was his first formal girlfriend. Said romance was revealed some time after his death. Later he met María Luisa León (ten years older than him), they moved with her financial support to Culiacán, later he convinced Pedro to move to Mexico City in search of of better opportunities for the talented young man who had already achieved recognition as a singer in Sinaloa. In Mexico, on June 19, 1939, Pedro and María Luisa were married.

As a trade, he dedicated himself to carpentry, and at the same time, he continued with his dream of becoming a singer, becoming a vocalist in several orchestras and appearing on the local radio station XEBL. His wife, María Luisa León, considered that he could have a future and encouraged him to continue his singing career in Mexico City. By 1938, he was already singing in the XEB; he also appeared at the Colonial theater with Jesús Martínez Palillo and Las Kúkaras , as well as at the Waikikí nightclub. His first musical recording, El soldado raso, was made on November 19, 1943, for the Peerless Records label, although other sources say that the first song he recorded was the waltz Mañana, which passed without pain or glory.

His first acting role took place as an extra in the film En un burro tres baturros (1939), and he participated in a few other films as a supporting actor.

Infante with Amalia Aguilar in an advertising photograph for the film They say I'm a woman. (1949).

The film director, Ismael Rodríguez, helped him make his artistic career take a more important direction by making the films with him; Mexicanos al grito de guerra (1943), Estrellas scandal (1944), and When the brave cry (1945). the character of Pepe el Toro in the film trilogy; Nosotros los pobres (1947), Ustedes los ricos (1948), and four years later, Pepe El Toro (1952).

Aircraft crashes and death

Pedro Infante was a fan of aviation. He accumulated 2,989 flight hours as a pilot. He was registered with the role name of "Captain Cruz". The plane was unable to gain altitude and crashed head-on into a corn crop. From that accident he had a small scar at the height of his chin. The second crash was near Zitácuaro, Michoacán, which is why a plate had to be implanted. platinum on part of the skull.

A stone that was originally built on the tomb of the singer. After being replaced by a new one, it was auctioned in 2008. Unknown the identity of the buyer, here it is displayed in front of the "Museum: Idolos del Esto", located in Mexico City.

On April 15, 1957, Pedro Infante was piloting a US-made C-87 Liberator Express, registration XA KUN belonging to the company TAMSA, of which he was a partner. This aircraft model was derived from the B-24 Liberator, a World War II bomber that was considered obsolete for military use but still useful in civilian applications. However, the modifications required to convert them into a civilian transport made them difficult to lift when heavily loaded and introduced a problem of longitudinal instability due to the narrow range of center of gravity variation caused by the original layout and anchoring of the bay. bombs, modified and expanded to form the cargo compartment. In other words: they required extremely careful stowage of the cargo, preferably with a total weight of the cargo less than its nominal capacity. These and other problems —such as the poor distribution of the fuel lines, which also tended to leak and stun the occupants with their vapors— contributed to making it a dangerous aircraft that was difficult to handle and operate, feared by its crews, which suffered 150 total loss accidents between 1942 and 1964.

Shortly after taking off from the Mérida airport accompanied by Captain Víctor M. Vidal and flight mechanic Marciano Bautista, and after barely reaching an altitude of 200 meters, the C-87 piloted by Infante collapsed between 7: 30 and 8:00 a.m. in the heart of the city of Mérida, Yucatán, in the southeast of Mexico. The aircraft impacted upside down, suggesting a complete loss of control. The investigation of the accident determined as probable cause that "it was due to a maneuver error consisting of executing two turns towards Mexico City without complying with the distance and procedure specifications, and below the altitudes and indicated speeds. This error was compounded by a probable cargo shift due to incorrect stowage."

Bust erected in memory of him, at the place where he died, located in Merida Yucatan.

The plane landed in the courtyard of the property at Calle 54 Sur and 87 ("esquina La Socorrito", 20°57′ 01.5″N 89°37′21.5″W / 20.950417, -89.622639), where there is a commemorative bust; However, his monument was erected at the intersection of Calle 62 and 91, which was named Plaza Pedro Infante.

Legacy

In 2010, the History Channel cable channel conducted a poll to designate "El Gran Mexicano" from among several Mexican personalities of the last 200 years, coming in second place.

In 2019, film producer José "Pepe" Bojórquez directed the film for Netflix, Como caído del cielo (2019), which was made as a tribute to Pedro Infante and was personified in the film by the Mexican actor, Omar Chaparro.

Filmography

Awards and distinctions

Pedro Infante, c.1950s.

Ariel Awards

Berlin International Film Festival