Pedro Infante a National Treasure of Mexico - Report Example

Pedro Infante - Mexico's National Treasure Pedro Infante has been called the Mexican Elvis and for people all around the world his name brings up the colorful and proud sights and sounds of Mexico. For many people, what has come be known as 'Mexican' is embodied in the spirit, attitude, and persona of Pedro Infante. For the people of Mexico his life and memory are more than just a song on the radio or movie on late night television. To most Mexicans, Pedro Infante symbolizes everything that it means to be Mexican. He was the respectful son, the loving amigo, the romantic lover, and man of the world ("Pedro Infante" 1). He was true to his word, faithful to his acts, and had the unique quality of being able to unite the public into a single image. People of all ages, men, women, boys, and girls were all able to see something in Infante that they indentified closely with. The Mexican persona can be seen in the life of their national hero, in a song of the mariachi, the devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe, or in the endearing singing of the immortal actor Pedro Infante, one of the most famous performers during the Golden era of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. The contrasts in Infante's life are the qualities that allowed him to reach so many people on such a personal level. In his movies, we do not see an actor. We see the real Infante, the poor and the rich, the actor and the pilot, the rebel and the loyal friend. In many ways these qualities were the reflection of Infante's life. Pedro Infante Cruz was born November 17, 1917 in Guamuchil, a small part of Mazatlan in Sinaloa. His early years were marked by poverty and modesty as he watched his parents toil to maintain a humble household. Yet, it was in these surroundings that young Pedro was able to develop a sensitivity for poetry and a timidity that was waiting to erupt as an expression of art ("Pedro Infante" 1). Pedro's early life and family taught him the humility that would later expose itself in his acting roles. The modest conditions of his household and the necessity of sharing with a large family shaped Pedro Infante's childhood. His parents had fifteen children to care for and Pedro was one of 9 brothers. Two of them, Angel and Jose, also became well-respected actors and singers (Henderson and Zerbonia, 112). Not being the oldest or the youngest in such a large family left Pedro to struggle for individuality as he worked selling hardware, running errands, and waiting tables as a teenager. As he grew into a man it looked as if he had found his occupation in carpentry. Pedro Infante also grew up surrounded by the love of music. He learned music at an early age from his musician father, Delfino Infante Garcia, who was a successful performer in his own right ("Pedro Infante" 1). Infante's interest in music and love of woodworking shows up in his early life when he spent 2 years constructing a hand made guitar ("Pedro Infante" 2). However, Infante would not make a public performance until he was a young man at the age of 20. In 1937, after singing at a local festival in Sinaloa, his first wife, Maria Luisa Leon, encouraged him to relocate to Mexico City where he joined the staff at radio station XEB (Rojas). Here, he polished his art and became influenced by great artists such as Alberto Cervantes, Thomas Mendez, and Ruben Fuentes (Rojas). After 5 years of acting at the radio station, and a handful of movie roles as an extra, he debuted in a title role in the 1943 film titled "La Feria de Las Flores", the Fair of the Flowers (Rojas). Infante was not an instant box office success and though it would take a few more movies to get the attention he deserved, his movie career had begun to gain momentum. He released his first record that same year with the song "El Soldado Razo". After making over a half a dozen movies in the next 4 years, success finally came with the movie "Cuando lloran los valientes" in 1947. Infante was nominated as best actor for the Silver Ariel award. This was also the year that the first of many tragedies would strike Pedro Infante. Pedro's love of acting and music was shared with his love of flying. This zest for excitement and need for action would continue to follow him until his death. In all, Infante would suffer from three major airplane accidents of which the last, in 1957, would take his life at the age of 39. The first, in 1947, was followed by a more serious wreck in 1949. That crash, near Zitacuaro, Michoacan, left him in very serious condition. He suffered a grave head wound, and with the situation looking critical all of Mexico prayed (Rojas). However, after three long hours of surgery, doctors were able to save his life by putting a plate in his head. Yet, even these close calls could not quell Infante's love for machines, airplanes, and motorcycles. The grave injuries and close calls that Infante experienced did not slow down his drive for acting. Despite his injuries, during the three-year period of 1947 to 1950 Infante made movies at the rate of one every two months. His hard work would pay off as he starred in a variety of light-hearted and comedic roles. In 1952 he joined another cinema great, Jorge Negrete, to film "Dos Tipos de Cuidado". Negrete's death in 1953 left Infante as sole heir to the throne as the King of Mexican Cinema. His acting career would reach its pinnacle when in July of 1956, the Academy of Cinemagraphic Science & Art of Mexico would award Infante the Silver Ariel for his role in "La Vida No Vale Nada.". When Infante's career was cut short by his untimely death, there were plans in the works to share his talent with America by working with legends such as John Wayne, Marlon Brando, and Joan Crawford (Henderson and Zerbonia, 114). Though Infante is known for his successful movie career, he also had an influential music career that was noteworthy. The talent of Pedro Infante is still influencing Modern Mexican music. The Houston Chronical reported that due to a lack of formal training, "Infante's voice was unrefined, yet it was filled with emotion" (qtd. in Henderson and Zerbonia, 112). His songs were the raw soul of broken hearts, love won and lost, friends made, and families forgotten. Infante was able to reach the broad spectrum of Mexico as much through his music as through his movies. Infante's music was a mix of mariachi, cha-cha, bolero, and ranchera. He popularized the mariachi sound that has endured for decades and continues to be a staple in Mexican music. His lyrics were stories told by a man that had lived them and these are the stories that have become woven into the fabric of Mexican culture. His most popular songs such as "La Que Se Fue", "Flor Sin Retoo", and "Tu Y Las Nubes" were often played with leading orchestral performers of the time and were the soundtracks to his movies ("Pedro Infante" 1). He toured Central and South America, the US, and won Venezuela's highest artistic award, the Gold Medal of Simon Bolivar (Rojas). Ramon Ayala, legendary Mexican recording artist proclaims, "When I was a kid, I was able to see his movies when he was still alive, and that man made history" (qtd. in Coba, 57). Infante's movies and music has had a deep and long lasting effect on the Mexican culture. It has shaped attitudes, values and ideals. These qualities are far more ingrained in the history of Mexico than the fame that was cut short by his untimely death. To get a sense of these virtues, it becomes necessary to examine what Infante represented to the Mexican people. When Infante died unexpectedly in 1957, Mexico did not simply lose an actor and singer, they lost a member of the Mexican family. They mourned his loss no less than they would grieve at the loss of a parent or a child. Even after 25 years, the people were still mourning his loss as 10,000 people gathered at his gravesite in 1982 (Henderson and Zerbonia, 112). Infante was able to reach the hearts of the people by keeping his audience in mind. In spite of what were often considered bad scripts and poor quality melodramas, Infante would never allow himself to be consumed by the role and would remain connected to his fans (Henderson and Zerbonia, 113). In this way he could play the stereotype of the fat, thin, young, or old and still remain the humble Pedro that grew up next to poverty with reverence in his life. He was their folk hero who was able to show strength alongside compassion, and sentimentality without sacrificing his masculinity (Pendergast and Pendergast, 610). In this way he was able to be what they hoped to become and in doing so was everything to all people. Infante became the sight and sound of Mexico through his music and movies. Yet, he also became the heart, soul, and values of the modern Mexican culture. Mention the word 'macho' to an American and they will bring up images of domination, ruthlessness, and a stubborn need to control. In spite of that, Mexicans familiar with Infante know a different version of machismo. To his fans, macho was the strength required for a man to show true love. It was the will to live up to your word and keep the promises you make. These ideals have a special value in Mexico and this theme echoes through Infante's work. Honor, courage, and honesty were wrapped in a careful blanket of innocence. As Denise Chavez observes in her book, "Loving Pedro Infante", "Pedro was a daring child, [...] I believe he had two separate personas. [...] the adult and the child" (qtd. in "El Nene", 90). Infante was able to show the people the strength of Goliath with the tenderness and purity of a child. These virtuous qualities would resonate as they were lived by example in Infante's own life. Often labeled a ladies man, he was well known for his charisma with the women of the world. He married several times and was reported to have over a dozen children (Henderson and Zerbonia, 113). Yet, these women were not drawn by a false sense of wealth or stardom. They were rapt with the vision of what it meant to be Mexican. These traits have been described as common and companion, noble yet seductive, likable, sincere, respectfully gallant, discreet, and intelligent (Carballido). Infante was never violent and never crude. These were the traits that won him the love of a nation and these are the values that continue to permeate the Mexican ideal of what it means to be macho. Infante was able to symbolize honor and respect because this was not just a movie role. This was Pedro the boy, and Infante the man. Other values of his faith and upbringing have also entered mainstream Mexican thinking. Infante was a believer in giving, not just of his time and his self, but also his wealth. Though Infante was blessed with great riches during his lifetime, many other people relied on him for their well being. He reportedly supported his parents, over a dozen brothers and sisters, three wives, and over a dozen of his own children (Henderson and Zerbonia, 113). According to Virtualorbe, "During the 1950s he was signing over 50 checks a month for his relatives' personal expenses" (qtd. in Henderson and Zerbonia, 113). This was not giving out of force or coercion. It reflected Infante's love of family, and this generosity projected from the screen and into the hearts of the Mexican people. So, was Pedro Infante was the Mexican Elvis It is more accurate to say that Elvis was the American Infante. Pedro Infante revolutionized the concept of the actor/singer while becoming a true living folk hero. Infante's story is a romantic tale of rising from a childhood of poverty to capture the hearts and minds of an entire country. He taught his people the ideals that his parents had instilled in him, and his faith became the faith of his fans. No one has been able to alter the self-image of Mexico as Infante did, and still does, as he continues to come into our homes and into our hearts. He was a successful star of the golden age of Mexican cinema, the idol of Guamuchil, the devotion for the Virgin of Guadalupe, the sound of the mariachi, and an authentic national hero. Works Cited Carballido, Elvira H. "Pedro Infant Un ideal man." Fem 43.3 (2003). Cobo, Leila. "Warner Music Latina, Freddie Record Join For Infante Tribute." Billboard 7 Dec. 2002: 57. "El Nene." Hispanic (2001): 90. Henderson, Ashyia N., and Ralph G. Zerbonia, eds. Contemporary Hispanic Biography. Vol. 4. Detroit, AL: Gale, 2004. 4 vols. Galegroup. 2 Nov. 2006 Read More