Pedro Infante - Childhood and Early Career

Childhood and Early Career

Son of Delfino Infante García (b. 1883 - Mar. 17, 1955) who played the double bass in a band, and Refugio Cruz Aranda, he was the third of fifteen children, of which nine survived. Although the Infante Cruz family stayed for some time at Mazatlán, in the early 1919 they moved to Guamuchil. Later in 1920, they moved to Rosario, Sinaloa.

From teenager, Infante showed talent and affection for music. He managed to learn strings, wind, and percussion instruments in a short time. He was a guitar student of Carlos R. Hubbard.

His wife María Luisa León (b. cir. 1918 - Oct. 27, 1978, cardiac arrest), who was somewhat well-off economically and according to her memoir Pedro Infante: en la intimidad conmigo (1961) (Pedro Infante: with me in intimacy), 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 (Alberto Raúl Cervantes González ), José Alfredo Jiménez, 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 19 November 1943, 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), literally translated as "On a Donkey, Three Baturros'"'. His career as an actor in leading roles started with La Feria de Las Flores (The Fair of Flowers), literally translated as "The Flower Carnival" in 1943. In that same year, a friend and neighbor of Infantes' 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. (Workers of the Cinematographic Production Union). 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 (The Machine Gun Returns)

While married to María Luisa León, he met the dancer Lupita Torrentera Bablot (b. 1932), with whom he had three children, Graciela Margarita (b. Sept.1947 - Jan. 20, 1949, poliomyelitis) Pedro Infante Jr. (Mar. 31, 1950 - Apr. 1, 2009, pneumonia) and Guadalupe Infante Torrentera (b. 1951), solidifying his reputation as a ladies' man. Irma Infante (b. Mar. 27, 1955) was born from his relationship with the young actress Irma Dorantes (real name: Irma Aguirre Martínez; b. Mérida, Yucatán, Dec. 21, 1934) whom he met when she was only 16 years of age. Irma Infante has had a career as an actress and a singer.