Humble, talented, handsome, and kind-hearted—this is how Pedro Infante, one of the most important musical and acting legends of Mexico and Latin America, is remembered. Pedro became a symbol of Mexican cinema and ranchera music. He was also known for being a selfless person, and fame never changed him. In this post, we tell you all about this Mexican idol, from his greatest professional successes to his resounding romantic failures. Don’t miss it!
A complicated childhood
Like many other artists, Pedro Infante didn’t have an easy childhood. He was the third of 15 siblings, and his family wasn’t exactly wealthy. His father taught music classes during the Mexican Revolution, while his mother took care of the household and occasionally did sewing to help her husband with expenses.
The precarious situation forced the family to move from city to city constantly, which caused Pedro to abandon his primary education on several occasions.
Stability has arrived!
Finally, little Pedro found some stability. In 1928, his family moved to Guamúchil, Sinaloa. The Infantes settled there for a long time. Pedro was able to finish his fourth year of primary school, but his family’s financial needs forced him to abandon his studies and begin working.
Pedro Infante’s first job was in a carpentry shop. He started as an assistant and gradually became adept at the trade.
Passion overcame poverty
Although Pedro felt compelled to work in carpentry to support his family, he knew his true passion was music. Of course, this passion was instilled in him by his father, who dedicated his life to teaching music.
Pedro always had the desire to sing professionally, but he didn’t have a guitar to accompany his singing, nor did he have the money to buy one. But that didn’t stop him! He made his first guitar in the carpentry shop where Pedro worked. Thus began his musical career.
Dad at 17?
Pedro Infante’s romantic life began at a very early age. As a teenager, he met Guadalupe López, a young woman who lived near his family. The boys fell in love without much ado, and in 1934, the singer’s firstborn daughter was born.
The girl was named Guadalupe Infante López, in honor of her mother, and would be the first of many children Pedro Infante would have, albeit with different women. The exact reasons for the end of his romance with Guadalupe are still unknown.
The boost I needed
After ending his relationship with Guadalupe López, Pedro met María Luisa León, a woman 10 years his senior who would help him launch his musical career. When the singer achieved some recognition in Sinaloa, María Luisa convinced him to move to Culiacán.
They did it all with her financial support, because Pedro was still very poor on his own. Eventually, María Luisa herself convinced him to move to Mexico City.
Has success begun?
Since moving to Culiacán, Pedro Infante has begun to make great strides in his career. The singer has not only been part of various bands but also sang and played guitar for the radio station XEB.
Pedro also performed in major theaters and other venues, helping his fame grow and his music become known in several states across the country. It could be said that this was the beginning of the singer’s success, although the best was yet to come.
The wedding with the lady
And the long-awaited moment finally arrived. In 1939, after several years of relationship, Pedro Infante married María Luisa León. It was no wonder; her wife had supported him emotionally and financially throughout, and the love between the couple had solidified.
However, many of the singer’s fans considered the marriage to be crazy, because, although María Luisa was a wonderful woman, she was 10 years older than him. Many thought the union was doomed to failure.
From singer to actor
Everything seems to indicate that Pedro wasn’t content with just that. The singer not only exploited his musical talent but also decided to experiment in the world of acting. In 1939, he landed his first film role, in the movie En un burro tres baturros (Three Baturros on a Donkey)
Eventually, he also appeared in other films, but in supporting roles that did little to advance his acting career. This is how Pedro began to divide his time between acting and music.
The sad news
They say that those who get married do so because they want a home, and of course, any newlywed couple wants to start a family. Well, shortly after María Luisa and Pedro married, the couple discovered she was infertile, meaning she couldn’t bear the singer any children.
At first, he was very understanding, as the news wasn’t easy to digest. However, little by little, the fact that she couldn’t have children began to affect the couple.
Your first song?
Pedro’s big musical opportunity finally arrived. In 1943, he recorded the song El soldado raso for Pearless Records. That was the beginning of a long list of records and recorded songs that the singer would leave behind as a legacy.
Some also say that El soldado raso (The Private) wasn’t the first song Pedro Infante recorded. Rumor has it that the waltz Mañana was his first recording, but this song wasn’t a hit, so no one took it seriously.
Ishmael catapulted him
Pedro decided to continue experimenting in the acting world. In 1943, he landed a key role in the film La feria de las flores (The Flower Fair). This role boosted his career and led him to meet Ismael Rodríguez, one of the most important film directors of the time.
Ismael was key in Pedro Infante’s acting career, as the director invited the singer to participate in very successful films such as Mexicans with a War Cry, Scandal of Stars and When the Brave Cry.
His best films?
Also alongside Ismael Rodríguez, Pedro Infante played Pepe el Toro a few years later in one of Mexico’s most successful film trilogies. “Nos los pobres” (We the Poor), ” Ustedes los ricos” (You the Rich), and “Pepe el Toro” (Pepe the Bull) were the films that consolidated Pedro’s career and brought him to an international audience.
Of course, years later he would record other films that would win him international awards in Latin America and even Europe. It’s worth noting that Pedro made all these recordings without neglecting his musical career.
A very young friend
In 1947, Pedro Infante met Lupita Torrentera, a 14-year-old dancer with whom the singer struck up a close friendship. At that time, Pedro was 30. Little by little, they got to know each other, and the friendship grew ever stronger.
It’s completely unknown what Lupita’s parents’ reaction was to the friendly relationship between the dancer and the singer. But it is known that Pedro tried to keep the friendship a secret.
Secret love?
And what was bound to happen, finally happened. Pedro and Lupita ended up falling in love and establishing a secret relationship that only became known many years later.
The singer went to great lengths to keep the relationship a secret, as he was not only still married, but also had a significant age gap between him and Lupita. It’s said that this romance was quite intense, and that the singer considered leaving María Luisa León for the dancer.
The result
Pedro and Lupita didn’t waste any time. The same year they began their relationship, their first daughter was born, whom they named Graciela Margarita. The singer was more than happy with the birth of the girl because, although he already had a daughter from his relationship with Guadalupe López, his then-wife, María Luisa León, couldn’t bear him children.
Of course, few people knew about the girl’s existence, because at that time the relationship between Pedro and Lupita was still a secret.
A hard blow
Unfortunately, not everything was bliss for the clandestine couple. When little Graciela turned one, she became seriously ill with polio, a viral disease that attacks the nervous system and causes paralysis and difficulty breathing.
The girl couldn’t resist the illness and died shortly after contracting it. This was a hard blow for both Pedro and Lupita; they had hoped the girl would recover, but she never did. Fortunately, the event ultimately brought the couple closer together.
The story does not end
Although Pedro and Lupita suffered a great loss with Graciela’s death, their love story didn’t end there. Their relationship continued, and together they had two more children. In 1950, little Pedro Infante Torrentera was born, the first son of the Guamúchil idol.
But the couple wasn’t satisfied with just one child, and a year later, in 1951, Lupita Infante Torrentera was born. Pedro and Lupita’s relationship was going well, but the fact that the singer remained married to María Luisa affected them.
Fame and women
By 1950, Pedro Infante was one of Mexico’s most important singers and actors. It is said that fame never changed him and that he was always a humble person who tried to help those in need.
However, despite being famous, handsome, and talented, many women came knocking on his door, and it seems the singer didn’t hesitate to open them. Pedro gradually acquired a reputation as a womanizer that would follow him until his death. Of course, this reputation was more than justified.
María Luisa’s last attempt
It is unknown whether María Luisa León knew that the singer was having a secret relationship with a girl 16 years his junior and that three children had been born from that relationship.
However, the woman didn’t lose hope of making her marriage work and decided to make one last desperate attempt to save their relationship. In 1948, María and Pedro adopted a girl they named Dora Luisa, the biological daughter of the singer’s sister.
What happened to Lupita?
The exact fate of Lupita Torrentera and Pedro Infante’s relationship is unknown. Gossip has it that throughout their romance, Pedro managed to hide from the young woman the fact that he was married.
Eventually, Lupita would find out about María Luisa León and immediately separate from the singer. This version is somewhat inconsistent, since, being famous, almost everyone knew that Pedro was already married. It was almost impossible for the young woman to ignore it.
A new passion
In 1948, Pedro Infante discovered a new passion that would cost him his life years later. The singer began experimenting with aviation. He first began as a co-pilot and later operated the planes himself.
Pedro didn’t waste his free time. When he wasn’t recording music or films, he would hop on a plane to experience the adrenaline rush of being high in the air. However, on several occasions he had a serious scare due to potential plane crashes.
The first accident
In 1949, what everyone feared happened. During one of his aerial adventures, the small plane in which Pedro Infante was traveling ran out of gas and crashed. The accident occurred in Michoacán, and the singer nearly lost his life.
It is said that the plane crashed into a tree and was practically unusable. Pedro Infante was accompanied by Lupita Torrentera, his girlfriend at the time. This accident was widely reported, as many thought the singer wouldn’t survive.
The results
Thanks to the accident, Pedro Infante was in intensive care and required surgery for a large head wound. The singer had to have a platinum plate placed in his forehead to cover a large wound in his skull that nearly cost him his life.
Lupita Torrentera was more fortunate, suffering only minor injuries. Fortunately, none of the couple’s children had been born at that time, so neither was present at the accident.
Dangerous hobbies
But aviation wasn’t the only hobby that put Pedro Infante’s life at risk. The singer gradually developed a taste for fast cars and motorcycles as well.
In fact, the actor was also involved in a car accident that is rarely discussed. Pedro was driving near the local airport in Guasave, Sinaloa, and lost control of his vehicle. The car hit a wall, and the Sinaloan native suffered a chin injury as a result.
Little Irma
Irma Dorantes, one of Mexico’s most renowned actresses, was one of Pedro Infante’s most intense loves. They met in 1948 while filming the movie Los Tres Huastecos, produced by Ismael Rodríguez.
At the time, Pedro didn’t pay much attention to the actress. In fact, the two lost touch until, in 1949, they had to work together again, this time as leads in the film You Shall Not Desire Your Son’s Wife.
A new relationship?
It seems that the reunion between Pedro and Irma was a revelation for both of them. While filming the movie, a beautiful friendship developed between the two, which gradually transformed into a relationship that began as a secret. Obviously, Pedro was still married to María Luisa León.
The young actress’s charms captivated Pedro Infante, who this time didn’t hesitate to make his extramarital affair public. In fact, it was his love for Irma Dorantes that definitively ended the relationship between María Luisa León and the singer.
An intense love
It’s said that Irma Dorantes was the love of Pedro Infante’s life. Of course, it’s easy to assume this when she was the Sinaloan’s last partner. The truth is, for Irma, Pedro was willing to do things he wouldn’t even do for Lupita Torrentera.
They say the actress owes her fame to Pedro Infante, because, although she had already participated in several films when they began their relationship, the singer’s fame helped boost the young woman’s career.
He liked young people
After marrying a woman 10 years his senior, Pedro Infante developed a taste for much younger girls. In Lupita Torrentera’s case, there was a 16-year age difference between them. Regarding Irma Dorantes, he was 31 when they met, while she was a 13-year-old girl.
Much of the singer’s audience criticized him for starting a relationship with Irma, all due to their significant age difference. However, the criticism never affected him.
The fake divorce
Pedro was clear that his love for María Luisa had come to an end. He had even been unfaithful to her on several occasions and had had a couple of long-term extramarital affairs. However, María Luisa refused to give up and refused to grant him a divorce in the hope of rebuilding their relationship.
In 1951, Pedro decided to secretly divorce his wife. The singer forged María Luisa’s signature on the divorce decree, as she refused to sign.
Illegal marriage
It was obvious that Pedro’s illegal divorce from María Luisa was so he could openly pursue his relationship with Irma Dorantes. In 1953, the couple entered into an illegal civil marriage, as Pedro’s divorce was invalid.
When María Luisa learned that Pedro had remarried, she filed a lawsuit to annul the marriage between her husband and the actress. Of course, the legal process was quite lengthy.
A new family
Everyone hoped Pedro and Irma would start a family soon. Finally, in 1955, the couple entrusted the stork with their first and only baby. That same year, little Irma Infante Dorantes was born, a beautiful girl who was loved by her parents from the very beginning.
A well-deserved Ariel
1955 was a big year for Pedro Infante. Not only did he welcome his daughter, Irma Infante, but he also filmed some of the most iconic movies of his career. “School for Vagrants” and “Life Is Worth Nothing” were the highlights.
A legal news
On April 13, 1957, Pedro received a call from Irma Dorantes. At the time, the singer was in Mérida, at his second home. Irma, quite upset, informed Pedro that the Supreme Court had annulled their marriage and was now accusing them of bigamy.
Yes, María Luisa León’s lawsuit had finally been resolved. The actress begged the singer to return to Mexico City to resolve this legal issue.
The death of a legend
On April 15, 1947, a couple of days after receiving the call from Irma, Pedro boarded a cargo plane he piloted himself. He was accompanied by pilot Víctor Manuel Vidal and the plane’s mechanic.
Unfortunately, the plane crashed at 8:00 AM in a residential neighborhood in downtown Mérida. All the plane’s crew members died, as did Ruth Rosell, a young woman who was hanging clothes in her backyard.
The response of his fans
The news of Pedro’s death completely shocked the country and the continent. No one expected the singer to die so suddenly, much less at the age of 39, when he still had a lot of life left.
The singer’s remains were laid to rest at his home in Mérida, Yucatán, and were later taken to Mexico City, where more than 5,000 people waited for him at the airport to pay their heartfelt respects. The body was then taken to the Jorge Negrete Theater.
Two broken hearts?
As expected, Pedro’s death greatly affected Irma Dorantes, the singer’s official partner, and María Luisa León, who, although she was not on very good terms with the Sinaloan, continued to love him unconditionally, so much so that she refused to give him a divorce.
After Pedro’s death, there was no communication between the two women. However, following the annulment of Pedro and Irma’s marriage, María Luisa was in charge of the singer’s funeral.
Maria Luisa spoke
“We only had love, youth, and misery. Three forces to keep going,” were the words of María Luisa León when speaking of her relationship with Pedro Infante. After the singer’s death, the widow didn’t show any resentment. On the contrary, she stated in an interview that Pedro’s love was her most precious treasure.
Irma Dorantes was possibly the person most affected by Pedro Infante’s death. First, she was unable to attend the singer’s funeral by order of María Luisa León. Furthermore, the actress was stripped of the property she shared with the singer after their marriage was annulled.
According to the actress, both María Luisa León and the singer’s family prevented her from saying goodbye to her great love. For her, this was the most painful part of the experience.
The Silver Bear
In 1957, the press announced that Pedro Infante had won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor. This is a prestigious award given by the Berlin Film Festival, and it was a great honor that Pedro had won for his role in the film Tizoc: Amor índio.
Of course, the award was presented posthumously. Ismael Rodríguez, a close friend of Pedro’s and the film’s director, was responsible for accepting the recognition on Pedro Infante’s behalf.
Conspiracy theories
Pedro Infante’s death sparked a great deal of morbid curiosity among some of his fans. Along with this morbid curiosity, some conspiracy theories emerged that grimly justified his death.
Some claimed that the plane was rigged to make it crash. It was also said that the singer knew he was going to die, as he once told Ismael Rodríguez that a plane crash would be the cause of his death. Many crazy ideas arose about Pedro’s death.
A fake death?
Years after Pedro Infante’s death, the idea emerged that the singer was still alive, and that the plane crash had merely been an alibi to fake his death. It began to be rumored that Pedro was involved in illegal activities and that he decided to arrange everything to change his identity.
This theory was supported by the fact that Pedro’s body was unrecognizable after the accident. It was the platinum plate in his skull that allowed him to be recognized.
Children of Pedro Infante?
It may seem crazy, but after Pedro’s death, more than 40 young people came forward claiming that the Sinaloan singer was their father. They all tried to make waves in the media by claiming the singer was their father, but they were never able to prove it.
A poorly distributed inheritance
Pedro Infante amassed a vast fortune that would cause considerable controversy and conflict after his death. After the annulment of Irma and Pedro’s marriage, the actress lost all right to claim part of the singer’s inheritance.
María Luisa León was the one who kept half of Pedro’s fortune. The other half was divided among his children, although Antonio Matouk, Infante’s manager, illegally kept some of the Sinaloa native’s property and money.
The legacy of a legend
Pedro Infante became a national legend. The singer and actor is remembered not only by those of his time, but also by younger generations. His talent, humility, and good attitude always characterized him, which is why he became one of the most beloved personalities among the Mexican public.
Pedro left us with more than 60 films, some of which won national and international awards. The singer also recorded more than 300 songs, which are the best way to remember him.
Tribute to a great?
In 2019, Netflix released a film called Como caído del cielo (Like Fallen from Heaven), a fiction based on the life of Pedro Infante that highlighted the values that characterized the singer and his reputation as a womanizer.
Many fans of the Sinaloan singer enjoyed the film, while others criticized it for its portrayal of the singer, making him look like a hopeless Casanova. In any case, the filming’s intention was to pay tribute to Pedro Infante and remember him in the best possible way.
