Pedro Infante - Mexico's National Treasure Essay

Pedro Infante - Mexico's National Treasure - Essay Example 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 hou... 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