Mexico's Elvis: Long Live Pedro Infante!

On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley's fiance found that King of Rock and Roll dead on his bathroom floor. According to the official story, he died of a heart attack. Though the 2016 drama film Elvis lives, tells a different story. The film begins with Elvis's life going downhill. His voice is failing him. A member of his entourage is dealing coke, bringing drugs into his home, around his family. He even thinks his ex-wife's boyfriend is plotting to kill him. But he has the wrong guy. It's actually the mob that's after him. They even set off a bomb at Graceland. It's meant to scare Elvis and stop him from testifying against them in court. No one is injured, but the explosion comes with a threat. They're going to kill Elvis and his family. To protect himself and his loved ones, Elvis and the FBI fake his death. This allows Elvis to safely go into witness protection. Crazy story, right? Oddly enough, Elvis lives is similar to another star's supposed death. Mexican singer, actor and cultural icon Pedro Infante. Officially, Infante died in a plane crash. However, almost 30 years later, a new singer named Antonio Pedro hit the bar scene. He looked and sounded remarkably like the late superstar. This led some to believe that Infante never died at all. Why would Infante fake his death? Well it may be because he got involved with the wrong woman, the wrong drug cartel, or even the wrong UFOs. Welcome to Conspiracy Theory's A Spotify Podcast. I'm Carter Roy. New episodes come out every Wednesday. We'd love to hear from you. So if you're listening on the Spotify app swipe up and give us your thoughts or check us out on Instagram at the ConspiracyPod, this episode contains discussions of abortion and suicide. Consider this one deciding how and when you'll listen. Stay with us. Like many podcasts, the Wifiels covers conspiracies, aliens, time travel, ancient civilizations. Some are very serious about this stuff. They believe every detail. Even if they don't quite add up, others tear a story apart. What fun is that? The Wifiels is different. First we explore the mystery. Then together we separate fact from fiction and see what's left. Some legends can't be debunked. And those are my favorites. The Wifiels is on Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts. The ex-files said the truth is out there, but the Wifiels, the truth, is right here. May 22nd, 1949. This Lupita Torrentara was dragged out of a wrecked plane. She was unconscious, having fainted moments before the small aircraft crashed into the ground. The man rescuing her was drenched in blood. The head injury from the impact had partially exposed his brain. Yet he managed to rescue Lupita, who was his girlfriend and mother to one of his children. She was piloting the downed plane, returning from the couple's beach getaway. They got lost and ran out of gas, leading to the crash in Cita Cuaro, Mexico. Local farmers rushed towards the wreckage to help. It must have been a horrific yet awe-inspiring scene. A man with a chunk of his skull missing, carrying a woman out of a mangled plane. It's a heroic image straight from a movie. To make the moment even more cinematic was the identity of this blood-covered pilot. Pedro and Fonte, Mexico's superstar singer and actor. And Fonte's songs were a staple in Mexican music. Even today, genre-defining uptempo tracks as well as soulful ballads made him a household name. He was also the lead in 55 movies, practically all of them blockbusters. He would do his own stunts, like riding motorcycles through explosions, making him the country's epitome of manliness. And now, in real life, he was saving a woman from a plane crash? How manly can one man get to put it in a more American perspective? Imagine this. You run up to a plane crash, dwayne the rock Johnson emerges from the wreckage, rescuing a woman carrying her in his arms. You feel those chills? Well, that's probably how those farmers felt. In Fonte and Lupita were quickly hospitalized. Lupita's injuries were reportedly minor, but in Fonte's required immediate action, five doctors were tasked with cleaning the shattered frontal region of his skull. They treated him for brain lacerations and multiple other head injuries. A metal plate was put into his forehead to seal the gaping wound. In Fonte, slowly recovered and resumed being Mexico's number one celebrity. At the time, he was in the midst of starring in his poverty trilogy. Three movies about Mexico's economic issues where he portrayed Pepe the Bull, the carpenter turned boxer. His performance combined masculinity and emotional turmoil, turning the character into a symbol of Mexican nationalism. The only effect the crash had on his career was that it left him with a nasty scar on his head. It made him partially bald, so he wore a wig on screen. However, he likely treated the scar as a badge of honor when the cameras weren't rolling. He started bragging to his friends, saying, "Death can do nothing against me." It's kind of true. That crash was actually his second plane wreck. He already survived another one a few years prior. He was the pilot that day as well. These survival stories were partially why people called him Pedro the Immortal, or the Immortal Idol. Now you'd think one plane crash would put him off from flying ever again, but no, not for Enfante. Soaring through the skies was his number one passion, even more than acting and singing. But during somber moments, he was more realistic about the dangers of it. About four months after his second wreck, a friend died in another plane crash. And her funeral Enfante told someone that he was going to die the same way. Like he always knew it was inevitable. By 1957, he had almost 3,000 flight hours logged as a pilot. He owned at least six planes for personal use and even became a partner in Tamsa Airlines. This wasn't just some endorsement where he'd film one commercial and rake in the dough. When he wasn't on set or in the recording studio, he was in the Tamsa cockpits, not as a celebrity piloting a joy ride, but as part of their legit flight crew. He flew cargo planes and transported goods across Mexico. This may have been seen as odd, a celebrity working in everyday job like the rest of society. But for Enfante, it probably added to his macho image. And in stardom, he was still a working class man. And some working class men need a vice to unwind after a long day. For Enfante, that vice was extra marital affairs. We already mentioned Lupita who he dated while still married to a woman named Maria Luisa Leone. I'm nevertheless, Enfante would go on to have three children with Lupita, three out of the 14 he'd have total with four different women. Now Lupita obviously knew about Maria. However, Lupita ended the affair in 1951 when she learned that Enfante was also sleeping with actress Irma Dorantes while still being married to Maria. If we wanted to give Enfante some credit, he did try to divorce Maria, at least by the time he was dating Irma, but Maria wouldn't sign the papers allegedly so she didn't have to share any of Enfante's money with another woman. The divorce was only finalized after Enfante forged her signature. This wasn't a problem until 1952 when Enfante and Irma wanted to get married. Maria, wanting to keep Enfante's fortune to herself, told the courts about the forged signature. It was legally invalidated their divorce, but Enfante and Irma got married in 1953 anyway. Maria held the fact that Enfante was still her legal husband over the couple's heads. She even blackmailed them for ownership of Enfante's mansion. If they didn't give it to her, they would have been in a relationship with her. then she'd have him arrested for bigamy, a five-year jail sentence at the time. Irma wanted to legalize her marriage in 1957, so the two women went to court in Mexico City. However, on April 9th of that year, the court sided with Maria, and the Irma in Fonte marriage was forcibly annulled. At the time, Infonte was nearly 900 miles away in the city of Marida, Irma called him with the news. They were officially divorced, and he could be found guilty of bigamy. He needed to get to Mexico City right away to fix this, so a few days later on April 15th, he hopped into one of Tams' cargo planes and set off. But five minutes after taking off, Infonte lost control of the plane. The engine stalled, and Infonte and his co-pilot needed to quickly write the plane for a safe landing. It's not clear if it was an accident or an intentional ploy to lighten the aircraft, but its cargo launched into the sky. Six tons of fish and fabric jettisoned to the ground as Infonte and his co-pilot tried to get the plane under control. Unfortunately, the plane ultimately crashed into a woman's house, bursting into a fiery inferno. The homeowner, her son, and the three occupants of the plane all died, including Pedro and Fonte. According to reports, his body was practically incinerated, completely unrecognizable to the firefighters that arrived on the scene. Some sources say his body had burned to half its size, devoid of hair or skin. He was only identified because his gold bracelet, which set his name, didn't completely melt, neither did the plate in his head. To say Mexico took Infonte's death hard, would be an extreme understatement. His funeral ended in the riot. It started when the plane carrying his coffin landed in Mexico City. Police had to fight back crowds of grief-stricken fans at the airport. Then on the way to the burial, the hurse was mobbed by so many admirers that it seemingly couldn't avoid driving over one. The mob didn't stop at the cemetery. Cops were pushing people into open graves to keep them at bay. According to some reports, 210 people were injured during the proceedings. Surprisingly, a small fraction, considering that 150,000 people tried to catch a glimpse of his closed casket from the airport all the way to the gravesite. That 210 number also doesn't count the two fans that were so distraught over in Fonte's death that they committed suicide. Like when the king of rock and roll died, the king of ranchera's death left a hole in Mexican pop culture. As one author put it, he was "the most important male figure in the iconography of Mexican commercial culture, portraying moral and physical perfection as well as deep national pride." And now, at age 39, that figure was gone. Or was it? Because nearly 30 years later, a new singer hit Mexico's bar scene, one that sounded remarkably like in Fonte. Look like him, too. So much so that some wondered, could it actually be him? Did the immortal idol actually survive the crash? No, aren't that impossible? Unless he was never on the plane to begin with. That burned body wasn't him, but a decoy planted on the plane. Also in Fonte could fake his death. Mariyachi singer and acclaimed actor Pedro in Fonte is a staple of Mexican pop culture. He was the epitome of masculinity, defying death by doing his own movie stunts and surviving two plane crashes, but on April 15th, 1957, his luck had run out. His third plane crash killed him in a fiery blaze. His body was charred and unidentifiable, which led some to wonder, how do we really know it was him? Rumors about the crash began to emerge. Some say he was seen being taken away from the wreckage alive. Others say he was sent to the hospital, but never showed up there. One claim states that officials were ordered to close any investigations as fast as possible. And then there's in Fonte's gold bracelet, which was instrumental in identifying him. If his body was so mangled from the fire, how did it not melt as well? Or the metal plate in his head? Well, that last one is easy. The head plate didn't melt because it was never found. It was just added to a fake autopsy report after the fact. At least that's what some in Fonte lives believers say. Okay, this is starting to sound like every celebrity is still alive conspiracy, right? A beloved star dies, fans can't believe it, all the crazy stories come out of the woodwork. Jim Morrison, Tupac Elvis, obviously. We've heard it all before. Well, speaking of Elvis, there's a pastor in Arkansas today who looks and sounds so much like him that people are 100% convinced he's the king. It's a similar situation to what happened in 1983, something that turned the Pedro and Fonte rumors from unbelievable to, uh, interesting. That year, a familiar voice echoed throughout dive bars and bus terminals. An elderly man singing Pedro in Fonte's songs. But these felt like more than just covers the way he hit the notes, his mannerisms, his face, it seemed like the real deal like in Fonte was back somehow. People would go up to have an ask, are you Pedro and Fonte? Now, the singer would only give vague answers. Never yes? But never know. Sometimes if you are lucky, he would show you something undeniable, a scar along his forehead, just like the one in Fonte had. The man called himself Antonio Pedro and his reputation being so similar to in Fonte. For being in Fonte, swept through Mexico. People started to believe the idol faked his death all those years ago and was finally back. TV stations even aired segments on it. Antonio Pedro started getting more gigs, never huge crowds like in Fonte, but small private parties of believers. Irma Gerantez wasn't one of them. She thought Antonio was a stupid jerk. If Antonio was in Fonte, he would be performing in stadiums, not these parties, plus he would be visiting her and his family. Her views didn't stop people from believing Antonio was him though. They'd likely say he couldn't see his family because he needed to protect them. After all, he had to fake his death for a reason, right? Like, say, because he discovered the truth about UFOs? As we mentioned, in Fonte, log nearly 3,000 hours as a pilot. And on a few occasions, he reportedly saw glowing orbs soar past him. One time they even followed him and supposedly somehow caused one of the playing crashes he survived. In Fonte believed these were extra terrestrials. And according to some theories, he was planning to tell the world about them in a press conference. Somehow the government got wind of this and planned to silence him. To escape their wrath, in Fonte used the 1957 crash to fake his death. Now, this UFO theory has a lot of variations. Some claim he never saw the orbs but found out about them through friends and high places. Others say that he knew so much about UFOs that the government faked his death so they could hire him. After the 1957 plane crash, he started a new life, possibly as some sort of men in black secret government agent. This is perhaps the most fringe theory on why in Fonte faked his death. There's not many details or anything really supporting it, though there's not much denying it either for what it's worth. The other theories? Well, they may actually have something to back them up. As a celebrity, people wanted to sponsor in Fonte's career. He was given motorcycles, houses, ranches, anything in Fonte wanted. people gave him. Also they could be a part of his team. At one point one of his sponsors gave him a plane. It was a cargo plane seemingly unassociated with the ones he flew for, Tampsa and Fonte, graciously accepted. Now here is where the theory gets a little ambiguous. This plane, being a cargo plane, was being used to transport goods whenever and Fonte flew it. However, and Fonte apparently didn't know what he was carrying. How this is possible is up for interpretation. It could be that Enfonte kept his plane with his sponsors and they'd pack the plane without telling him or perhaps they asked him directly if he could deliver some cargo for them on his next flight. Perhaps he thought it was Daly Steakadoo since they gifted him the plane after all. The point is his sponsors gave Enfonte cargo and Enfonte never questioned it until he noticed something odd. Customs never searched him when he landed. Why would they? They were too star-struck by their idol to wonder what was in his cargo. It's at this point that Enfonte decided to finally figure out what he was carrying. As the conspiracy theory goes, he checked the cargo and found drugs and weapons. The realization likely hit him hard. He was a kind-hearted man. Now there's a famous anecdote of Enfonte giving his clothes to an elderly man on the road just because it was cold out. He is not a drug and weapons smuggler. Well at least that's what he thought. These sponsors, the ones who gave him the plane, turned out to be part of a large drug cartel and they made Pedro part of it too. Who knew how many times he transported illegal goods? Who knew if he ever carried something worse? After the discovery Enfonte wanted to cut ties. He told the traffickers that he was done. Their response? There are only two ways out here. Death or prison? Enfonte was trapped and not only was he in danger but his family as well. Enfonte was the main financial support for over 60 family members. If he were to die or go to prison, they would lose their income. And if he fought back against the cartel, then they could kill his children, siblings, every Enfonte imaginable. So Enfonte had to continue smuggling against his wishes until the cartel had enough of him. According to some versions of this theory, the cartel arranged Enfonte's fake death. Maybe they didn't trust him. Now they didn't do the truth. So they orchestrated the 1957 crash with a body double of Enfonte on board. And they sent the real Enfonte to a series of prisons under a fake name. Then in captivity, the cartel tortured him with beatings, electric shocks and starvation. They pulled no punches to the point of him losing his memory at times. Allegedly, the cartel's orders were to keep him alive and kill him in life. Some think that Enfonte's family actually knew he was alive somewhere, whether they were aware of him being tortured as unclear. But in either case, the cartel paid and threatened them to keep quiet. With Enfonte gone, his family received the royalties from his music, perhaps motivating them even further to keep the secret. Now, in this theory, the reason why the cartels let Enfonte go in 1983 and reappear as Antonio Pedro is unclear, but when he did come back under his new name, he had to keep up the story that Enfonte died. Otherwise, they would still go after him and his loved ones. So as you may have gathered, some of the details in this theory are a little muddy, which is why if I had to put my money on why Enfonte had to fake his death, I'd go with this next one. It involves his biggest weakness, a beautiful woman. Like we've discussed, Enfonte slept around and maybe we'll give him a pass for the Irma and Maria overlap since his divorce status was complicated, but they weren't the only women he was allegedly with at that time. Picture the early 1950s. Enfonte was a guest at a high profile party, probably holding courts, everyone wanted to be around him, then he saw her. A dark haired French beauty named Cristian Martel. She was an actress in 1953's Miss Universe. The two hid it off and started seeing each other. During the affair, Cristian ran into a problem. She was pregnant with Enfonte's child, but it turns out he wasn't the only cheater in the relationship. She was actually engaged. Her fiance was Miguel Alamón Velasco, the son of Mexico's former president Miguel Alamón Valdez. He was out of office for a couple of years at this point, but he still likely carried some power enough at least that he was able to force Cristian to terminate the pregnancy. Valdez did this to protect her relationship with his son, or probably their public image. Some even believe it was Valdez who was dating Cristian, not Velasco, but I don't know, guys. After the abortion, the former president put a hit out on Enfonte. This was likely a revenge for interfering with the family. Enfonte then faked his death to escape the bounty. Depending on what story you believe he did it by himself, or he had help from some unlikely fans. On April 14, 1957, Enfonte went a bit. The next day he was going to fly back to Mexico City and take care of his divorce, then someone knocked on his door to government agents who quickly kidnapped him. They took Enfonte to a deserted area and told him that this is it. They were going to kill him under Valdez's orders. A frightened Enfonte pleaded with the men, but eventually he accepted his fate. The men pointed their guns at Enfonte. He shut his eyes tight, waiting for the bullet. The immortal idol was about to die. But then, the gun never fired. Enfonte opened his eyes and saw that the hitmen were conflicted. It turns out these hitmen were fans. They couldn't bear to kill the greatest singer and actor that ever lived, so they decided to help him. As long as he agreed to disappear, Valdez couldn't find out that they disobeyed his orders, the hitmen told Enfonte that they'd kill him if he didn't agree or if he reappeared. He basically had no choice, but to say yes. The hitmen took Enfonte's gold bracelet, the one engraved with his name. They then found a man that resembled Enfonte and killed him. The body was put on the plane, the plane was tampered with, and it crashed the next morning. Thanks to the bracelet, the decoy body was identified as Enfonte. The nation mourned, Valdez believed his orders were followed, and Enfonte went into hiding, allowing his fans and family to believe he was gone. But do you believe it? I mean, maybe you think it's a little bit far-fetched, hitmen that don't follow their job because their fanboys? Well, come on. Well, get this. Antonio Pedro hit the scene in 1983. The exact year that former president Valdez died. Enfonte likely figured that with Valdez dead, no one would care if the hitmen didn't follow through. Plus, Cristian and Valdez's son were married for 22 years at that point. The affair was water under the bridge. The coast must be clear now, so he came out of hiding. He likely used the name Antonio Pedro, just in case. Maybe too careful. Now, that timing could just be coincidence, but I told you that there's something backing up these theories, didn't I? Something practically indisputable. The testimony of Enfonte's grandson. Since 1957, adoring fans have wondered if Pedro and Fonte really died, especially when the singer Antonio Pedro was seen throughout Mexico. He looked, sounded, and acted just like Enfonte, even had the same scar. The theories of him being in Fonte have persisted since the 80s, even without any real proof. That is until March 21st, 2022. A new episode of the Goosecree podcast hit YouTube. It's an interview show hosted by the titular Mexican YouTuber Goosecree. His guest was a man named Cesar, Augusto, and Fonte. Pedro and Fonte's grandson, and he had a startling claim. His grandfather did not die in 1957. He actually lived until 2013, dying at the age of 95. According to Cesar, the truth is a combination of the second and third theory covered. And Fonte got involved with drug cartels and Cristian Martel. Irma also had a hand in and Fonte's fake death. She found out about Cristian Martel and another actress in Fonte was sleeping with. The actress, like Cristian, was also dating a politician. Furious Irma reportedly told the women's boyfriends about the affairs. Then the death threats started pouring in. At his home, on stage, anywhere in Fonte went, his life was in danger. Then came April 15th, 1957, the notorious Dave the Crash. And Fonte was about to board the plane, but someone stopped him. Cesar isn't specific about who exactly. The way he tells it, it seemed to be some amalgamation of President Valdezes' men and the drug cartels, or perhaps other politicians who are working with the cartels. It's not totally clear. We'll just call them the accomplice. Anyway, this accomplice told in Fonte he wasn't getting on the plane. Instead, they showed him the man who would take his place. They then yanked and Fonte's bracelet off of him and put it on the replacement. The stand-in then boarded the plane. Perhaps as some kind of psychological torture, the accomplice allowed in Fonte to watch the plane take off. As it gained altitude, gunshots were heard. Unbord, the pilot was killed. The aircraft immediately went down before and Fonte's very eyes. From this moment on, you are legally dead. The accomplice told him. They then imprisoned him, beating and torturing him for years. This version also says, and Fonte's family knew about the fake death. According to Cesar Valdezes told in Fonte that if anyone in his family or him spilled the beans, then he would have them killed. Cesar also supports the theory that Fonte returned as Antonio after Valdezes died in 1983. But Valdezes' men and/or the cartel continued to monitor the infantes to make sure they never told anyone the truth. Just a heads up at this point in the story, we're going to just refer to Fonte under his new name, Antonio. From 1985 to 1987, Cesar's father, Cruz and Fonte, had secret meetings with Antonio. He even, apparently, almost said Antonio's real identity on TV before the show cut to commercial. And though the secret wasn't aired, the politically connected drug cartel somehow knew that he almost slipped, which takes us to May 11, 1987. Cruz was headed to Vera Cruz. He was a singer as well and had a performance scheduled there. But on the way, his driver crashed into a bus. Cruz and his wife, Cesar's mother, died in the collision. According to Cesar, this wasn't a freak accident. It was a punishment. One that left Cesar orphaned. Cesar himself isn't immune to the drug cartel's might. They apparently tried to assassinate him twice for talking about Antonio's true identity. I like to think it's the fear of following Cruz's footsteps that prevents the rest of the infantes from speaking out. Cesar's take is more pessimistic. He thinks they're keeping quiet to protect their royalties. He only went public because he claims he no longer has anything to lose. He doesn't even have his grandfather anymore. Antonio fell ill in 2013 with what Cesar doesn't say, but Antonio eventually died from his heart slowly stopping. He lived and died in a modest home, not in a luxurious mansion filled with the riches he had in his former life. He was a normal man who passed away, quote, "like a little bird with a smile on his face." The threats to Cesar continued after Antonio's death. At Antonio's funeral, the mafia approached Cesar and told him to watch out or you'll end up like him. Cesar's tale is riveting, but also a bit confusing and thin on evidence. As we said, it combines most of the big Pedro and Fonte conspiracy theories, besides the UFO one. Cesar talks circles around the true culprit, mafia, Miguel Alamón Valdez, drug cartels, everybody apparently wanted to bring in Fonte down. While we're at it, let's talk about former president Valdez for a second. Most Antonio Pedro believers don't mention that Valdez was actually a fan of Fonte. He even wrote a letter to a Mexican governor calling Fonte a "distinguished artist." Now, this was in 1952. Maybe it was before Fonte's supposed affair with Valdez's daughter-in-law. So could Valdez still be the culprit after that? Even if he was once a fan? Sure. People's opinions change. Then there's Cesar's claim that Fonte's children and ex-wives didn't go public about Antonio in order to secure their inheritance and royalties. The thing is, Fonte never had a will. And thanks to some shady management, most of his assets went to his manager, Antonio Matuc. And Fonte's children were left with nothing. But died in 2003. However, according to one 2023 article, we still don't know where Fonte's money and assets went after that. If there was anything left. Though there are likely some form of royalties today, it doesn't sound like they had an inheritance to protect when Fonte, quote unquote, "died." To make things more complicated, not all of Pedro and Fonte's children were legally recognized since they were born outside of marriage. So there's some dispute on who would even get this money. One of those disputed children is Cruz and Fonte, Cesar Agusto and Fonte's father. While many people recognize Cruz as Pedro's son, some of the Infonte family members disagree. So there might be more to this story. And then there's Antonio Pedro himself. There's one claim that he wasn't Infonte and his real name was Romualdo Bufio. His only relation to Infonte was that he looks similar enough to pull off the ruse. And for all, everyone in showbiz needs a gimmick. Now supposedly his life before Infonte's crash is well documented. Though our research couldn't find anything on him. Still, it's worth noting. So is Cesar telling the truth? Was Antonio Pedro Pedro Infonte? We don't know. What we do know is that plenty of people believe he was, and the reason for that is much simpler than a conspiracy theory. Pedro Infonte was the biggest, most beloved star in Mexican pop culture. And nearly 70 years later, crowds still gather at his grave on the anniversary of his death. People just can't stand that he was taken from them too soon. Perhaps it's easier to believe he faked his death and came back than to live in a world without him. However, in a way, they don't totally have to. His movies and songs still play on TV and radio stations. He will always be a symbol of Mexican pride and identity. And that is why he is truly the immortal idol. Thank you for listening to Conspiracy Theories. We're here with a new episode every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram @TheConspiracyPod if you're watching on Spotify, swipe up, and give us your thoughts. For more information on Pedro Infonte, amongst the many sources we used, we found the article, The Mysterious Faked Death of Mexican superstar Pedro Infonte by Robert Bito and the 93rd episode of the Gooscri podcast extremely helpful to our research. Until next time, remember. The truth. Truth isn't always the best story, and the official story isn't always the truth. This episode was written by Brandon Rizudo, edited by Pete Richie and Maggie Admeyer, researched by Brandon Rizudo and Maggie Admeyer, fact-checked by Sophie Kemp, and engineered video edited and sound designed by Alex Button. I'm your host, Carter Roy. [Music]