Mexican Celebrities: A Deep Dive into the Stars of Mexican Entertainment

In the long list of Mexican celebrities, we can find figures of both international and national renown, with some cases being particularly noteworthy and others more circumstantial.

Thus, we encounter cases ranging from Mario Moreno, Vicente Fernández, Juan Gabriel, to Pedro Infante, to mention a few who are no longer with us.

On the other hand, we have figures who are still active today in various fields such as art, music, sports, and other aspects of daily life.

We cannot ignore that we are in the midst of a highly globalized world, where each figure can emerge overnight with many followers around the globe.

There are many Mexican celebrities, with personalities who have transcended due to their success, both within and beyond the borders of the land where they were born.

The country of mariachi and tequila has several well-known celebrities who proudly identify as Mexican.

Many of them excel in cinema, such as comedian Eugenio Derbez, actress Salma Hayek, and singer Thalía.

Others are acting icons like Eiza González and Eva Longoria.

Still, others shine in sports, such as former boxer Óscar de la Hoya and Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez.

We also find film directors, such as Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón, and Guillermo del Toro, who have brought Mexico’s name to the stratosphere by being recognized at the Oscars on more than one occasion.

Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna are the Midas kings of cinema, as everything they touch turns to gold.

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Mexican Celebrities: The Golden Age of Mexican

Cinema But at the pinnacle of celebrity life, certain figures must appear—those who are references for current, future, and all famous Mexicans.

That is why, in our view, these three dominate the podium of great Mexican celebrities:

Pedro Infante

On November 18, 1917, Pedro Infante was born, a Mexican actor and singer also known as “The Immortal,” “The Idol of Guamúchil,” and “The Idol of Mexico.”

He is considered an icon of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and one of the greatest exponents of ranchera music.

Just three years before the accident, Infante’s career was at its peak.

It was then that he filmed some of his most notable movies, such as Escuela de vagabundos and La vida no vale nada (both films were released in 1955).

If we consider his filmography alongside the more than 300 songs he recorded with greats like the Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán and the Trío Calaveras, we find an artist of almost mythological proportions in Latin culture.

He died between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning on April 15, 1957, when the plane he was co-piloting took off but failed to gain enough altitude and crashed in the center of Mérida, Mexico.

María Félix

Another of Mexico’s great celebrities is María Félix, a gem of music, acting, and the entertainment world in Mexico.

María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña was born on April 8, 1914, in the city of Álamos in the state of Sonora.

“La Doña,” as she became known after her performance in the film Doña Bárbara (1943), was characterized by her dominant, strong, and intense personality, as well as her great beauty.

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She starred in nearly fifty films, working with the most important directors of the time.

She won awards for Best Actress for the films Enamorada, Río Escondido, and Doña Diabla.

She also received a Golden Ariel Award for her outstanding career.

She was a model for famous painters such as Jean Cocteau and Diego Rivera, inspired composers like Agustín Lara and Juan Gabriel, and influenced writers such as Carlos Fuentes and Octavio Paz.

Both her life and death, which occurred on April 8, 2002, on her 88th birthday, are legendary.

Cantinflas

Mario Moreno Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes, better known as “Cantinflas,” was born on August 12, 1911, in the Santa María la Redonda neighborhood of Mexico City.

From his childhood, he worked in various jobs such as postman, shoemaker, shoeshine boy, taxi driver, boxer, dancer, and bullfighter. At the age of 16, he enlisted in the army.

He began his artistic career in the traveling theaters (variety tents) of Mexico City.

The nickname “Cantinflas” was born when, during a performance, an annoyed spectator shouted at Mario for his nonsensical sentences, saying “Cuánto inflas” or “en la cantina inflas” for going around in circles without getting to the point.

The shout created the name Mario Moreno “Cantinflas.” He was also nicknamed the “Mexican Chaplin”; his influence was so great that “cantinflear” became a term in the Royal Spanish Academy, meaning “to talk in a ridiculous and incoherent way without saying anything.”

He first appeared in the film No te engañes corazón in 1936, then in Ahí está el detalle (1940), which made him famous and a national idol, followed by Ni sangre ni arena (1941), El gendarme desconocido (1941), Los tres mosqueteros (1943), and Gran hotel (1944).

He won a Golden Globe for his performance in the film Around the World in Eighty Days.

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Some of his most famous films among his 52 movies (34 in black and white, 18 in color, and one animated color series) include: Ahí está el detalle, Around the World in 80 Days, El bolero de Raquel, El padrecito, Su excelencia, Pepe, ¡A volar joven!, Si yo fuera diputado, El analfabeto, and El barrendero (his last film).

He passed away on April 20, 1993, in Mexico City due to lung cancer.

List of Great Mexican Celebrities Among other Mexican celebrities, we must mention:

Dolores del Río

With a career spanning more than fifty years in the entertainment world, she is recognized as the first Hispanic actress to achieve recognition in Hollywood, where she established a remarkable career during the 1920s and 1930s.

She is also considered one of the main figures of the so-called Golden Age of Mexican cinema during the 1940s and 1950s.