Downey's Lupita Infante celebrates release of first album

DOWNEY – A local Downey High alumni is putting her mark on the Mexican music scene, and she’s doing it as the next generation in an already illustrious family legacy.

29-year-old Lupita Infante released her first album last week at an album launch party and press conference held at the Don Chente Bar-Grill-Lounge in Downtown Los Angeles. The self-titled, mariachi music style album Infante’s first addition to her family’s already famous family.

“I come from this background of musicians. My grandfather was a huge actor/singer in the 1950’s in Mexico,” said Infante. “He had a son, which was my father… my dad was also an actor and a singer. I watched his films, and I watched him perform and that’s kind of where that grew out of.”

Infante’s grandfather was renowned Mexican performer Pedro Infante, who Infante herself described as the “Elvis Presley of Mexico.” Her father also reached some success, however Infante believes had a more difficult time due to the constant comparisons to her grandfather.

Yet, it is likely Infante’s father, or rather her father’s sudden, unexpected passing in 2009 that moved her to take her music career even more seriously than before. 

“I think professionally when you are thinking about doing a career in the arts, it’s something that you kind of always think about twice…it can be pretty tough. It doesn’t matter if your family has had success, it’s always going to be a challenge for everybody,” said Infante. “I was studying music…my dad, he went and saw my recitals because I was doing classical music, and that was really special. Once he wasn’t there, there was like this big void and I just, I don’t know, I kind of wanted to gap, I think, something.

"And I think it was also kind of my healing process, you know, of losing my dad and losing all of those memories, and that inspiration, that connection to our music, to his music, to my grandfather’s music. So I think that’s one of the big inspirations behind my music and behind this album…”

Now, the current UCLA student is looking to finish up her bachelor’s degree in ethnomusicology, before hopefully getting involved in celebrations of her grandfather’s centennial year. 

Lupita Infante is available on digital download platforms such as Itunes, as well as at her website lupitaluinfante.com.