Antonio Aguilar was the father of Pepe Aguilar.
José Pascual Antonio Aguilar Márquez Barraza better known as Antonio Aguilar was a Mexican singer, actor, songwriter, equestrian, film producer, and screenwriter with a dominating career in music and was a star of classic Mexican films during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.
Aguilar began his career singing on the Mexican radio station XEW in 1950. That year, he signed a contract with the Mexican independent label Musart Records and became one of its best-selling artists.
He made his acting debut with Pedro Infante in the drama Un rincón Cerca del Cielo (1952). After appearing in gentleman roles in several films, he achieved popularity as a film star with his performance as lawman Mauricio Rosales in a series of seven films in the mid-1950s.
Aguilar also portrayed Pancho Villa twice in the film. In 1997, He was awarded the Golden Ariel for his “invaluable contribution and spreading of Mexican cinema”.
To this day, he has been the only Hispanic artist to sell out the Madison Square Garden of New York City for six consecutive nights in 1997.
On 19 June 2007, the doctor spoke out to the media that Aguilar was still alive, and his body was responding to the medication but was still in critical condition.
Aguilar died on 19 June 2007 at 11:45 p.m. from pneumonia. His coffin was carried through the streets of Zacatecas, the state capital, and was honored at a memorial service attended by hundreds at a church there.