Rafael Negrete(1892-1925)

Born 10-19-1892 in Abasolo, state of Guanajato, Mexico. Rafael was a violinist who's musical group played in the Mission Play at the San Gabriel Mission in Southern California in the early 1920's. Also played in the 1921 movie, The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, starring Rudolph Valentino. He played the mandolin in the famous tango scene at the cantina. He also played in The Sheik as an Arab musician, and in Blood and Sand (1922) with Valentino. In Blood and Sand he played the violin in the tango scene at the cantina and played the mandolin in the wedding celebration scene, and also played in many scenes as an extra. Rafael was killed in a car crash 12-11-1925 near San Diego while returning from a musical performance with his group. Douglas Fairbanks helped his widow, Lupe Negrete, also a movie extra, make funeral arrangements. He is buried in Calvery cemetery in Los Angles, California.