Antonio Chi Su was a Mexican-Chinese businessman most known for being the husband of legendary Mexican vedette, and actress Lyn May. A fundamentally private entrepreneur who eschewed the spotlight, he co-owned a beloved Chinese restaurant in Mexico City and lived and worked as an embodiment of the rather seamless fusion between Chinese and Mexican cultures.
Early Life and Background
Tacos just grew in as popularity without most people knowing that it was the introduction of a new cultural type of cuisine.” A native-born Mexican, Antonio Chi Su spent his childhood shuttling between two rich worlds of culture in Mexico City. His precise birthday could not be confirmed, but his multicultural upbringing imbued him with a work ethic, a sense of family loyalty and resilience that would shape his success.
His background was in Mexico’s centuries-old Chinese immigrant community, whose members faced discrimination but became integral to the country’s culinary and business cultures.
Marriage with Lyn May and Collaborations
In 1988 (or 1989, according to some sources) he married the iconic vedette from Mexico who was considered one of the greatest stars in the ficheras cinema era; Lyn May (born Lilia Guadalupe Mendiola Mayares). The only thing I can tell you that always made me happy is telling and describing to you about the union I shared church wedding with antiKing, she says, the most stable chapter in my life after everything that had happened to me.
They opened a Chinese restaurant, on Avenida Bucareli, in Mexico City together — combining traditional Chinese recipes with tacos al pastor. This undertaking would be a veritable melting-pot that would attract locals, performers, and guests alike—as well serving as an emblem of cross-cultural peace.
Antonio was the rock upon which Lyn May’s career was built, providing for her the emotional security she would frequently note in interviews.
Business Acumen and Cultural Impact
It was as a restaurateur that Antonio Chi Su became known for quality and innovation. Accounts tie him to the Siete Mares chain, but he’s best documented at the Bucareli site with Lyn May. His restaurants strong-armed community, mentoring fledgling chefs and popularizing Chinese-Mexican fusion cuisine from a time long before it was mainstream.
He was a symbol of the power of immigrant entrepreneurship, discreetly transcend the divides in a bustling, multicultural Mexico City.
Battle with Illness and Passing
Antonio discovered he had prostate cancer in 2004. He battled courageously for four years, with the complicity of Lyn May, until he succumbed in 2008 at about 59. Lyn May was deeply pained, so was the areas who had him, and soon it began to show just how much this man had meant as a “heavy hitter”.
Legacy of Antonio Chi Su
By sidestepping public recognition, Antonio Chi Su’s story lives on in the whispers of love and cultural assimilation, of quiet triumph. By 2026, he is remembered as the partner who backed Lyn May and an example of how friendship can make business foray between societies.
His life is an example that great influence sometimes lies in the hands of those working behind the scenes, with humility and heart.
