Historic Hispanics Leaders and Fun Facts

Hispanic

A person with ancestry from a country whose primary language is Spanish

Latino or Latina

Anyone born in or with ancestors from Latin America and living in the U.S., including Brazilians.

Number of Hispanic Americans in the United States

62.5 million

Roberto Clemente

First Hispanic (Puerto Rican) baseball player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame

Ellen Ochoa

World's first female Hispanic (Mexican) astronaut

Celia Cruz

Cuban-American salsa singer; queen of salsa

Sonia Sotomayor

1st Hispanic appointed to the Supreme Court.

Rita Moreno

1st Latina actress to win all 4 major awards in North America: EGOT Emmy, grammy, Oscar, Tony & Medal of Freedom

César Chávez

Mexican-American civil rights leader who founded the National Farm Workers Association

Carlos Santana

Mexican-born rock guitarist who combined rock, jazz, and Afro-Latin elements. 1st Latino in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame,

Lionel Messi

Argentinean soccer player, played for FC Barcelona and now for Inter Miami

Rigoberta Menchú

Guatemalan, won Nobel Peace Prize, advocate for the native groups of Guatemala

Lupita Nyong'o

First mexican born actress to win an Oscar. Also Afro Latina.

Afro-Latina/o

Individuals of Latin America or of Latin American descent with African ancestry.

Manuel Elkin Patarroyo

A Colombian doctor who discovered the cure for Malaria

Latinx

A person of Latin American origin or descent (used as a gender-neutral or nonbinary alternative to Latino or Latina).

Gabriel García Márquez

Colombian author, Won the Nobel Prize in 1982. His best-known novels: 'Cien años de Soledad'

Which president begun Hispanic Heritage celebration?

Lyndon Johnson in 1968

Antonia Novello

1st woman and 1st Hispanic to become surgeon general of the United U.S. Surgeon General, Puerto-Rican

Mario Vargas Llosa

A Peruvian Noble Prize-winning author, writer, politician, journalist, and essayist.

Gabriela Mistral

The first Latin American author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. She was born in Chile.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Actor, Composer, Writer, Producer, Puerto-Rican-American Creator of Broadway Musicals "Hamilton" and "In the Heights".

Herman Badillo

First representative to Congress of Puerto Rican origin

Tito Puente

Percussionist, MusicianPuerto-Rican, the King of Latin Jazz," 5 Grammy Awards. "Oye como va".

Guillermo del Toro

Mexican filmmaker and author. He directed the Academy Award-winning fantasy films Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, winning the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture.

National Hispanic Heritage Month

9/15/23 - 10/15/23, celebration of the Hispanic Culture in the USA.

Siesta

A nap or rest especially in the afternoon in Hispanic countries.