Benito Juárez (1806-1872)
The first president of Mexico of indigenous origin.
National hero and president of Mexico (1861–72), who for three years (1864–67) fought against foreign occupation under the emperor Maximilian and who sought constitutional reforms to create a democratic federal republic.
He was responsible for the law bearing his name that abolished special courts for the clergy and military, for he felt that juridical equality would help promote social equality. June 1856 the government published the Ley Lerdo (Lerdo Law). The government hoped by breaking up large landed estates, that many Mexicans would be able to acquire property and thus create the middle class that it believed was essential for a strong and stable Mexico. He also nationalized the cemeteries and put birth registrations and marriages under the civil authority. The government separated church and state and guaranteed religious liberty to all citizens.
When Britain and Spain realized that Napoleon III intended to conquer Mexico and control it through a puppet, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, they withdrew their forces. They were able to occupy Mexico City in June 1863, and Maximilian soon arrived to take control of the government. Early in 1867, as a result of continued Mexican resistance, increased U.S. pressure, and criticism at home, Napoleon decided to withdraw his troops. Soon afterward Mexican forces captured Maximilian and executed him.
He died of a heart attack in 1872 and was buried in the Pantheon of San Fernando in Mexico City.
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (1915-2001)
Actor, painter, writer, film director
Know for:
Awards and Honors
He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice: for Viva Zapata! in 1952 and Lust for Life in 1956. First Mexican-born actor to win two Oscars in the same category.
Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (1911-2003)
Known by the stage name Cantinflas, he was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker.
Known For:
A Mexican comic film actor who often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin. The character came to be associated with the national identity of Mexico, and allowed Cantinflas to establish a long, successful film career that included a foray into Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin once commented that he was the best comedian alive, and Moreno has been referred to as the "Charlie Chaplin of Mexico".
Awards and Honors
Guillermo del Toro (b.1964)
Director, Screenwriter, and Producer
Salma Hayek (b.1966)
Actor and Producer
Born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez, who is one of the first Latina actresses to establish a successful film career in the United States.
Best Know for Her Roles:
Awards and Achievements
Alejandro González Iñárritu (b.1963)
Film director, producer and screenwriter.
Known For
Awards and Honors
Eight Academy Awards with a Special Achievement Award, six Golden Globe Awards, eight British Academy Film Awards, two American Film Institute Awards, two Directors Guild of America Awards and a Producers Guild of America Award.
Gael García Bernal (b.1978)
Actor and Producer
Bernal's parents involved him in theatrical productions at an early age. In 1989 he was cast in a Mexican telenovela, and in 1996 he appeared in the short film De tripas, corazón (“Take Courage”). When he was 17 years old, García Bernal traveled to Europe and won a scholarship to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Best Known For:
Awards And Honors
Veronica Falcón (b.1966)
Actor and Choreographer
Born Verónica López Casa Madrid. Falcon's career spans television, film & stage, both in Mexico & abroad. She is well known for her English-speaking roles in the television series Queen of the South and
Best Know For:
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)
Artist
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is remembered for her self-portraits, pain and passion, and bold, vibrant colors. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form.
Thalia (b.1971)
Singer and Actress
Born Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda Mottola. Star of both Mexican telenovelas (soap op-eras) and Latin pop music. She appeared in numerous Mexican soap operas, including:
Music career:
Carlos Santana (b.1947)
Santana mixes rock, jazz, blues, and Afro-Cuban rhythms with a Latin sound. The band Santana was originally known as Santana Blues Band when it was formed in 1966. Santana's lead guitar playing, characterized by the distinctive sustaining of individual notes that became his trademark.
Popular Songs:
Dave Navarro (b.1967)
Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and television personality
Navarro is a member of Jane's Addiction and has played guitar with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tommy Lee, Glenn Hughes, Nine Inch Nails, and was featured on the Guns N' Roses song "Oh My God." Released solo record 'Trust No One' in 2001. He is the judge and host of the reality television series ‘Ink Master’. He has also appeared on the television shows ‘Rock Star: INXS’, ‘Rock Star: Supernova’, Sons of Anarchy’ and ‘Talking Dead’. He played the character of a sound engineer in the TV series ‘Law and Order: SVU’. He had a reality show called ‘Til Death Do Us Part’, with his now ex-wife Carmen Electra. Navarro released a book on his life, ‘Don’t Try This At Home’ on 5th October 2004 with Neil Strauss. S
Joan Chandos Baez (b.1941)
Singer and political activist
Her music combines combined folk rock, pop, country and gospel. Her first solo album, Joan Baez, was released in 1960. She was instrumental in the early career of Bob Dylan. Baez 1973 song "Where are you now son?" details her experience in December 1972 when she delivering Christmas presents and mail to American prisoners of war, when the United States targeted the North Vietnamese capital with the most intense bombing campaign. Baez remained deeply committed to social and political matters.
Popular albums:
Honors:
Click the buttons above to find eBooks in those categories.
Emiliano Zapata Salazar (1879-1919)
Revolutionary Leader
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, the main leader of the peasant revolution in the state of Morelos, and the founder of the agrarian movement called Zapatismo. Zapata remains an iconic figure in Mexico, used both as a nationalist symbol as well as a symbol of the neo-Zapatista movement.
José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón (1765-1815)
Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel leader.
José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1811. He was later captured by the Spanish colonial authorities and executed for treason in 1815.
Sophie Cruz (b. 2010)
Advocate for children of undocumented immigrants.
At 5 years old, Cruz gave Pope Francis a letter during his visit to the white house in 2015 about her fears of being deported. She is now the voice for children of undocumented immigrants around the globe.
Sylvia Mendez (b.1936)
Nurse and civil rights activist.
In 2011 Sylvia Mendez received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama for her advocacy for educational opportunity for “children of all backgrounds and all walks of life.”
Cesar Estrada Chavez (1927-1993)
César Chávez fought for the rights and welfare of farm workers. He organized marches, boycotts, and even went on a hunger strike for 36 days.
Awards and Honors:
Dolores Huerta (b.1930)
Labor Leader and Civil Rights Activist
While working with Stockton Community Service Organization (CSO). Huerta met CSO Executive Director César E. Chávez She co-founded the Agricultural Workers Association in 1960 and collaborated with Chavez to found the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. She made a name for herself by supporting and leading various strikes for workers' rights. She later stepped away from the union to focus on women’s rights after she was badly beaten by a San Francisco police officer during a peaceful raid, resulting in a long recovery. Huerta still stands as a giant in the fight for Hispanic American labor rights.
Sports in Mexico
Oscar De La Hoya (b.1973)
Former boxer, singer, and founder of Golden Boy Promotions
In 1995, he was named The Ring Magazine Fighter of the year and rated highly globally. During his matches, he generated over 700 million US dollars in pay-per-view income. Oscar retired in 2009 after having a successful career for 16 years.
Javier Hernández Balcázar (b.1988)
Footballer
Commonly known by his nickname, Chicharito (little pea).
A Mexican international, Hernández is the country's all-time leading goal scorer. He made his debut for the national team in September 2009 in a friendly match against Colombia. He has represented Mexico at:
Teams:
National Teams:
Javier Nicolás Hernández Gutiérrez (b.1961)
Footballer
Also known as Chícharo means "Pea" in English, is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Hernández was previously the manager of Guadalajara's reserve side. He asked for permission to take leave in order to watch his son Javier Hernández Balcázar (known as Chicharito, which means "Little Pea") play at the 2010 World Cup for Mexico. After permission was refused, he decided to quit his job as manager of Guadalajara's reserve side to watch his son play.
Teams
National Team
1983-1994 Mexico
Raúl González Rodríguez (b.1952)
Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza (b. 1977)
Former Senator of the Mexican Republic (2012-2018), Track and Field Athlete
A retired Mexican track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters and is the 7th fastest female 300-meter runner in the world, running 300 meters in 35.3 seconds on May 3, 2003.
Medal Record
Olympic Games
Silver - 2004 Athens, 400 m
World Championships
Gold - 2003 Paris, 400 m
IAAF World Cup
Gold - 2002 Madrid 400 m
Gold - 2002 Madrid 4x400 m
Goodwill Games
Gold - 2001 Brisbane 400 m
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold - 2002 San Salvador 400 metres
Gold - 2002 San Salvador 4x400 m
Gold - 2005 Cartagena 400 metres
Gold - 2005 Cartagena 4x400 m
Ibero-American Championships
Gold - 1998 Lisbon 400 metres
Gold - 1998 Lisbon 4x400 metres
Lorena Ochoa Reyes (1981)
Former professional golfer, golf academy director, founder of the Lorena Ochoa Foundation, and golf course design.
In 2003, Lorena Ochoa she became the second Mexican in history to obtain an LPGA card. She held the position of No. 1 Golfer in the Women's Official World Golf Rankins for 158 weeks.
Inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.
Other Achievements
In 2004, she founded the Lorena Ochoa Foundation, whose mission is to "promote the comprehensive development and self-esteem of low-income children and adolescents, through academic, sports and cultural education to encourage the development of their abilities and expand their opportunities to successfully integrate into society."
Julio César Chávez González (b.1962)
Multiple-time world champion former boxer
He began his professional boxing career in 1980, and his first title was the World Boxing Council’s version of the junior-lightweight championship in 1984. Chávez then won recognition as world lightweight champion from the rival World Boxing Association when he knocked out Edwin Rosario in the 11th round of their November 21, 1987, match.
Through 2000 Chávez had a record of 103 victories (83 by knockout), 6 losses, and 2 draws. His 27 undefeated title fights and 36 total championship fights set boxing records, and his 1983 match against Greg Haugen drew over 136,000 fans, also a record as the sport’s largest gate.
Carlos Gracida Liceaga (1960-2014)
They say that Carlos Gracida Liceaga could be called the Pelé of polo. That he could go from signing autographs in Argentina and then to London to be the duke of Cambridge’s private teacher for the future king of Great Britain. He is thought to be the teacher of the recent Prince George).
Liceaga won world records,10 British Open, 9 US Opens and 5 Argentinian Opens. He is the only one who has the Triple Crown of the Grand Slam: winning the three tournaments in the same year. As a foreigner, he won the most Argentinian Open of Palermo, on five occasions. He is the only foreigner to conquer the Olimpia de Plata award of Argentina. It is an award that has been given to famous athletes such as the tennis player Guillermo Vilas, and the soccer player Diego Armando Maradona.
Carlos Gracida Liceaga, was born in 1960. He died February 14, 2014, when he fell off his horse while playing in Florida, United States.
Cuauhtémoc (1496-1525)
One of the great heroes in Mexican history is Guatemotzin (Cuauhtémoc), the last emperor of the Aztecs, who fought the Spanish after the death of his uncle, Montezuma II (Moctezuma or Motecuhzoma, 1480?–1520).Cuauhtémoc was the Mexica ruler (tlatoani) of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuāuhtemōc means "One That Has Descended Like an Eagle", commonly rendered in English as "Descending Eagle" as in the moment when an eagle folds its wings and plummets down to strike its prey. He ascended to the throne when he was approximately 25 years of age, while Tenochtitlan was being besieged by the Spanish and devastated by an epidemic of smallpox brought to the New World by Spanish invaders.
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula (1878-1923)
Provisional Governor of Chihuahua, military leader, and revolutionary general, who was also known as Poncho Villa.
As commander of the División del Norte (Division of the North), he was the veritable caudillo (military or political leader) of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, which, given its size, mineral wealth, and proximity to the United States of America, provided him with extensive resources. Villa was also provisional Governor of Chihuahua in 1913 and 1914. Although he was prevented from being accepted into the "panteón" of national heroes until some 20 years after his death, today his memory is honored by Mexicans. In addition, numerous streets and neighborhoods in Mexico are named in his honor. Villa and his supporters seized hacienda land for distribution to peasants and soldiers. He robbed and commandeered trains and, like the other revolutionary generals, printed fiat money to pay for his cause. Villa's men and supporters became known as Villistas during the revolution from 1910 to roughly 1920.
Julián Castro (b.1974)
Politics
Castro was elected to San Antonio City Council in 2001 until he stepped away to run his own law practice. He was elected mayor of San Antonio City in 2009. Castro was re-elected in 2011 and 2013. He resigned as mayor in 2014 after accepting President Obama’s offer to become the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Castro's academic, professional, and political career:
Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena (1917-1965)
Electrical Engineer and Inventor
González Camarena invented the “Chromoscopy Adapter for Television Equipment”, an early color television transmission system. He was only 17. A U.S. patent application (2,296,019) states, “My invention relates to the transmission and reception of colored pictures or images by wire or wireless…”
Helia Bravo Hollis (1901-2001)
Botanist, taxonomist, cactus researcher, and author.
Ellen Ochoa (b.1958)
Engineer an astronaut
Dr. Ellen Ochoa is an engineer who made her mark by becoming the first Hispanic American woman to go to space with a nine-day mission in 1993 on board the Space Shuttle Discovery on a mission to study the Earth’s ozone layer. She is also the former director of the Johnson Space Center.
José Hernandez Rebollar (b.1969)
Engineer and Inventor
Jose L. Hernandez-Rebollar was born in the state of Puebla in Mexico. He is the inventor of the AcceleGlove, a prototype device which can translate the alphabet and over 300 words into American Sign Language.
Mario José Molina (1943-2020)
Chemist, and recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize
Molina was jointly awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, along with chemists F. Sherwood Rowland and Paul Crutzen, for research in the 1970s concerning the decomposition of the ozonosphere, which shields Earth from dangerous solar radiation. The discoveries of Molina and Rowland—that some industrially manufactured gases deplete the ozone layer—led to an international movement in the late 20th century to limit the widespread use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases. (Britannica)
Carmen Boullosa (b.1954)
Novelist, Poet, and Playwright
Her novels have also been translated into Italian, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and Russian.
Awards & Honors
Major Works
• TEXAS, translated 2014
• Las paredes hablan, 2010
• El complot de los románticos, 2009
• La virgen y el violín, 2008
• El velázquez de París, 2007
• La novela perfecta, 2006
• La otra mano de Lepanto, 2005
• Cleopatra Dismounts, translated 2003
• Leaving Tabasco, translated 2001
• Heavens on Earth, translated 2016
• Quizá, 1995.
• Duerme, 1994
• The Miracle Worker, translated 1994
• El Médico de los piratas: bucaneros y filibusteros en el Caribe, 1992.
• Llanto: novelas imposibles, 1992.
• They're Cows, We're Pigs, translated 1997
• Before, translated 2016.
• Just disappear, translated 2009
Dr. Ana Castillo (b.1953)
Born and raised in Chicago, Castillo credits the rich storytelling tradition of her Mexican heritage as the foundation for her writing.
Awards & Honors
Best Known Poetry
Best Known Novels, Short Stories, Plays, and Memoir
Rosario Castellanos (1925-1974)
Novelist, Short-story Writer, Poet, Essayist, and Diplomat
Her 1950 master’s thesis, Sobre cultura femenina (“On Feminine Culture”), became a turning point for modern Mexican women writers, who found in it a profound call to self-awareness. She dedicated much effort to defending women’s rights, which would eventually earn her a place as an important symbol of Latin American feminism. Castellanos held many governmental posts and in 1971 Castellanos became Mexico’s ambassador to Israel. She taught Latin American Literature at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and published several essays, short stories, and a play. She died three years later by accidental electrocution in her Tel Aviv home in 1974.
Her most famous novel, Oficio de tinieblas (The Book of Lamentations) published in 1962, is regarded as her most moving piece that re-creates the Indian rebellion in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas in the nineteenth century.
Awards and Honors
Major Works
English translations
Laura Esquivel (b.1950)
Screenwriter, Journalist, and Author
Esquivel began writing while working as a kindergarten teacher. She wrote plays for her students and wrote children's television programs during the 1970s and 1980s.
Major Works
Like Water for Chocolate (1991) - Film version released in 1992
The Law of Love (1996)
Malinche (2006)
Guadalupe Nettel (b.1973)
Author and Translator
Contributor to both Spanish- and French-language magazines, including Letras Libres, Hoja por hoja, L'atelier du roman, and L'inconvénient. Her work has been translated into more than ten languages. She currently lives in Mexico City where she’s the director of the magazine Revista de la Universidad de México.
Major Works
Luis Spota (1925-1985)
Writer, Journalist, Boxing Official and Film Director.
Born Luis Mario Cayetano Spota Saavedra Ruotti Castañares. Spota became a highly successful author, journalist, and screen writer for the Mexican film industry. and he appeared frequently on TV and radio. He was the first President of the World Boxing Council (WBC) and Lucha libre Commission from 1959 to 1985.
He wrote more than thirty books in Spanish. Don’t worry, you can find many of them translated into English. The book Más cornadas da el hambre (Wounds of Hunger) written in 1957 is about the dangerous world of bullfighting. It later was made into a film. Another book that became a movie was, La sangre enemiga (The Enemy Blood).
Best Known Books in English
CRISTINA RIVERA GARZA
An award-winning author of novels, short stories, nonfiction and poetry, Rivera-Garza’s most well known work is No One Will See Me Cry, a historical novel set in 1920s Mexico.
YURI HERRERA
Many consider Herrera to be Mexico’s greatest contemporary novelist, so don’t miss these novels. Kingdom Con is out this summer, and is part surreal fable and part narco-lit romance. The Transmigration of Bodies is a noir-esque look at two feuding families set against the backdrop of violence in modern Mexico. His debut, Signs Preceding the End of the World, is a haunting quest novel about a Mexican girl who crosses the border to deliver a letter to her brother.
DANIEL SALDAÑA PARÍS
Among Strange Victims is the existential novel of Mexico City—a sort of modern Notes from the Underground that explores the tedium of life, yet somehow manages to still be charming.
JUAN PABLO VILLALOBOS
Satirist and surrealist, Villalobos is one of the most prominent Mexican authors who creates oddball characters you can’t help but cheer for despite their absurdity. Down the Rabbit Hole is a short novel told from the perspective of a drug lord’s mischievous son. I’ll Sell You a Dog is the story of an aspiring artist turned taco seller who now struggles to stave off boredom in a retirement home. Quesadillas tells the story of a family trying to survive the bizarre reality of political upheaval in a small Mexican village.
VALERIA LUISELLI
The Story of My Teeth is a comic memoir of an auctioneer steeped in philosophy and absurdity. Faces in the Crowd is a story told in flashbacks and fragments, both strange and elegant. Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions, which comes out in March, is at the top of my to-read list. It’s a collection of conversations with Latin American children facing deportation.
Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz was born in 1914 in Mexico City. In 1934, he won the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship to study poetry in the United States. He founded and edited many Spanish-language magazines and authored poems that earned him a Nobel Prize. According to the Nobel website, “his poetic corpus is nourished by the belief that poetry constitutes ‘the secret religion of the modern age.’”
Jaime Sabines
This poet, born in 1926, addressed deep themes in his emotional poems. Love, death, loneliness, can they be expressed in simple words? If you read the work of Jaime Sabines, you may find that the answer is yes.
Martin Luis Guzmán
Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1887, Martin Luis Guzmán studied law before joining the Mexican Revolution under Pancho Villa. Later, he lived in Spain and the United States. He recorded his experiences from the revolution in a biographical memoir of Pancho Villa and is considered one of the founders of the revolutionary genre, which depicts life during this time period.
Valeria Luiselli
What about history in the making? Valeria Luiselli is a contemporary Mexican author who resides in New York. She writes novels and nonfiction essays. She is a recent winner of the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction for her novel Faces in the Crowd.
Fernanda Melchor (b.1892)
Writer, Journalist, and Teacher
The Guardian has called her “one of Mexico’s most exciting new voices” Her novel Hurricane Season was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, longlisted for the National Book Award, and was a New York Times Notable Book. She is a teacher in Aesthetics and Art. Melchor has been published in journals such as Replicante, Letras Libres, GQ and Vice, as well as in the anthology Mexico 20. In 2015, she was recognized as one of the most outstanding under forty-year-old writers in her country by the Conaculta, the Hay Festival and the British Council.
