Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (b.1989)
Representative, House of Representatives
Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is a U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district. She has served since 2019, when she was elected in a grassroots campaign. Her first piece of legislation was the Green New Deal, a set of policies that outline a 10-year national economic plan to fight climate change, creates jobs, and to repair U.S. infrastructure. She "represent(s) a new generation of progressive politicians working collaboratively to back national legislative efforts like the Green New Deal resolution and the Build Back Better Act."
Berta Cáceres (1971-2016)
Environmental Activist
Co-founder of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras to address the growing threats posed to Lenca communities by illegal logging, fight for their territorial rights and improve their livelihoods.
She was the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize Recipient
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.
Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales (1928-2005)
Boxer, Writer, and Activist.
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.”
Lizzie Velasquez (b.1989)
Motivational Speaker and Advocate for People Who Have Both Disability Identities and Hispanic Heritage
Velasquez was born with an extremely rare condition that is believed to affect only two other people in the world. When she was 17 years old, she did an interview for a local television station, and a clip of the interview was posted on YouTube with the label "The World's Ugliest Woman." It had already received over 4 million viewers by the time Velasquez found the clip. Since then, Velasquez has devoted her life to speaking against cyber-bullying and negative body image.
Miguel Cardona (b.1975)
U.S. Secretary of Education
Cardona is the 12th U.S. Secretary of Education, sworn in on March 2, 2021. His grandparents moved to the mainland US from Puerto Rico in the 1960s. Before becoming Secretary of Education, he served as an elementary school teacher for 20 years, before becoming the commissioner of education in Connecticut, where he worked to provide social-emotional learning resources for students and staff. His biggest challenge as Secretary of Education has been reopening public schools in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gloria E. Azaldua (1942-2004)
Poet, Writer, and Feminist Theorist
Some of her most famous work includes:
Achievements and honors:
Isabel Allende (b.1942)
Author
Chilean author Isabel Allende is renowned for writing international bestsellers including 'The House of Spirits,' 'City of the Beasts,' 'Inés of My Soul' and 'Paula.'
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.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927-2014)
Novelist
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Colombian novelist and one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, mostly for his masterpiece Cien años de soledad (1967; One Hundred Years of Solitude).
Luis Alvarez (1911-1988)
Physicist
His research included particle physics, radar, and nuclear science. He developed multiple radar systems during World War II, worked on the Manhattan Project, and was involved in the development of a liquid hydrogen bubble chamber, which enabled detection of subatomic particles.
Franklin Chang-Diaz (b.1950)
Physicist and Astronaut
Franklin Chang-Díaz is a Costa Rican-born American physicist and the first Hispanic astronaut.
Biologist and Environmental Justice Advocate
A Guatemalan immigrant of Cuban heritage, Hernandez Hammer works to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color across the U.S.
Helia Bravo Hollis (1901-2001)
Botanist, Taxonomist, Cactus Researcher, and Author
Dr. Ellen Ochoa (b.1958)
Engineer and Astronaut
Dr. Ellen Ochoa is an American engineer, former astronaut and former director of the Johnson Space Center. In 1993 Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Linda G. Alvarado (b.1951)
Co-owner, Colorado Rockies and Businesswoman
Al Avila (b.1958)
Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan (b.1987)
Senior Associate Director for Public Engagement
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan serves as the White House’s primary liaison to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. She is the first appointee in the Obama White House who is openly transgender.
Oscar Hijuelos (1951-2013)
Author
Oscar Hijuelos is a first-generation Cuban American and the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He has written six novels, the most recent of which is A Simple Habana Melody.
Alejandro Mayorkas (b.1959)
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
Mayorkas is the first Latino and immigrant confirmed to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. He has led a distinguished 30-year career as a law enforcement official and a nationally-recognized lawyer in the private sector. Mayorkas served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2016, and as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009 to 2013. During his tenure at DHS, he led the development and implementation of DACA, negotiated cybersecurity and homeland security agreements with foreign governments, led the Department’s response to Ebola and Zika, helped build and administer the Blue Campaign to combat human trafficking, and developed an emergency relief program for orphaned youth following the tragic January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Mayorkas also created the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate to better ensure the integrity of the legal immigration system.
Luis Alberto Munoz Marin (1898-1980)
Governor
Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth."
Arturo Moreno (b.1946)
Businessman and Owner of Los Angeles Angels
The first Mexican-American to own a major sports team in the United States when he purchased the Anaheim Angels from the Walt Disney Company.
Dr. Antonia Novello (b.1944)
U.S. Surgeon General
She was both the first woman and the first Hispanic to serve as U.S. Surgeon General. When she left her post in 1993, she was praised by President Bill Clinton for her "vigor and talent."
Sonia Sotomayor (b.1954)
Supreme Court Justice
Nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in U.S. history.
Celia Cruz (b.1925-2003)
Singer; First Afro-Latina to appear on U.S. Currency
Celia Cruz, the "Queen of Salsa," will have her image imprinted on the quarter as part of the 2024 American Women Quarters Program.
Cruz rose to fame as a singer in Cuba during the 1950s, but left after the Cuban Revolution. She has 37 studio albums, and has won two Grammys and 3 Latin Grammys during her career.
Oscar De La Hoya (b.1973)
Former boxer, singer, and founder of Golden Boy Promotions
Jessica Mendoza (b.1980)
Retired Pro All-Star Softball player and MLB Analyst, ESPN
Samuel Peralta Sosa (b.1968)
Professional Baseball Player
Sosa is a Dominican American former professional baseball right fielder of Haitian descent. In 1999 Sosa became the first player to hit 60 homers in two seasons. In the last few years, his career has been mired with accusations of performance enhancement drug use and a fallout with the Chicago Cubs.
Career History
Awards
Jennifer Lopez (b.1969)
Singer
Jennifer Lynn Lopez, also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American actress, singer, dancer, fashion designer, producer, and businesswoman. In 1991, Lopez began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color, where she remained a regular until she decided to pursue an acting career in 1993.
Lin-Manuel Miranda (b. 1980)
Actor, songwriter, rapper, producer, and playwright
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an award-winning actor, performer and writer known for his groundbreaking Broadway musicals 'In the Heights' and 'Hamilton.'
Selena Quintanilla-Perez (1971-1995)
Singer, songwriter, spokesperson, and fashion designer
Known as the 'Queen of Tejano Music,' Selena Quintanilla was a beloved Latin recording artist who was killed by the president of her fan club at the age of 23.
Rita Moreno (b.1931)
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican actress known for her role as Anita in 'West Side Story.' The PEGOT winner broke new ground for Latinos in entertainment.
