From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of notable Latin American people. In alphabetical order within categories.

Contents 1 Actors 2 Architects and urbanists 3 Artists 4 Film directors 5 Leaders and politicians 6 Military 7 Musicians 7.1 Classical 7.2 Singers 8 Philosophers and humanists 9 Science and technology 10 Social scientists 11 Sports 12 Writers 12.1 A-L 12.2 M-Z 13 Others 14 Lists by nationality 15 See also

• Norma Aleandro (b. 1936)
• Héctor Alterio (b. 1929)
• Imperio Argentina (1906–2003)
• Alfonso Ribeiro (b. 1971)
• Pedro Armendáriz (1912–1963)
• Sônia Braga (b. 1950)
• María Montez (b. 1912)
• Cantinflas (1911–1993)
• Andy García (b. 1956)
• Miguel A. Núñez Jr. (b. 1964)
• Gael García Bernal (b. 1978)
• Salma Hayek (b. 1966)
• Pedro Infante (1917–1957)
• Raúl Juliá (1940–1994)
• Katy Jurado (1924–2002)
• Libertad Lamarque (1908–2000)
• John Leguizamo (b. 1964)
• Federico Luppi (b. 1936)
• Carmen Miranda (1909–1955)
• Ricardo Montalbán (b. 1920)
• Rita Moreno (b. 1931)
• Jorge Negrete (1911–1953)
• Manny Perez (b. 1969)
• Anthony Quinn (1915–2001)
• Dania Ramirez (b. 1980)
• Dolores del Río (1905–1983)
• Jade Esteban Estrada (b. 1975)
• Benicio del Toro (b. 1967)

• Luis Barragán (1902–1988), 1980 Pritzker Prize Laureate.
• Lúcio Costa (1902-1998), architect and urbanist, creator of Brasília.
• Mathias Klotz (b. 1965).
• Ricardo Legorreta (b. 1931), 2000 AIA Gold Medal Laureate.
• Paulo Mendes da Rocha (b. 1928), architect, winner of the 2006 Pritzker Prize.
• Oscar Niemeyer (b. 1907), architect of international renown, designer of Brasilia.
• César Pelli (b. 1926), 1995 AIA Gold Medal Laureate, Petronas Towers architect.
• Antonio Rivas Mercado (1853–1927).
• Carlos Raúl Villanueva (1900–1975), designed the Ciudad Universitaria of Caracas, declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2000.

See also List of Latin American artists.

• Tarsila do Amaral (1886–1973), painter.
• Fernando Botero (b. 1932), painter and sculptor.
• José Campeche (1751-1809), painter.
• Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), realist and symbolist painter.
• Francisco Oller (1833–1917), impressionist painter.
• José Clemente Orozco (1883–1949), mural painter and lithographer.
• Diego Rivera (1886–1957), muralist.
• David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896–1974), social realist painter and muralist.

• Alejandro Amenábar (b. 1972)
• Alfonso Arau (b. 1932)
• Adolfo Aristarain (b. 1943)
• Héctor Babenco (b. 1946)
• Luis Buñuel (1900–1983)
• Alfonso Cuarón (b. 1961)
• Juan Downey (1940–1993)
• Alejandro González Iñárritu (b. 1963)
• Alexandro Jodorowsky (b. 1929)
• León Klimovsky (1906–1996)
• Fernando Meirelles (b. 1955)
• Franco de Peña (b. 1966)
• Arturo Ripstein (b. 1943)
• Raul Ruiz (b. 1941)
• Walter Salles (b. 1956)
• Guillermo del Toro (b. 1964)

• Óscar Arias Sánchez (b. 1940), statesman, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1987).
• Simón Bolívar (1783–1830), Libertador and statesman, leader of the South American Wars of Independence.
• Anastasio Bustamante (1780-1853), President of Mexico (1930–1932; 1837–1841).
• Plutarco Elías Calles (1877–1945), founder of the PRI (1929); President of Mexico (1924–1928).
• Fidel Castro (b. 1926), marxist revolutionary and Cuba's state ruler since 1959.
• Alfonso García Robles (1911–1991), diplomat and politician, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1982).
• Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928–1967), marxist revolutionary.
• Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811), cleric and statesman, chief instigator of Mexico's war of independence against Spain.
• Benito Juárez (1806–1872), President of Mexico (1861–1863; 1867–1872).
• Juscelino Kubitschek (1902–1976), President of Brazil (1956–1961).
• José Martí (1853–1895), writer and leader of the Cuban Independence movement.
• Rigoberta Menchú (b. 1959), activist, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1992).
• Chico Mendes (1944–1988), murdered rural leader and martyr of ecological movements in the Amazon.
• Pedro I (1798–1834), Emperor of Brasil (1822–1831).
• Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (b. 1920), diplomat, United Nations Secretary-General (1982–1991).
• Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (b. 1931), activist, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1980).
• Juan Domingo Perón (1895–1974), President of Argentina (1946–1952; 1952–1955; 1973–1974).
• Carlos Saavedra Lamas (1878–1959), academic and politician, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1936).
• José de San Martín (1778–1850), Libertador and statesman, leader of the South American Wars of Independence.
• Pancho Villa (1878–1923), guerrilla leader of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917).
• Emiliano Zapata (1879–1919), leading figure of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917).

• Simón Bolívar (1783–1830), military leader of the South American Wars of Independence.
• Miguel Grau Seminario (1834–1879), admiral, hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos (1879) during the War of the Pacific (1879–1884).
• Arturo Prat Chacón (1848–1879), Frigate Captain, hero of the Battle of Iquique (1879) during the War of the Pacific (1879–1884).
• Pedro del Valle (1893–1978), first Hispanic in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps to reach the rank of Lieutenant General; served in WWI and WWII.

• Gilberto Gil (b. 1942), singer and composer; founder of the Tropicália movement.
• Rafael Hernández (1892–1965), composer.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994), pianist, singer and composer.
• Agustín Lara (1900–1970), composer.
• Ernesto Lecuona (1896–1963), composer, pianist and conductor.
• Vinicius de Moraes (1913–1980), singer and composer.
• Ástor Piazzolla (1921–1992), tango composer.
• Tito Puente (1923–2000), Latin jazz and mambo musician.
• Omar Rodríguez-López (b. 1975), guitarist.
• Carlos Santana (b. 1947), composer, songwriter and guitarist.
• Lalo Schifrin (b. 1932), composer and pianist.
• Caetano Veloso (b. 1942), singer and composer; founder of the Tropicália movement.
• Lito Vitale (b. 1961), composer and performer.
• Atahualpa Yupanqui (1908–1992), folk musician.

• Claudio Arrau (1903–1991), pianist.
• Daniel Barenboim (b. 1942), pianist and conductor.
• Eduardo Marturet (b. 1953), conductor and composer.
• Eduardo Mata (1942–1995), conductor and composer.
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), composer.
• Opera singers
  • Luigi Alva (b. 1927), tenor.
  • Fabiana Bravo, soprano.
  • José Cura (b. 1962), tenor.
  • Juan Diego Flórez (born 1973), tenor.
  • David Portilla (1933–2006), tenor.

• Desi Arnaz (1917–1986), salsa singer.
• Celia Cruz (1924–2003), salsa singer.
• Gloria Estefan (b. 1957), singer and songwriter.
• José Feliciano (b. 1945), singer-songwriter.
• Juan Gabriel (born 1950), ranchera and ballad singer-songwriter.
• Juan Luis Guerra (b. 1957), Singer and songwriter.
• Carlos Gardel (1890–1935), tango singer.
• Pedro Infante (1917–1957)
• Víctor Jara (1932–1973), singer-songwriter.
• Juanes (b. 1972), singer-songwriter.
• Jorge Negrete (1911–1953)
• Roberto Carlos (b. 1941), singer and songwriter.
• Shakira (b. 1977), Latin Pop singer and songwriter.

• Juan Bautista Alberdi (1810–1884), political theorist.
• Andrés Bello (1781–1865), humanist, poet, lawmaker, philosopher, educator and philologist.
• Leonardo Boff (b. 1938), one of the most known first Liberation theologians.
• Mario Bunge (b. 1919), philosopher, author of the Treatise on Basic Philosophy (8 volumes, 1974–1989).
• Miguel Antonio Caro (1843–1909), humanist, linguist and politician.
• Rufino José Cuervo (1844–1911), philologist and linguist.
• José Ingenieros (1877–1925), philosopher, sociologist and science theoretician.
• Enrique Krauze (b. 1947), historian, political and social essayist and publisher.
• Manuel de Landa (b. 1952), philosopher, professor at Columbia University.
• Humberto Maturana (b. 1928), major proponent of the embodied philosophy.
• Edmundo O'Gorman (1906–1995), philosopher.
• Francisco Varela (1946–2001), major proponent of the embodied philosophy.
• José Vasconcelos (1882–1959), thinker, educator and essayist.

• Manuel de Abreu (1894–1962), physician and scientist, inventor of abreugraphy.
• Joseph M. Acaba ( b. 1967), First Puerto Rican astronaut.
• Luis Agote (1868–1954), physician and researcher, first doctor in Latin America to perform a non-direct blood transfusion using sodium citrate as an anticoagulant.
• José Santana (b. 1962) specialist in technology and development; Executive Director of the Dominican Republic Presidential Commission of Science and Technology and Research Associate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Ricardo Alegría (b. 1921), physical anthropologist, pioneer in the anthropolic studies of the Taino culture.
• Baruj Benacerraf (b. 1920), immunologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureate (1980).
• Fernando Caldeiro (b. 1958), NASA astronaut.
• Nabor Carrillo Flores (1911-1967), nuclear physicist.
• Franklin Chang-Diaz ( b.1950), NASA astronaut who flown seven spaceflights.
• Nitza Margarita Cintron (b. 1950), chief of NASA's (JSC) Space and Health Care Systems Office.
• Jacinto Convit (b. 1913), medical scientist, discoverer of vaccines against leprosy and leishmaniasis.
• Oswaldo Cruz (1872–1917), physician, bacteriologist, epidemiologist and public health officer.
• René Favaloro (1923–2000), cardiologist, he created the technique for coronary bypass surgery (1967).
• Orlando Figueroa (b. 1955), Director for Mars Exploration and Director for the Solar System Division in the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters.
• Carlos Finlay (1833–1915), medical scientist, prominent researcher on the yellow fever disease.
• Guillermo González Camarena (1917–1965), inventor of an early color television transmission system.
• Juan Gundlach (1810–1896), naturalist and taxonomist; over sixty species were named after him.
• Guillermo Haro (1913–1988), astrophysicist, made many important contributions to observational Astronomy.
• Bernardo Houssay (1887–1971), physiologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureate (1947).
• Miguel de Icaza (b. 1972), free software programmer, best known for starting the GNOME and Mono projects.
• Luis Federico Leloir (1906–1987), biochemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureate (1970).
• Humberto Maturana (b. 1928), biologist, co-author of the theory of autopoiesis.
• César Milstein (1927–2002), biochemist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureate (1984).
• Luis E. Miramontes (1925–2004), chemist, co-inventor of the first oral contraceptive (1951).
• Mario J. Molina (b. 1943), chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureate (1995).
• Rodolfo Neri Vela (b. 1952), Ph.D., NASA payload specialist and astronaut.
• Carlos I. Noriega (b. 1959), NASA astronaut.
• Manuel Elkin Patarroyo (b. 1947), pathologist, works on improving a vaccine for malaria.
• Felipe Poey (1799–1891), zoologist, specialist in ichthyology.
• Wilfredo Santa-Gómez, psychiatrist.
• Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez ( b. 1942), First Cuban cosmonaut
• Francisco Varela (1946–2001), biologist, co-author of the theory of autopoiesis.
• Klaus von Storch (b. 1962), Chilean aerospace engineer.

• Tulio Halperin (b. 1926), historian.
• Eugenio María de Hostos (1839–1903), educator and sociologist.
• Miguel León-Portilla (b. 1926), anthropologist and historian, prime authority on Nahuatl thought and literature.
• Milton Santos (1926–2001), geographer, writer and university professor.
• Hernando de Soto (b. 1941), economist, known for his work on the informal economy.
• Julio César Tello (1880–1947), archeologist, specialist in Pre-Columbian Andean cultures.

• Athletics
  • Iván Pedroso (b. 1972), long jump Gold medalist: 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001 World Champion, and 2000 Olympic Champion.
  • Felix Sanchez (b. 1977), 400m hurdles Gold medalist: 2001 and 2003 World Champion, and 2004 Olympic Champion.
  • Javier Sotomayor (b. 1967), high jump Gold (1992 Olympics) and Silver (2000 Olympics) medalist; World Recordman (since July 23, 1993).

• Baseball
  • Juan Marichal (b. 1937), Major League Pitcher; member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • Luis Aparicio (b. 1934), Major League shortstop; member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • Roberto Clemente (1934–1972), Major League right fielder, NL MVP Award winner (1966).
  • Pedro Martínez (b. 1971) 3 Cy Young Award winning Pitcher; Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP award winner (1999).
  • Sammy Sosa (b. 1968), MVP award winning Right Fielder; First Latino to ever hit 500 Home runs; Ranked 5th on the list of the 500 Home run club;
  • José Reyes (b. 1983), Major League shortstop.
  • Fernando Valenzuela (b. 1960), Major League pitcher.

• Basketball
  • Carlos Alberto Arroyo (b. 1979), Detroit Pistons point guard.
  • Emanuel "Manu" Ginóbili (b. 1977), NBA Champion (with San Antonio Spurs, 2003 and 2005) and Olympic Champion (with Argentina, 2004).

• Boxing
  • Wilfred Benítez (b. 1958), World Champion in three separate weight divisions, member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame since 1996.
  • Jorge Castro (b. 1967), World middleweight Champion.
  • Julio César Chávez (b. 1962), World Champion (5 titles in 3 different divisions).
  • Juan Martin Coggi (b. 1961), three time WBA's World Jr. Welterweight Champion.
  • Roberto Durán (b. 1951), World Champion (6 titles in 4 different divisions); first Hispanic to be four time World Champion.
  • Víctor Galíndez (1948-1980), World light heavyweight Champion.
  • Wilfredo Gómez (1956), three time World Champion.
  • Carlos Cruz (1937-1970), world Lightweight champion.
  • Carlos Monzón (1942-1995), World middleweight Champion.
  • John Ruiz (b. 1972), two-time WBA's World Heavyweight Champion.
  • Félix Trinidad (b. 1973), World Champion.

• Chess
  • Esteban Canal (1896–1981), honorary International Grandmaster (1977), creator of the Peruvian Immortal game.
  • José Raúl Capablanca (1888–1942), International Grandmaster, World Champion (1921–1927).

• Cycling
  • Santiago Botero (b. 1972), 2002 World Time-Trial Champion.

• Football (Soccer)
  • Alfredo Di Stéfano (b. 1926), 5 consecutive times European Champion (with Real Madrid, 1956–1960; scored 49 goals).
  • Diego Armando Maradona (b. 1960), FIFA best football player of the century (people's choice in 2000).
  • Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento, b. 1940).

• Golf
  • Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez (b. 1935), 8 PGA Tour and 22 Champions Tour titles winner; World Golf Hall of Famer (1992).

• Motor sports
  • Juan Manuel Fangio (1911-1995), five times Formula One World Champion.
  • Emerson Fittipaldi (b. 1946), 1972 and 1974 Formula One World Champion.
  • Carlos Lavado (b. 1956), 250cc GP motorcycle racing World Champion (1983 and 1986).
  • Nelson Piquet, (b. 1952), triple Formula One World Champion (1981, 1983 and 1987).
  • Ayrton Senna (1960–1994), triple Formula One World Champion (1988, 1990 and 1991).

• Tennis
  • Maria Bueno (b. 1939), 19 Grand Slam titles winner (7 singles, 12 doubles); International Tennis Hall of Famer since 1978.
  • Gastón Gaudio (b. 1978), 2004 French Open Men's Singles Champion.
  • Mary Joe Fernández (b. 1971), 2 Grand Slam Dobles titles winner; Won 2 Olympic Gold Medals and 1 Olympic Bronze Medal.
  • Andrés Gómez (b. 1960), 1990 French Open Men's Singles Champion.
  • Gustavo Kuerten, (b. 1976), three-time French Open Men's Singles Champion (1997, 2000 and 2001).
  • David Nalbandian (b. 1982), 2005 Tennis Masters Cup Champion.
  • Alex Olmedo (b. 1936), 3 Grand Slam titles winner (2 singles, 1 dou