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This is a list of notable Latin American people. In alphabetical order within categories.
[edit] Actors
[edit] Architects and urbanists
- 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.
[edit] Artists
- See also List of Latin American artists.
[edit] Film directors
[edit] Leaders and politicians
- 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).
[edit] Military
[edit] Musicians
- 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.
[edit] Classical
[edit] Singers
- 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.
[edit] Philosophers and humanists
- 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 knwon 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.
[edit] Science and technology
- 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.
[edit] Social scientists
- 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.
[edit] Sports
- 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.
- 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 doubles).
- Rafael Osuna (1938–1969), 4 Grand Slam titles winner (1 singles, 3 doubles).
- Gabriela Sabatini (b. 1970), 1990 US Open Women's Singles and 1988 Wimbledon Women's Doubles Champion.
- Pancho Segura (b. 1921), International Tennis Hall of Famer since 1984.
- Paola Suárez (b. 1976), 8 Grand Slam Doubles titles winner.
- Guillermo Vilas (b. 1952), 4 Grand Slam Singles titles winner.
[edit] Writers
- See also Latin American writers (by country).
- Juan Ruiz de Alarcón (1581?-1639), dramatist.
- Isabel Allende (b. 1942), best selling novelist.
- Julia Julia Álvarez (b. 1950), poet, novelist, and essayist.
- Jorge Amado (1912–2001), modernist writer.
- Mário de Andrade (1893–1945), poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic.
- Angel Luis Arambilet Alvarez (b. 1957), creator of the first Latin American short story using computerized linetext art or ASCII art.
- José María Arguedas (1911-1969), novelist.
- Roberto Arlt (1900–1942), short-story writer, novelist, and playwright.
- Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899-1974), Nobel Prize Laureate (1967).
- Mario Benedetti (b. 1920), novelist and poet.
- Adolfo Bioy Casares (1914-1999), novelist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1990).
- Roberto Bolaño (1953–2003), novelist, Rómulo Gallegos Prize Laureate (1999).
- Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986), Cervantes Prize Laureate (1979).
- Alfredo Bryce Echenique (b. 1939), novelist and short stories writer.
- Guillermo Cabrera Infante (1929-2005), novelist, essayist, translator, and critic, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1997).
- Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980), novelist and essay writer, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1977).
- Julio Cortázar (1914-1984), novelist and short stories writer.
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648/1651-1695), poet and dramatist.
- Rubén Darío (1867-1916), modernist poet.
- Virgilio Dávila (1869-1943), poet.
- Jorge Edwards (b. 1931), Cervantes Prize Laureate (1999).
- Laura Esquivel (b. 1950), novelist.
- Rosario Ferré (b. 1938), poet and essayist.
- Carlos Fuentes (b. 1928), novelist and essayist, Rómulo Gallegos (1977), Cervantes (1987) and Prince of Asturias (1994) awards Laureate.
- Rómulo Gallegos (1884-1969), novelist.
- Gabriel García Márquez (b. 1928), novelist and journalist, Nobel Prize Laureate (1982).
- Nicolás Guillén (1902–1989), poet.
- José Hernández (1834–1886), poet and journalist, author of the epic poem Martín Fierro.
- Vicente Huidobro (1893-1948), poet, initiator of the Creacionismo movement.
- José Lezama Lima (1910-1976), novelist.
- Luis Llorens Torres (1878-1944), poet.
- Luis López Nieves (b. 1950), best-selling novelist and tale writer.
- Dulce María Loynaz (1902-1997), poet, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1992).
- Leopoldo Lugones (1874–1938), poet.
- Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839–1908), realist novelist, poet and short-story writer.
- José Martí (1853-1895), poet and essayist.
- Gregório de Matos (1636–1696), baroque poet.
- Leopoldo Minaya (b. 1963), Miguel de Cervantes Cultural Association Award winner (2001).
- Pedro Mir (1913-2000), poet and writer, named Poet Laureate of the Dominican Republic by Congress in 1984.
- Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957), poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (1945).
- Augusto Monterroso (1921-2003), short stories writer, Prince of Asturias Award Laureate (2000).
- Manuel Mujica Láinez (1910–1984), novelist, essayist, journalist and short stories writer; author of Bomarzo (1962).
- Álvaro Mutis (b. 1923), poet, novelist, and essayist; Cervantes Prize (2001) and Prince of Asturias Awards (1997) Laureate.
- Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (1971).
- Amado Nervo (1870–1919), modernist poet.
- Juan Carlos Onetti (1909-1994), novelist and short-story writer, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1980).
- Fernando del Paso (b. 1935), novelist, essayist and poet, Rómulo Gallegos Prize Laureate (1982).
- Octavio Paz (1914-1998), Cervantes Prize (1981) and Nobel Prize (1990) Laureate.
- Sergio Pitol (b. 1933), novelist, short stories writer and translator, Cervantes Prize Laureate (2005).
- Elena Poniatowska (b. 1932), novelist.
- Manuel Puig (1932-1990), novelist, author of The Kiss of the Spider Woman (1976).
- Horacio Quiroga (1878-1937), short story writer.
- José Eustasio Rivera (1888–1928), poet and novelist.
- Augusto Roa Bastos (1917-2005), novelist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1989).
- Gonzalo Rojas (b. 1917), poet, Cervantes Prize Laureate (2003).
- Juan Rulfo (1917-1986), novelist, Prince of Asturias Award Laureate (1983).
- Ernesto Sabato (b. 1911), novelist and essay writer, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1984).
- Jaime Sabines (1926–1999), poet.
- Alfonsina Storni (1892–1938), postmodernist poet.
- Lygia Fagundes Telles (b. 1923), novelist and short-story writer; Camoens Prize Laureate (2005).
- Arturo Uslar-Pietri (1906-2001), novelist, Prince of Asturias Award Laureate (1990).
- César Vallejo (1892-1938), poet.
- Fernando Vallejo (b. 1942), novelist, Rómulo Gallegos Prize Laureate (2003).
- Mario Vargas Llosa (b. 1936), novelist and essayist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1994).
- "El Inca" Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616), first mestizo author in Spanish language.
- Xavier Villaurrutia (1903–1950), poet.
- Gabriel Zaid (b. 1934), poet and essayist.
[edit] Others
[edit] Lists by nationality
[edit] See also