Notable Hispanic Americans

Sources: Fact Monster/Information Please

Isabel Allende

Author

Born: 8/2/1942
Birthplace: Lima, Peru

The daughter of a diplomat, best-selling author Isabel Allende spent her childhood in South America, Europe, and the Middle East. As a teenager she returned to her family's native country, Chile, where she became a writer and television host, but fled in 1975 following a military coup. Allende published her first and most acclaimed novel, House of the Spirits, in 1985. She has lived and worked in the U.S. since 1988.

Julia Alvarez

Author

Born: 3/27/1950
Birthplace: New York, New York

The writing of Julia Alvarez incorporates her vivid memories of childhood in the Dominican Republic, which her family fled in 1960, and the subsequent adjustment to a new life in New York City. Alvarez first made her mark as a poet but is best known for her novels, particularly the award-winning How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), In the Time of the Butterflies (1994), and Before We Were Free (2003).

Luis Walter Alvarez

Born: 1911
Birthplace: San Francisco, Calif.

Radio distance and direction indicator—Alvarez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1968. He helped design a ground-controlled radar system for aircraft landings and with his son developed the meteorite theory of dinosaur extinction. (1978)

Died: 1988

Rudolfo Anaya

Writer

Born: 10/30/1937
Birthplace: Pastura, New Mexico

Rudolfo Anaya's evocative work is steeped in the land and life of his native Southwest. The first of his seven novels, Bless Me, Ultima (1972), a coming-of-age story set in 1940s New Mexico, is considered a classic of modern American literature. Anaya has also brought his storytelling gifts to essays, children's books, plays, poetry, and the 1998 mystery Shaman Winter. His 1999 novel Albuquerque (the extra "r" reflects the city's original Spanish spelling) won the PEN Center West Award-just one of Anaya's many honors. Anaya is professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico.

Baez, Joan

Folk Singer and Political Activist

Born: January 9, 1941
Birthplace: Staten Island, New York

Baez, Joan (bīpstr;ez, bä'–) [key], 1941–, American folk singer and political activist, b. New York City. Baez began singing traditional folk ballads, blues, and spirituals in Cambridge, Mass., coffeehouses in a clear soprano voice with a three-octave range. She made folk music, which had been largely ignored, popular. Baez's records were the first folk albums to become best-sellers. Her later albums include several of her own compositions, e.g., “Song for David” and “Blessed Are.” Among the first performers to urge social protest, she sang and marched for civil and student rights and peace. Since the late 1960s she has devoted time to her school for nonviolence in California and has performed at concerts supporting a variety of humanitarian causes.

David Barkley

Soldier

Born: 3/31/1899?
Birthplace: Laredo, Texas

Barkley, an enlisted private in the U.S. Army, was the first Hispanic American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. During World War I he voluntarily swam the icy Meuse River in France to gather information behind German lines. He drowned on the way back from the Meuse mission and was honored posthumously with the Congressional Medal of Honor. His Hispanic heritage was not known until 1989.

Died: 11/9/1918

Franklin Chang-Dìaz, Ph.D.

Astronaut, scientist

Born: April 5, 1950
Birthplace: San Jose, Costa Rica

Chang-Dìaz moved to the United States when he was in high school, and got a doctorate in applied plasma physics from MIT in 1977. He eventually achieved his dream of becoming an astronaut, entering space for the first time aboard Columbia in January 1986. He was the first Costa Rican astronaut, and, as of 2004, he was one of only two astronauts to have served on seven space missions, the other being Jerry Ross. Chang-Dìaz is also the director of the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center, where he has been developing a plasma rocket.

Cesar Estrada Chavez

Labor Leader, Civil Rights Activist, Co-Founder National Farm Workers Association

Born: March 31, 1927

Birhplace: Yuma, AZ

Chavez, Cesar Estrada, 1927–93, American agrarian labor leader, b. near Yuma, Ariz. A migrant worker, he became involved (1952) in the self-help Community Service Organization (CSO) in California, working among Mexicans and Mexican Americans; from 1958 to 1962 he was its general director. In 1962, he left the CSO to organize wine grape pickers in California and formed the National Farm Workers Association. Using strikes, fasts, picketing, and marches, he was able to obtain contracts from a number of major growers. In 1966 his organization merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee of the AFL-CIO to form the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee of the AFL-CIO. Chavez also launched (1968) a boycott against the table grape growers, mobilizing consumer support throughout the United States. In 1972 the United Farm Workers (UFW), with Chavez as president, became a member union of the AFL-CIO. Chavez expanded its efforts to include all California vegetable pickers and launched a lettuce boycott, as well as extending his organizational efforts to Florida citrus workers. His successes in California were sharply diminished, however, as the result of a jurisdictional dispute with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters over the organization of field workers. In 1973 the Teamsters cut heavily into UFW membership by signing contracts with former UFW grape growers, but Chavez renewed the grape workers' strike. In 1977, the two unions signed a pact defining the types of workers each could organize. Membership in the UFW later fell, in part due to disputes between Chavez and his followers, some of whom accused him of nepotism.

See J. E. Levy, Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa (1975); R. Franchere, Cesar Chavez (1988).

Henry Cisneros

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Clinton Administration

Born: 6/11/1947
Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas

Writer

Henry Cisneros served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1997, under President Clinton. After working as a professor of environmental studies and a city councilor in his native San Antonio, in 1981 Cisneros was elected mayor, becoming the first Hispanic to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city. During his four terms Cisneros was a popular leader who helped revitalize downtown San Antonio. Cisneros pleaded guilty in 1999 to a misdemeanor count of lying to the FBI. In his 1993 background check for his cabinet position, he lied about payments he made to a former mistress. President Clinton pardoned him in January 2001.

Roberto C. Goizueta

CEO, Coca-Cola

Born: November 18, 1931

Birthplace: Havana, Cuba

Cuban refugee who worked his way through the corporate ranks to become chief executive of Coca-Cola Company, strengthening the company's global dominance in the field. He coined the phrase, "Coke is it!"

During his tenure at Coke, Goizueta turned around what some business analysts called an old, conservative company by emphasizing global sales and making moves never seen by the company before.

Died: Oct. 18, 1997

Scott Gomez

Hockey Center

Born: Dec. 23, 1976

Birthplace: Anchorage, AK

Alaska native and only Hispanic NHL 1st-round draft pick (27th selection in 1998); scored 70 points in 2000 to win the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year; won Stanley Cup with New Jersey Devils in 2000.

Joseph Marion Hernandez

U.S. Congressman

Born: 8/4/1793
Birthplace: St. Augustine, Florida

Joseph Marion Hernandez was the first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Congress, as a delegate from the Spanish territory of Florida. He served in Congress just over five months, from September 1822 to March 1823. He later served the U.S. army in the war against the Florida Indians, leading the 1837 expedition that captured Chief Osceola.

Died: 6/8/1857

Maria Hinojosa

Journalist

Born: 1961
Birthplace: Mexico City

NPR correspondent Maria Hinojosa got her start in broadcasting as the producer and host of a Latino radio show at New York's Barnard College. An award-winning journalist, Hinojosa began her career with NPR in 1985 but has worked also for other radio and television stations, including CNN which she joined in 1997. She is known especially for her reporting from Latin America. She is managing editor and host of the radio show “Latino USA.”

Dolores Huerta

Labor leader

Born: 4/10/1930
Birthplace: Dawson, New Mexico

Huerta grew up in California's agricultural San Joaquin Valley, where her mother owned a restaurant and a hotel that often let farm workers stay free. Huerta received a teaching degree from the University of the Pacific's Delta Community College. After teaching elementary school for a short time, Huerta left to work with farm workers. In 1955 Huerta was a founding member of the Stockton, Calif., chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO), which opposed segregation and lobbied for better conditions for farm workers.

After founding the Agricultural Workers Association in 1960, Huerta became a lobbyist in Sacramento. The following year, she fought for legislation making non-U.S. citizens eligible for pensions and public assistance. She also backed successful legislation that allowed people to vote and take driver's examinations in Spanish.

In 1962 Huerta and activist Cesar Chavez founded the organization that later became the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). In 1973 the UFW began a nationwide consumer boycott of California grapes, lettuce, and Gallo wines. The boycott resulted in the California table-grape growers signing a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the UFW. Another boycott resulted in passage of the U.S. Agricultural Labor Relations Act, giving farm workers the right to organize and bargain for better wages and working conditions. Huerta, who has 11 children, 14 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren, has continued her political and social activism in support of rights for immigrants and women.

José Limón

Dancer, Choreographer, and Teacher

Born: January 12, 1908

Birthplace: Culiacan, Mexico

Limón, José (José Arcadio Limón) (hōsā' limōn', lē–) [key], 1908–72, American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher known for powerfully masculine dancing and dramatic choreography. He was born in Culiacán, Mexico, and his family settled in the United States in 1915. He moved (1928) to New York City to study art, but was smitten by dance and began studying with Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. Limón's talent was immediately evident and he was soon performing (1930–40) his mentors' works. After serving in World War II, he founded (1946) his own company with Humphrey as artistic director. The influential Limón began choreographing in 1931, continuing until the year of his death. One of his most celebrated works is The Moor's Pavane (1949), a haunting dance based on Shakespeare's Othello. His many other dances include La Malinche (1949), There Is a Time (1956), and The Unsung (1970). In 1950 his company became the first major U.S. modern dance group to perform in Europe; four years later it traveled to South America, and subsequently it toured worldwide. Today the José Limón Dance Foundation maintains an active dance company as well as facilities for teaching, licensing, and other activities.

See his An Unfinished Memoir (1999); D. Lewis, The Illustrated Dance Technique of José Limón (1984); B. Pollack, Dance Is a Moment: A Portrait of José Limón (1993).

Jennifer Lopez

Actress and Singer

Born: 7/24/1969
Birthplace: Bronx, New York

Film and television actress best known for her portrayal of Selena, the murdered Tejano singer, in the movie Selena (1997), for which she earned a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination. Lopez started off dancing in stage musicals, and first appeared on the Hollywood scene as one of the “fly girl” dancers on In Living Color (1990). After several failed television series, she appeared in the critically acclaimed film Mi Familia (1995), and has since appeared in various other movies on the big screen. Television credits include South Central, Second Chances (1993) and Malibu Road; film credits include Jack (1996), Money Train (1997), Anaconda (1997), The Cell (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001) and Angel Eyes (2001). 2003 was not a good year, first, with the end of her marriage with Cris Judd, then the universal panning of the movie Gigli with then-fiancee Ben Affleck. She married singer Marc Anthony in June 2004.

Nancy Lopez

Golfer

Born: Jan. 6, 1957

Birthplace: Torrence, CA

4-time LPGA Player of the Year (1978-79,85,88); Rookie of Year (1977); 3-time winner of LPGA Championship; reached Hall of Fame by age 30 with 35 victories; 48 career wins.

Ricky Martin

Singer

Born: December 24, 1971

Birthplace: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Latino pop singer, burst onto the music scene in the U.S. after his hip-shaking performance at the February Grammy Awards. His self-titled English-language debut album hit stores in May and immediately shot up the charts. The single “Livin' la Vida Loca” sent millions of women swooning. Martin was a member of Menudo, the Puerto Rican boy band. He also did a stint on General Hospital.

Mario Molina

Chemist, Nobel laureate

Born: March 19, 1943
Birthplace: Mexico City

At the University of California at Berkeley in 1973, Molina and Sherwood Rowland began researching chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), then widely used in refrigerators, spray cans, and cleaning solvents. They discovered that the release of CFCs could destroy the ozone layer in the stratosphere, allowing more ultraviolet light to get through to Earth and potentially increasing the rate of skin cancer. Their efforts led to CFC production being banned in most countries, and they received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Ricardo Montalban

(Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Matalban y Merino)

Actor

Born: 11/25/1920
Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico

A Mexican native with an easygoing manner, dark-eyed intensity, and a lyrical Spanish accent, Ricardo Montalban first gained fame for his “Latin lover” roles opposite 1940s and 1950s stars, such as Cyd Charisse and Esther Williams. Younger audiences know him as Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island (1978–84) or as Khan from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Despite these seemingly lightweight roles, Montalban has earned high critical marks for his roles in such films as Battleground (1949) and Sayonara (1957). He also earned an Emmy Award for his role as a Sioux chief in the 1976 television miniseries How the West Was Won. Montalban's unwillingness to succumb to Latin stereotypes led him to found Nosotros (“Us”) in 1973, an organization that focused on improving the depiction of Hispanic performers in the media.

Rita Moreno

(Rosita Dolores Alverio)

actress, dancer, singer

Born: 12/11/1931
Birthplace: Humacao, Puerto Rico

Moreno first appeared in film at the age of fourteen, in A Medal for Benny (1945). She played in several movies (notably The King and I in 1956) until her role as Anita in West Side Story (1961) brought her fame and an Oscar as best supporting actress. Her work in television included appearances on The Muppet Show and The Rockford Files. Moreno was the first actress to bag an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony. More recently, she appeared in Blue Moon (2000) and in John Sayles' Casa de los Babys (2003).

Carlos Noriega

Astronaut

Born: 10/8/1959
Birthplace: Lima, Peru

Astronaut Carlos Noriega had a distinguished career as a Marine Corps pilot before venturing millions of miles beyond planet Earth. A mission specialist and computer scientist, Lieutentant Colonel Noriega has visited Mir and helped to assemble the International Space Station.

Antonia Coello Novello

Physician and former U.S. surgeon general

Born: 8/23/1944
Birthplace: Fajardo, Puerto Rico

Novello served as surgeon general under President George H. W. Bush from 1990 to 1993. She focused on publicizing the dangers of smoking and teenage drinking, expanding AIDS education, and improving health care for women, minorities, and children.

Novello was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico with a chronic colon condition that caused her severe pain until it was corrected surgically when she was 18 years old. The experience inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. She earned a BS (1965) and an MD from the University of Puerto Rico (1970). Novello and her husband, Joseph Novello, a U.S. Army flight surgeon, moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. She interned, did her residency, and completed a fellowship at the University of Michigan Medical Center, specializing in pediatric nephrology.

The couple then headed to Washington DC, where Novello fellowed at Georgetown University Hospital from 1974 to 1975. She took a position with the National Institutes of Health in 1978, eventually becoming deputy director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She received a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University in 1982.

In 1993, she left her post as surgeon general and went to work for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Ellen Ochoa

Astronaut

Born: 5/10/1958
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California

Astronaut Ellen Ochoa first left Earth in July 1991 and became the world's first Hispanic female astronaut. A mission specialist and flight engineer, she has since logged more than 900 hours in space on four flights, the last in 2002. Dr. Ochoa's many awards include NASA's Exceptional Service Medal (1997) and Outstanding Leadership Medal (1995). Besides being an astronaut, researcher, and engineer, Ochoa is a classical flutist.

Severo Ochoa

Nobel Prize Winner, Biochemist, Educator

Born: September 24, 1905

Birthplace: Luarca, Spain

Ochoa, Severo (sāvā'rō ōchō'ä) [key], 1905–93, American biochemist and educator, b. Spain, M.D. Univ. of Madrid, 1929. After teaching at the universities of Madrid, Heidelberg, and Oxford, he came to the United States in 1940. In 1954 he was appointed chairman of the department of biochemistry at New York Univ. He became an American citizen in 1956. With Arthur Kornberg he received the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA), an organic compound that carries hereditary qualities in all reproduction.

Edward James Olmos

Actor, producer

Born: 2/24/1947
Birthplace: Los Angeles

After a short stint as a rock singer, Olmos gained critical attention for his role in the musical Zoot Suit (1978–80). For his performance as the police lieutenant in the TV series Miami Vice (1984–89) he won an Emmy (1985). His film career includes acting in and coproducing the films The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1983) and Stand and Deliver (1988); for the latter he received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a math teacher.

Anthony Quinn

(Antonio Quiñones)

Actor

Born: 4/21/1915
Birthplace: Chihuahua, Mexico

This Irish-Mexican actor first appeared on film in 1936. After a long succession of bit parts, he won two Oscars (Viva Zapata! 1952; Lust for Life, 1956) and was nominated two additional times (Wild Is the Wind, 1957; Zorba the Greek, 1964). He also made memorable appearances in Fellini's La Strada (1954) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962). His more recent work includes playing Zeus on the TV series Hercules (1994) and roles in the films Last Action Hero (1993) and A Walk in the Clouds (1995). Quinn was married to Katherine DeMille, the adopted daughter of Cecil B. De Mille (divorced 1965). He married twice more, first to wife of 31 years, Iolanda Quinn (divorced in 1997), and then to Kathy Benvin.

Died: Boston, Mass., 6/3/2001

Bill Richardson

Politician, diplomat

Born: 1947
Birthplace: Pasadena, CA

Richardson has spent nearly his entire career as a public servant. A Democrat from New Mexico, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1983 and served until January 1997. As a congressman he was chief deputy Democratic whip and sat on the Commerce, Intelligence, and the Resource committees. In February 1997 he became the U.S. ambassador to the UN, the first Hispanic to hold the position. Known as a skilled troubleshooter, Richardson traveled to such hot spots as North Korea, Iraq, Cuba, and Sudan, where he successfully negotiated the release of American hostages. Richardson also mediated discussions between Zaire's former president Mobutu and rebel leader Laurent Kabila, which resulted in the fairly peaceful transfer of power in the country that is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.

In 1998, President Clinton appointed him secretary of energy. In that position, in which he served until 2001, he set aside more than 20,000 acres for wildlife preservation, helped to stem rising oil prices, and ushered in a program to remove from the Colorado River 10 tons of radioactive material.

In 2002 Richardson successfully ran for the governorship of New Mexico.

Richardson received a BA from Tufts in 1970 and a MA from Tuft's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1971.

Alberto Salazar

Track and Field

Born: Aug. 7, 1958

Birthplace: Havana, Cuba

Set one world and six U.S. records during his career; broke 12-year-old record at New York Marathon in 1981 and broke Boston Marathon record in 1982; won three straight NY Marathons (1980-82); qualified for the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic teams.

Carlos Santana

Musician

Born: 7/20/1947
Birthplace: Autlan De Navarro, Mexico

The guitar-playing legend's blend of blues, rock, and Afro-Cuban rhythms has kept him visible on the popular music front for more than 30 years. After moving with his family to San Francisco he became a founding member of the Santana Blues Band, later Santana. A month after appearing at Woodstock in 1969—one of the band's first gigs—Santana released its first album, Santana, which it followed with a series of gold and platinum albums during the 1970s: Abraxas, Borboletta, and Inner Secrets. Santana himself recorded many solo albums including the jazz influenced The Swing of Delight (1980), featuring Herbie Hancock and others, and the pop-oriented Havana Moon (1983) with Willie Nelson and Booker T Jones. In 1986, he wrote the score for La Bamba, the biopic of Ritchie Valens. In 1999, after a break of five years from recording, Santana released Supernatural, which sold almost ten million copies and won eight Grammy Awards.

Selena

(Quintanilla Perez)

Tejano singer

Born: 4/16/1971
Birthplace: Lake Jackson, Texas

Grammy Award-winning tejano singer who was gunned down in 1995 by deranged fan Yolanda Saldivar. Her recordings include Live (1993) and Dreaming of You (1995). Jennifer Lopez played her in the 1997 film Selena.

Died: 3/31/1995

Richard Serra

Sculptor

Born: 1939

Birthplace: San Francisco, CA

Serra, Richard, 1939–, American sculptor, b. San Francisco; grad. Univ. of California, Santa Barbara (B.A., 1961), Yale (B.F.A., M.F.A., 1974). Many of his early works (1960s) are cast in rubber or lead. Later, using metals, concrete, fiberglass, and other materials, he created large-scale abstract sculptures that were usually intended for specific outdoor sites. His Tilted Arc (1981) achieved notoriety when nearby office workers demanded its removal from a site in lower Manhattan. Perceived as menacing, the elegant 120-ft (37-m) curving sheet of rusting steel was dismantled in 1989. In the ensuing years Serra's huge, curved, torqued, space-enclosing, and space-defining steel sculptures, best experienced not by simply looking at them, but by wandering through and around them, have become extremely popular and are widely thought to be among the most significant abstract sculptures of the late 20th and early 21st cent. His pieces are included in many major museum collections; an eight-part, more than 430-ft-long (131-m) assemblage of his massive, rust-patinated steel sculpture was permanently installed (2005) at the Guggenheim Museum's Bilbao branch.

See Richard Serra: Writings/Interviews (1994); C. Weyergraf-Serra and M. Buskirk, ed., The Destruction of Tilted Arc: Documents (1991); K. McShine et al., Richard Serra Sculpture: Forty Years (2007); studies by R. Krauss (1986) and H. Foster, ed. (2000).

Geraldo Rivera

Talk-show host, journalist

Born: 7/4/1943
Birthplace: New York City

In 1997 Rivera cut a $30 million six-year contract with NBC as a news journalist, capping a career in journalism that has mixed serious investigative reporting with tawdry talk-show fare and the downright bizarre. After reporting for New York's WABC-TV (1970–75), Rivera became a host and correspondent for Good Night America and then Good Morning America (1973–76). During 1978–85 he worked for 20/20; his report on Elvis Presley's drug use is the highest-rated in 20/20's history. His syndicated special on breaking into Al Capone's vault became TV's highest-rated special ever. In 1987 he began hosting the Geraldo show (which continued as The Geraldo Rivera Show until 2001) punctuated in 1988 with a brawl on the set that landed Rivera with a broken nose. In 1994 he joined CNBC on Rivera Live, a more serious venue in which he delivered well-received coverage of the O. J. Simpson trial. In 2001, Rivera moved to the Fox New Channel as a war correspondent. Both admired and lampooned, Rivera knows how to make the ratings roar.

Jimmy Smits

Actor

Born: 7/9/1955
Birthplace: New York City

Emmy Award-winning television and film actor who played Hispanic lawyer Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law (1985–91) and Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue (1995–1998). His films include My Family: Mi Familia (1995), and Price of Glory (2000). He is set to play in Star Wars, Episodes II and III.

Sonia Sotomayor

Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court

Born: June 25, 1954

Birthplace: Bronx, New York

Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, was born in Bronx, New York, on June 25, 1954. She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the university’s highest academic honor. In 1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She served as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1979-1984. She then litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she served as an associate and then partner from 1984-1992. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992-1998. She served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 19982009. President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009, and she assumed this role on August 8, 2009.

Nydia Velázquez

U.S. Representative

Born: 3/28/1953
Birthplace: Yabucoa, Puerto Rico

In 1992 Nydia Velázquez became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress (Democrat, New York). Velázquez was an activist as a teenager in rural Puerto Rico and came to the U.S. to earn a master's degree in political science at New York University. She has taught university in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. As a U.S. Representative she has been outspoken about voter registration, health care, and family violence.

Raquel Welch

(Raquel Tejada)

Actress

Born: 9/5/1940
Birthplace: Chicago

Welch's early films, such as One Million Years B.C. (1966), Fantastic Voyage (1966), and Bedazzled (1967), established her as a sex symbol, an image she has never shaken. Her other movies include Myra Breckinridge (1970), Mother, Jugs and Speed (1976), and Chairman of the Board (1998). She has also made numerous television appearances, including guest spots on Mork and Mindy (1978), Seinfeld (1990), Spin City (1996), and as a regular on the PBS dramatic series American Family (2002–2004).

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Connecting Worlds, Through Student Empowerment.

Baez, Joan

Folk Singer and Political Activist

Born: January 9, 1941
Birthplace: Staten Island, New York

Cesar Estrada Chavez

Labor Leader, Civil Rights Activist, Co-Founder National Farm Workers Association

Born: March 31, 1927

Birhplace: Yuma, AZ

José Limón

Dancer, Choreographer, and Teacher

Born: January 12, 1908

Birthplace: Culiacan, Mexico

Richard Serra

Sculptor

Born: 1939

Birthplace: San Francisco, CA

The College World Reporter

Connecting Worlds, Through Student Empowerment.

Baez, Joan

Folk Singer and Political Activist Born: January 9, 1941Birthplace: Staten Island, New York

Cesar Estrada Chavez

Labor Leader, Civil Rights Activist, Co-Founder National Farm Workers Association

Born: March 31, 1927

Birhplace: Yuma, AZ

José Limón

Dancer, Choreographer, and Teacher

Born: January 12, 1908

Birthplace: Culiacan, Mexico

Richard Serra

Sculptor

Born: 1939

Birthplace: San Francisco, CA

Folk Singer and Political Activist

Born: January 9, 1941
Birthplace: Staten Island, New York