Famous Latinos

Jose de San Martin: Fought French in Spain, freed Chile and many other L.A. countries, known as the Protecter of Peru. Fidel Castro: Political activist who worked with Che to lead a guerilla war against Batista. He became the Prime Minister of Cuba and the U.S. disliked him and his Communist beliefs. Pablo Neruda: Wrote poems and articles for the communist revolution in Chile, but was exiled and went to Argentina then back to Chile. When he won the Nobel Peace Prize he was known as a hero and his poems are very famous. Frida Kahlo: Had polio and went through a lot of suffering, but she represents this in her paintings, mostly self-portraits and things that show her heritage. Married to Diego Rivera. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui: Ninth Sapa Inca (god emperor) and great ruler and conquestor of South America. He defeated the invading Chankas. Pancho Villa: Mexican revolutionary general and Robin Hood of Mexico. Simon Bolivar: George Washington of S. America who rebelled against Spanish rule. Diego Rivera: Artist illustrating plight of indigenous Mexicans and personal political beliefs. Anastasio “Tacho” Somoza Garcia: Directed the National Guard in Nicaragua. Pulled a lot of political strings and got elected president. Was a dictator and got assassinated. Benito Juarez: Heleped out poor Indian communities on Oaxaca and was its governer and fought off the French. Bartolome de las Casas: Priest and writer exposing oppression of Indians by Europeans and important source for history at the time. Emiliano Zapata (8 August 1879 - 10 April 1919) was the hero of the peasant revolution and spent much of his life supporting land reform, the redistribution of land to the peasants. He was also an inspiring peasant leader in the overthrow of Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz, but he continued to oppose later leaders, and for this reason was assassinated. Porfiro Diaz: Key figure in Mexican governement from the mid 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. He was an authoritarian president of Mexico who defined his presidency by political manuevering, underhanded dealing and absolute control of the media and people. Juan Peron: Three times president of Argentina and very popular. Married to Eva Peron

the actress. Dona Marina: “La Malinche” Noble Aztec family but they sold her to tradors. Spoke Aztec and Mayan so she translated for the Spanish, and was crucial to the Spanish settlement of Mexico. Mirabal Sisters: They were four sisters, three of whom were killed by Trujillo for being against him. Lived in the Dominican Republic under dictator Rafael Trujillo and they tried to overthrow the fascist government. Known as the butterflies. Trujillo: Unelected military dictator of Hispanola Dominican Republic. Santa Anna: Political leader in Mexico dealing with independence from Spain. Went from general of the military to president and wanted to centralize power. Thought to be corrupt and led Mexico to disaster. Augusto Jose Ramon Pinochet Ugarte: Military attaché in D.C. and wrote geography textbooks. Led a coup against Chile’s leader and the Americans paid him to suppress communism as he ruled over Chile. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla: Priest who wanted people to fight for independence. Manuela Saenz: Simon Bolivar’s lover, into politics and saved his life. Led a very sad life following Bolivar who dumped her and she fell down stairs and got sick.  Roberto Clemente: Puerto Rican baseball player who went back to help P.R. Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme: Fought for Chilean independence and the first leader of independent Chile. Atahualpa: Last emperor of the Incas, he was captured by Pizarro and used to control the Incas until the Spaniards executed him. Defeated his brother to become emperor. Che Guevera: Overthrew Cuba’s Batista and captured by the CIA Salvador Allende: Chilean dictator and communist who was overthrown in a US backed coup. Moctezuma I: Ruled Tenochtitlan as the fifth Aztec Emperor and under him, things flourished. Moctezuma II: Ninth Aztec emperor and expanded the territory but it was at this time that Spanish conquest began. Agustin de Iturbide: Fought with Spanish and defeated a revolt but he had a change of heard and later fought for Mexican Independence.