Latinitas: celebrating 40 big dreamers

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (writer, scientist, and philosopher) México 1651-1695

Juana Azurduy de Padilla (military leader) Perú and Bolivia 1780-1862

Policarpa Salavarrieta (spy) Colombia 1795-1817

Rosa Peña de González (teacher and founder of schools) Paraguay 1843-1899

Teresa Carreño (pianist, composer, and conductor) Venezuela 1853-1917

Zelia Nuttall (archaeologist) México and United States 1857-1933

Antonia Navarro (topographical engineer) El Salvador 1870-1891

Matilde Hidalgo (doctor and councilwoman) Ecuador 1889-1974

Gabriela Mistral (writer, educator, and diplomat) Chile 1889-1957

Juana de Ibarbourou (poet, writer, and teacher) Uruguay 1895-1979

Pura Belpré (librarian, puppeteer, and writer) Puerto Rico 1903-1982

Gumercinda Páez (teacher, playwright, and congresswoman) Panama 1904-1991

Frida Kahlo (artist) México 1907-1954

Julia de Burgos (poet) Puerto Rico 1914-1953

Chavela Vargas (singer) Costa Rica and México 1919-2012

Alicia Alonso (ballerina) Cuba 1920-2019

Victoria Santa Cruz (dancer, choreographer, and poet) Perú 1922-2012

Claribel Alegría (writer and activist) Nicaragua and El Salvador 1924-2018

Celia Cruz (singer) Cuba 1925-2003

Dolores Huerta (activist) México 1930-present

Rita Moreno (dancer, actress, and singer) Puerto Rico 1931-present

Maria Auxiliadora da Silva (artist) Brazil 1935-1974

Mercedes Sosa (singer and activist) Argentina 1935-2009

Isabel Allende (writer) Chile 1942-present

Susana Torre (architect) Argentina 1944-present

Julia Alvarez (writer) Dominican Republic 1950-present

Sandra Cisneros (writer) México and United States 1954-present

Sonia Sotomayor (US Supreme Court justice) Puerto Rico 1954-present

Rigoberta Menchú Tum (peace activist) Guatemala 1959-present

Mercedes Doretti (forensic scientist and activist) Argentina 1959-present

Sonia Pierre (activist) Haiti and Dominican Republic 1963-2011

Justa Canaviri (chef, television host, and activist) Bolivia 1963-present

Evelyn Miralles (virtual reality engineer) Venezuela 1966-present

Selena Quintanilla (singer) México and United States 1971-1995

Berta Cáceres (activist) Honduras 1971-2016

Serena Auñón (surgeon and astronaut) Cuba and United States 1976-present

Wanda Díaz Merced (inventor and astrophysicist) Puerto Rico 1982-present

Marta Vieira da Silva (soccer star) Brazil and Sweden 1986-present

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (congresswoman and activist) Puerto Rico 1989-present

Simone Biles (Olympic gymnast) United States and Belize 1997-present

More Latinitas

Leona Vicario (leader in Mexican independence) México 1789-1842

Petronila Angélica Gómez (educator, feminist, and writer) Dominican Republic 1883-1971

Hermelinda Urvina (first woman pilot in South America) Ecuador 1905-2008

Eva Perón (political leader) Argentina 1919-1952

Mirabal sisters (activists) Dominican Republic 1924-1960

Sylvia Mendez (first Latino to integrate in schools) México and United States 1936-present

Gloria E. Anzaldúa (writer, philosopher, and activist) México and United States 1942-2004

Sara Gómez (filmmaker) Cuba 1943-1974

Verónica Michelle Bachelet (first woman president in Latin America) Chile 1951-present

Gloria Estefan (musician and producer) Cuba 1957-present

Ellen Ochoa (astronaut) México and United States 1958-present.