10 Hispanic Icons That Have Made a Significant Cultural Impact

Nicknamed the “Donald Trump of the Tropics,” Peréz is the lone Latino immigrant in Forbes’ 400 Wealthiest Americans list, coming in at No. 183. A self-made real estate mogul who helped found The Related Group of Florida with fellow Forbes 400 member Stephen M. Ross, Peréz has nearly doubled his overall worth over the last year to $3 billion by continuing to invest in housing developments.

During the Clinton Administration, Peréz established himself as both an advisor to the President on Cuban policy and a key Democratic Fundraiser. In addition to his prowess in real estate, Peréz is a published author and philanthropist. In 2011, after pledging more than $35 million in cash and artwork, the Miami Art Museum changed its name in Peréz’s honor. Money translates to power and influence, and the highly motivated, tremendously skilled Latinos in the United States have George M. Peréz paving their way to the global marketplace.

It’s February 2008 and the Richard Rodgers Theatre has a palpable excitement in the air. Not since Rent opened in 1996 had there been a musical that hit so close to home for New York audiences. A young Puerto Rican songwriter and lyricist, Lin-Manuel Miranda, was about to change the face of Broadway; In the Heights had arrived.

Miranda and In the Heights paved the way for a new type of Broadway musical. By blending in elements of hip-hop and rap, beautifully intertwined wordplay and rhyme schemes, and a lively realism, ITH won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Lin-Manuel’s songwriting talents led to his involvement in the revival of West Side Story in 2009 and Bring It On in 2011, with both plays bringing a level of ethnic authenticity to the stage that had seemingly been lacking in musical theater.

At age 34, Lin-Manuel Miranda has a long, bright future ahead of him, and with the landscape of Broadway a blank canvas, it will be interesting to see what he creates.

Any discussion on the greatest names in Latin American literature has to include Julia Alvarez in the same breath. Widely regarded as one of the best Latina writers in the world, Alvarez has set the tone for Hispanic historical fiction for the better part of the last quarter-century. Though born in the U.S., Alvarez relied heavily on her experiences growing up in the Dominican Republic, where her father played a role in an attempted rebellion.

Many of Alvarez’s books feature female protagonists. Her novels, such as How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991) and In the Time of the Butterflies (1994), built upon the successful groundwork laid in the 1980’s by several prominent feminist authors. Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits (1982), Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1982), The Mists of Avalon (1983) by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood represented the boom period of the genre. Alvarez’s works are some of the best-selling titles to date, as evidenced by a successful movie adaptation of Butterflies in 2001. She continues to keep women in the leading role on the page, on the big screen, and in the literary world.

It’s hard to believe that the freckled, red-haired comedic genius that has graced the television screen in such acclaimed sitcoms as Parks & Recreation and Louie is actually of Mexican-American descent, but such is the reality in the Great American Melting Pot. Born Louis Szekely, C.K. spent the first seven years of his life in Mexico City, his father being a Mexican national, and considers English his second language.

Louis C.K. cut his teeth writing for Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, and Chris Rock before deciding to come out of his shell. His three major comedy specials—Shameless (2007), Chewed Up (2008), and Hilarious (2009)—were met with rave reviews and established C.K. as one of the top comedians in the country. In a comedic landscape that seemed barren following the loss of George Carlin, Louis C.K. is a breath of new life, exhaled through laughter.

Since the days of the American Revolution, the Armed Forces have served as a place in which conflicts of race could be put aside for the protection of the nation and its people. Through a career that spanned 31 years, Brigadier General Joseph V. Medina served his country with both dignity and honor.

General Medina is one of four Hispanic officers to ever obtain a rank of Brigadier General or higher in the United States Marine Corps, and was the first Marine to take command of a naval flotilla. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal for his command skills, as well as for the tremendous responsibilities Medina took on throughout his career.

During his service, General Medina was a vocal proponent of the recruitment of Hispanics into the Marine Corps. As of 2013, approximately 157,000 armed servicemen—11.4 percent of active duty members and 18 percent of the total Marine population—were of Latin-American descent. While debate rages on about immigration reform and national languages, it’s important to remember the role proud Hispanic Americans take in the defense of their home, be it adopted or not. General Medina is testament to that much.

Estefan’s family fled her native Cuba as a result of the revolution that placed Fidel Castro in the seat of power of the island nation. Her father, a former bodyguard for Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, participated in the botched Bay of Pigs invasion and later served in the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War. Estefan has based much of her professional material honoring the memory of her home while being fiercely anti-Castro.

During a career that began in 1977, Estefan is credited as being the most accomplished Latin performer of all time, as evidenced by her seven Grammy awards and nearly 100 million albums sold worldwide. More than her own personal accolades, Estefan’s iconic stature paved the way for others like her.

The quest for social equality in the United States had many charismatic figureheads, and during the American civil rights movement of the 1960s, labor organizer Cesar Chavez set out on a mission to ensure better wages and working conditions for agricultural workers in the Southwest. After spending 10 years working for the Community Service Organization—the last four as National Director—Chavez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962.

Ever the pacifist, Chavez followed in the footsteps of activists like Mahatma Gandhi and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., utilizing nonviolent means of civil disobedience to advocate for harvest laborers. Boycotts, protests, and even lengthy fasts brought national attention to the plight of American agricultural workers, many of whom had immigrated from Latin America and Southeast Asia in the hopes of escaping poverty-level wages and abusive working conditions. In the end, Chavez succeeded where no one else could, unionizing the migrant farm workers and broadening civil rights in the West.

When it comes to pure baseball acumen, there are few in the history that compare to Pittsburgh’s Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente. During a career that spanned 18 seasons, Clemente was a four-time batting champion (1961, ’64, ’65, ’67), won 12 straight gold gloves (1961-72), was the league MVP in 1966, and a World Series MVP in 1971. During his final regular season game in 1972, Clemente recorded his 3,000th hit, cementing his legacy as one of baseball’s all-time greatest hitters.

Not just a champion on the diamond, Clemente was a pinnacle within the community and around the globe. From 1958-64 he served as a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps, later being inducted to the Marines’ Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. His service to his fellow man was ultimately what cost Clemente his life. Overseeing a relief flight bringing supplies to victims of an earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua, Clemente’s plane crashed shortly after takeoff on New Year’s Eve in 1972. Posthumously, Clemente’s work was recognized with three of the highest civilian honors: The Presidential Citizens Medal and Congressional Gold Medal in 1973, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003.

Many regard Clemente’s impact on baseball as similar to that of Jackie Robinson, only for Hispanic players. While he wasn’t the first Hispanic player in the Major Leagues, his gravitas, humanitarianism, and talent opened the doors for Latin American athletes for decades to come.

In the history of the Supreme Court, only four women have ever sat on the bench. In this alone, Justice Sotomayor earns a place of distinction and honor in the annals of history, but she also happens to be the first person of Hispanic heritage to don the robe and gavel at 1 First Street in our nation’s capital.

It’s an unfortunate truth that women in the United States are routinely underrepresented in positions of power and influence. Yet since 2009, the only appointees to the United States Supreme Court have been wildly intelligent legal minds brimming with experience, both female. Justice Sotomayor represents the new guard in American politics, one where merit reigns supreme.

When it comes to iconic Latinos, perhaps none may be more accomplished or universally renowned as Desi Arnaz. Responsible for popularizing conga music in the United States with his band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, Arnaz parlayed his musicianship into a successful acting career. Alongside his wife Lucille Ball, they would enjoy a near decade-long run of success between I Love Lucy (1951-57) and the Lucy Desi Comedy Hour (1957-60).

Still, the lasting impact of Arnaz has to be in his brilliance as a producer. He was the first to employ the use of a live studio audience, a staple in nearly every sitcom over the last half-century. Arnaz pioneered the multiple-camera setup, allowing for continuous filming of a scene from multiple angles, as well as the practice of recording his programs rather than airing live. This allowed for the advent of reruns, as film copies of the episodes could be distributed to multiple networks. Arnaz’s influence over the growth of television production was nothing short of revolutionary.