The 25 Most Stylish Latino-Americans

Written by Jose Mejia (@josermejia)

Latino-Americans have influenced American style for decades. The Pachuco style of Chicanos in the 1940s made zoot suits and pegged pants a thing. We definitely felt it in New York's vibrant Puerto Rican population as well. We've appropriated zig-zag shoes, simple flannel shirts, beanies, and can even attribute Tyler the Creator's trademark knee-high tube socks to kids of Latino descent.

So, in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15), let's take a moment to applaud Latino-Americans that have made positive contributions to the world of style. From iconic baseball players and skate legends to bombastic musicians and award-winning actors, here's our list of The 25 Most Stylish Latino-Americans.

Heritage: Dominican
Hustle:Actor

Victor gets props for getting better as he matures. We’ll be honest, we’ve seen him pull some pretty rudimentary fashion mistakes, and we’ve considered telling Luis Guzman to slap him up a bit for us. But, the boy’s getting better about things like sleeve length and when not to wear sneakers— we’re hoping another season on How To Make It In America and hanging out with Kid Cudi (who makes an appearance on this list) keeps the process going.

Heritage: Mexican
Hustle: Musician

Ritchie was barely 18 when he died in the horrific plane crash that also claimed the lives of the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly. Ritchie always seemed a little less buttoned-up than Buddy did, the kind of guy you’d expect to be cool enough to turn a Mexican-American folk song into a raucous rock and roll tune.

Heritage: Dominican
Hustle: Baseball Player, New York Yankees

A-Rod is a record-breaking baseball player with character to spare. And yes, that character sometimes involves steroid use scandals and allegedly giving Madonna the business, but it’s never caused A-Rod to miss a beat when it comes to dressing appropriately for the occasion. We can imagine how dapper he looked when he pulled Madonna.

Heritage: Cuban
Hustle: Musician, Ministry

We’d like to believe that there is a secret cult of post-apocalyptic death cowboys back in Cuba, and Al is just one of the lucky few to escape, but odds are that isn’t the case. Jourgensen founded the seminal Industrial group Ministry in the late '80s and while he certainly played the all-black everything game that his fellow darkness-loving musicians were all about, his injection of oddball accessories, like cowboy hats and Beatnik shades, made Al even more special.

Heritage: Mexican
Hustle: Tattoo Artist

Mister Cartoon’s art is known the world over, whether it appears on gallery walls or on someone’s bicep. Building on a variety of influences, from fine line tattooing to traditional Mexican-American art, Mister Cartoon deserves recognition for also being cool enough to make us think it might be okay to dress like a cholo every once in a while. Buttoning only the first button on your shirt must make for easy-breezy living, man.

Heritage: Puerto Rican
Hustle: Actor

The reigning champion of the late '90s teen movie era deserves commendation for managing to age gracefully, look decent in a suit, and fade out of the limelight without much tumult. There was always something likeable and normal about Freddie in comparison to his has-been co-stars, although you’ve got to stretch the definition of normal a bit to account for his current life producing TV for WWE.

Heritage: Mexican
Hustle: Football Player, New York Jets

Sanchez carries himself like a gentleman on and off the field, and we’re always down with that. We give him extra points for somehow pulling off the otherwise awful suit and cap look— mostly this is an awful Midtown NYC faux pas, but Sanchez’ boyish good looks makes it come across more natural than anything else.

Heritage: Mexican
Hustle: Skateboarders

The universe of skateboarding might have never come to be had Tony and Stacy not been around. From their roots surfing to the way they revolutionized skateboarding by taking advantage of empty SoCal pools, their unmistakable style played a huge role in kickstarting skate culture.

Heritage: Mexican
Hustle: Soccer Player, Scottish Premier League Rangers, and U.S. National Team Captain

Soccer players seem to just get it a little more than most other athletes when it comes to looking good off the field. The international influence, perhaps? Bocanegra's sense of style isn't earth-shattering, but it's hard to deny that the dude knows how to put himself together. Here he is stunting with designer Marc Jacobs. And if we're being honest, we kind of just dig it when a sportsman can knot a tie properly. It's the little things.

Heritage: Puerto Rican
Hustle: Graffiti Artist

Lee's art is legendary, but often overlooked is the man's sense of style. Just looking fresh is one thing, looking fresh while catching tags was just the order of the day back then. Also worth noting is that A-Trak and that one guy from your local coffee shop owe Lee royalties for biting his fedora-perched-just-so look. Pay up, fellas.

Heritage: Puerto Rican
Hustle: Musician

With seminal albums like The Hustler and Lo Mato a part of his early canon, Willie Colon was salsa music's tough guy with a heart. His upbringing in the South Bronx surely probably had something to do with the attitude and definitely had something to do with his style: just flashy enough to make you notice, but not flashy enough to make you think he wouldn't beat your ass.

Heritage: Mexican
Hustle: Musician, Deftones

NorCal cool contrasted with pure, concentrated aggression is the hallmark of this rock frontman's stage presence, but it's all buttery looks made for lamping when it comes to his sense of style. Chino was rocking the tall tube sock game long before Tyler the Creator, and his penchant for kicks is partly responsible for the existence of a Nike Dunk High bearing the band's name, of which only 40 pairs were ever made.

Heritage: Cuban
Hustle: Fashion Designer, Narciso Rodriguez

Making sure the ladies have classy and colorful options when getting gussied up takes a lot of time, so we respect Narciso keeping his own look simple. Good suits, just disheveled enough to suggest the man’s got his business on his mind more than his pocket square, and a solid grasp of the power of a good scarf.

Heritage: Dominican/Guatemala
Hustle: Producer

Araabmuzik’s musical prowess is proven in countless videos of the young man’s blinding abilities with the MPC. Most entertaining have been his recent excursions into chopping up dance music and metal into signature-sound masterpieces. We see the same approach in his personal style, a healthy mix of streetwear and hoodrat staples that keeps you from being able to precisely pin the guy down.

Heritage: Mexican
Hustle: Skateboarder

One of the most prominent pro skaters around these days, P-Rod’s dedication to the craft made his rise through the ranks a quick and seemingly easy task. His signature Nike SBs reflect just as much of the brand’s attempt to cater to the skate industry as they do Paul’s personality as a skater- never flashy, make it look easy, and keep cool.

Heritage: Mexican
Hustle: Actor

Whether in a Supreme Starter hat on the cover of Sneeze or pulled-together in a suit at a movie premiere, Danny gets major points for proving that the clothes don't make the man: if you're cool enough, you can manage to look solid in anything stylists and movie roles throw at you. Also, he is motherfucking Machete. Case closed.

Heritage: Jim: Puerto Rican; Juelz: Dominican
Hustle: Rappers

At their peak, the Diplomats basically had leeway to tell anyone on the planet, “You mad ‘cuz I’m stylin’ on you.” Cam’ron made the hood love pink, but scratch beneath the flamboyance and you’ll notice that Juelz and Jimmy were no slouches. You can almost single-handedly blame the two for getting dudes to slim down on the mountains of fabric they were used to wearing. These two were on their pretty boy shit, for sure, but we got concerned when Jimmy chopped his braids and went for the S-Curl world cup look.

Heritage: Puerto Rican
Hustle: Actor

This Oscar winner is the living embodiment of a handsome devil, bringing the kind of intensity to his film roles that makes it seem totally normal that he recently became a father after a fling with Rod Stewart’s daughter last year: the ladies love this guy. We love Benicio because he cleans up like you wouldn’t believe on the red carpet, especially in comparison to the way he looked in the landmark Ché.

Heritage: Puerto Rican
Hustle: Rapper

Talking about Kane’s influence on rap is a waste of breath: you either know the legacy or you’re V-Nasty. Kane’s compound syllable flows are influential to this day, but also worth noting is his undeniable influence on hip hop style. The sexed-up player/gangster bathed in gold is all Kane all day. Who else do you know could appear wearing nothing but chains, a flat top, and animal print briefs and still be intimidating?

Heritage: Honduran
Hustle:Fashion Designer, Carlos Campos

A touch of tailoring and a little bit of the unexpected is what makes Carlos Campos' eponymous line popular with guys like Justin Timberlake, but the man himself is no slouch when it comes to getting dressed. Pay particular attention to Carlos when he's decked out in a leather jacket for tips on how you, too, can dress like your life's work is to make other people look as good as you do.

Heritage: Cedric: Mexican; Omar: Puerto Rican
Hustle: Musicians, At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta

The impossibly badass duo behind both At the Drive-In and Mars Volta had a secret up their sleeve when it came to perfecting their look. Literally, though — the two shared a love of drugs that definitely contributed to their ability to fit into tiny pants and shirts way before Lil B had Vans on. Though the musicians have long given up their habits due to the eye-opening death of a fellow bandmate, the gentlemen continue to carry the flag for aspiring fans of all slim everything.

Heritage: Puerto Rican
Hustle: Musician

Hector Lavoe was at one point basically up there with grandma and Jesus in the minds of most Puerto Ricans, and still is for many. The man they called The Voice was a focal point for the explosion of Latin music in New York City in the late '60s and early '70s, and his signature shades are dwarfed in power only by his love of a good pinky ring.

Heritage: Mexican/Black
Hustle: Rapper/Actor

Cudi's got it made, by most standards. From Complex covers to his music career and his recurring role on HBO's How To Make It In America, it'd be fair to envy the man a bit. But see, that just isn't enough for Cudi, so he linked up with French label Surface 2 Air to release a series of leather jackets and a short film. The only people that can pull the jackets off are Cudi himself and a space goth Michael Jackson, though, so fall back and admire from a distance.

Heritage: Cuban
Hustle: Fashion Designer, Proenza Schouler

As legend would have it, this half of the Proenza Schouler team had a fortuitous encounter with Anna Wintour on a plane (not that kind of fortuitous encounter) that indirectly kickstarted his career in fashion. Sure, we'd be nervous if we were pouring our heart out to the editor of Vogue on a cocktail napkin, but we'd also imagine that our classic casual look would make her think we were destined to be a star. Maybe Anna did notice that Lazaro has a way of making jeans and a tee look classy, all things considered — a phone call that got Lazaro a job at Michael Kors came soon after.

Heritage: Cuban
Hustle: Actor

Desi Arnaz had no choice to be slick — what are you really supposed to do when you're the grandson of one of Bacardi's founders? The hard-working Arnaz had an extensive showbiz career before I Love Lucy, but it was his effortlessness in a suit and judicious use of the bowtie on-screen that put him on the pop culture map. If Desi were a menswear blogger, you'd all have some 'splaining to do.