List of Latin Americans of Spanish descent explained

Since the vast majority of Latin Americans from Spanish-speaking countries have at least partial Spanish descent, this is a list of important people in Latin America who have at least one parent or two grandparents who were born in Spain.

Artists, photographers and fashion designers

• Humberto Castro (born 1957), Cuban painter
• Carlos Enríquez Gómez (1900–1957), Cuban painter, illustrator and writer of the Vanguardia movement (the Cuban Avant-garde).
• Raúl Martínez (1927–1995), pop artist and Cuban painter
• Mario Perez (born 1943), painter
• Tomás Sánchez (born 1948), Cuban painter

TV and Cinema

• Angelines Fernández (1922–1994), Spanish actress settled in Mexico.
• Mirtha Legrand (born 1927), Argentine actress and TV host.
• Guillermo del Toro (born 1964), Mexican director and film producer.
• Velia Martínez (1920–1993), American singer and actress.
• Ricardo Montalbán (1920–2009), Mexican actor of Spanish parentage.

Music

• Miguel Bosé (born 1956), Spanish singer with Colombian citizenship
• Gloria Estefan (born 1957), Cuban singer, all four grandparents born in Spain.
• Juanes (born 1972), Colombian singer, Basque ancestry from his father.
• Ernesto Lecuona (1895–1963), Cuban composer and pianist.^[1]
• Ricky Martin (born 1971), Puerto Rican singer, part Catalan ancestry.
• Luis Miguel (born 1970), Puerto Rican by birth, raised in Mexico, Spanish father, Italian mother.
• Shakira (born 1977), Colombian singer, part Catalan ancestry.

Government and military

• José Gervasio Artigas (1764–1850)
• Simón Bolívar (1783–1830)^{[2] [3]}
• José Núñez de Cáceres (1772–1846) politics and liberator of Dominican Republic
• Juan Carrasco (1878–1922)
• Fidel Castro (1926–2016), Father was an immigrant to Cuba from Galicia and his mother was also of Spanish origin. ^[4]
• Manuel Domínguez (1803–1882)
• Juan Manuel Santos (born 1951), President of Colombia
• José Martí (1853–1895)
• Agustín de Iturbide (1783–1824), Liberator of Mexico
• Juan Leal (1676–1742)
• Juan Ponce de León (1474–1521)
• Juan Ponce de León II (1524–1591)
• Francisco de Miranda (1750–1816), Liberator of Venezuela
• José Antonio Páez (1790–1873)
• Carlos Soublette (1789–1870), Libertador of Venezuela
• Antonio José de Sucre (1795–1830)
• Jorge Quiroga (born 1960), President of Bolivia
• Alvaro Garcia Linera (born 1962), Vice President of Bolivia

Writers

• Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
• Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)
• Gabriel García Márquez (1927–2014)

Others

• Juanita García Peraza (1897–1970), Founder of the "Mita congregation", the only Protestant religion of Puerto Rican origin.

See also

• Latin Americans
• White Hispanic and Latino Americans
• List of Criollos
• List of Cubans

Notes and References

1. Orovio, Helio 2004. Cuban music from A to Z. Revised by Sue Steward. A biographical dictionary of Cuban music, artists, composers, groups and terms. Duke University, Durham NC; Tumi, Bath.
2. Web site: "Simón Bolívar" at GeneAll.
3. http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/modernlatinamerica/a/toptenallla.htm The Ten Most Influential Latin Americans in History
4. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/features/article2160566.ece?A=2160566 The Castropedia: Fidel's Cuba in facts and figures