- Tomás Rivera
Tomás Rivera was a Chicano author, poet, and educator. He was chancellor of the University of California, Riverside, the first Mexican American to hold the position at any university of the University of California. He is best remembered for his 1971 Faulknerian stream-of-consciousness novella "Y no se lo tragó la tierra", translated into English as "...and the earth did not devour him". - Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio ("Tony") Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. Villaraigosa was elected mayor of Los Angeles in a run-off election on May 17, 2005, in which he defeated incumbent mayor James Hahn. Prior to his service as mayor, Villaraigosa was the California State Assemblyman for the 45th District, … - Jessica Alba
Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American actress. Alba rose to prominence with the television series Dark Angel, then expanding her résumé to film, predominantly within the confines of action and comedy. Alba appears frequently on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim and was voted AskMen.com's number one on their list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007. - George Lopez
George Lopez (born April 23, 1961, in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California) is a Mexican-American comedian and actor. - Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20 1947), known simply as Carlos Santana or Santana, is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist. He became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, the Santana Blues Band, going mostly under the title "Santana," which created a highly successful blend of salsa, rock, blues, and jazz fusion. - César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was a Mexican American (Chicano) farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Supporters say his work led to numerous improvements for union workers. He is considered a hero for farm laborers, and fought against illegal immigration to help keep wages higher and improve work safety rules. - Dolores Huerta
Dolores C. Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW). She was born in the miningtown of Dawson, New Mexico where her father, Juan Fernandez, was a miner, field worker, union activist and state legislator. Her parents divorced when she was three years old. Her mother, Alicia Chavez, raised Dolores, along with her two brothers, and two sisters, … - Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated American actor, of Mexican descent, best known for his roles of Lt. Martin Castillo in "Miami Vice", Jaime Escalante in "Stand and Deliver" and Admiral William Adama in the "Battlestar Galactica" re-imagined series. - Nativo Lopez
Lawrence "Nativo" Lopez (born 1951) is a Chicano political leader and immigrant rights activist in Southern California. Lopez is the president of the Mexican American Political Association and the executive director of the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (formerly the Hermandad Mexicana Nacional), a community service and advocacy organization for Mexican-American immigrants in California. - Luis Valdez
Luis Valdez (born June 26, 1940) is an American playwright, writer and film director. He is regarded as the father of Chicano theater in the United States. - Cheech Marin
Richard "Cheech" Marin (born on July 13, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an American comedian and actor, who gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech and Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s, and as Don Johnson's quick-and-scheme partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez on "Nash Bridges". His nickname "Cheech" is short for "Chicharron", a spicy fried pork skin which is a popular snack amongst Mexicans. - Gary Soto
Gary Soto (born Febuary 1952) is an American author and poet. He has received many awards for his writing, which is centered on the Mexican-American or Chicano experience. Soto was born and raised in Fresno, California, to working-class Mexican-American parents. He had an older brother named Bobby, and a younger sister named Debra. Soto lived in Fresno where he worked as a factory laborer. His inspirations include Thomas Berger, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Pablo Neruda, … - Ana Castillo
Ana Castillo (June 15, 1953-) is a celebrated poet, novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Castillo was born and raised in Chicago. She has one son, Marcel Ramon Herrera , born in Evanston, Illinois, on September 21, 1983. Long considered one of the leading voices to emerge from the Chicana experience, Castillo is a prolific author whose work has been critically acclaimed and widely anthologized in the United States and abroad. - Cruz Bustamante
Cruz Miguel Bustamante (born January 4, 1953) is an American politician. He was the 45th Lieutenant Governor of California, a former Speaker of the State Assembly and a member of the Democratic Party. He served with Governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and was succeeded by John Garamendi on January 8, 2007. - Loretta Sanchez
Loretta Sanchez (born January 7 1960), an American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997. She currently represents the 47th Congressional District of California (map) in central Orange County. - Joe Baca
Jose "Joe" Baca (born January 23 1947), an American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999, representing the California's 43rd congressional district (map). Rep. Joe Baca has served in Congress since winning a special election in 1999 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative George Brown. - Gloria Molina
Gloria Molina is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the current chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Molina grew up as one of ten children in the Los Angeles suburb of Pico Rivera, California, USA to a Mexican-American father and Mexican mother - Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra represents California's 31st District in the US House of Representatives and is Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He also is Assistant to the Speaker of the House, a position that allows him to help set leadership priorities and drive the legislative decision-making process. First elected to Congress in 1992, Rep. Becerra is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where he served as Chairman during the 105th Congress (1997-98). - Diego Corrales
Diego "Chico" Corrales (August 25 1977 - May 7 2007) was a former super featherweight and lightweight world boxing champion. "Chico" had a professional record of 40-5-0, with 33 wins coming by way of knockout. - Fabian Núñez
Fabian Núñez (born December 27, 1966, Logan Heights, San Diego, California, United States) is a Democratic politician and the Speaker of the California State Assembly. - Gloria Romero
Gloria J. Romero is an American politician. She is currently the Democratic majority leader of the California State Senate. Romero grew up in Barstow, and earned her associate's degree from Barstow Community College. She went on to a B.A. from California State University, Long Beach and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Riverside. - Oscar Zeta Acosta
Oscar Zeta Acosta (April 8, 1935 - 1977 was a Mexican American (Chicano) attorney, author, politician, and Chicano Movement activist. He is most famously known as "Dr. Gonzo" in Hunter S. Thompson's book, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". - Grace Napolitano
Grace Flores Napolitano (born December 4 1936), an American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999, representing California's 38th congressional district (map). She was born in Brownsville, Texas, was educated at Texas Southmost College and was a member of the Norwalk, California, City Council and a member of the California State Assembly before entering the House. - Lalo Alcaraz
Lalo Alcaraz is a Mexican-American cartoonist and multimedia humorist now best known for his daily syndicated comic strip "La Cucaracha". Alcaraz was born in the San Diego, California area and grew up in the neighboring city of Lemon Grove. Alcaraz began drawing editorial cartoons for his college paper, San Diego State University's "Daily Aztec", in the late 1980s. - Daniel Olivas
Daniel Olivas is a United States author and attorney. Olivas was raised near downtown Los Angeles. He is the middle of five children and the grandson of Mexican immigrants. Olivas received his BA in English literature from Stanford University and law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. He is the author of "Devil Talk: Stories" (Bilingual Press, 2004), "Assumption and Other Stories" (Bilingual Press, 2003), … - Constance Marie
Constance Marie (b. Constance Marie Lopez on September 9, 1965 in East Los Angeles, California) is an American actress best known for her role as Angie Lopez on the sitcom, "The George Lopez Show". Marie, a third-generation Mexican American, started her career as a dancer on David Bowie's The Glass Spider Tour. She later began an acting career and won the role of Nikki Alvarez on the now defunct, 1989 NBC soap opera, "Santa Barbara". - Fernando Vargas
Fernando Vargas (born December 7, 1977 in Oxnard, California) is an American boxer and two-time world champion, who won a bronze medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. His nicknames include "Ferocious" and "The Aztec Warrior". Some of Fernando's victims include former world champions Raul Marquez, Ike Quartey and Winky Wright (though many thought Wright won his fight against Vargas). His losses to Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, … - Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez (born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, attorney, artist, and editorial writer, who was a prominent figure in San Francisco politics during the years 2000-2004. During those years, he was a member and president of the city's Board of Supervisors. Gonzalez was one of the first Green Party candidates elected to public office in the Bay Area. In 2003, he ran for mayor of San Francisco but lost in a close race to Democrat Gavin Newsom. - Dave Navarro
David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is a guitarist who has played in the rock bands Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Navarro is a member of The Panic Channel and the cover band Camp Freddy. - Lil Rob
Roberto Flores (born September 1975), better known as Lil Rob, is a Mexican American (Chicano) rap artist from San Diego, California, USA. He was born and raised in the La Colonia area of Eden Gardens, a Hispanic neighborhood near Solana Beach. Lil Rob debuted as an artist in 1992. Prior to the release of his album Twelve Eighteen Part 1, he regularly moved as many as 100,000 units for each independent CD he recorded. - Moctesuma Esparza
Moctesuma Esparza (born March 12, 1949) is a first-generation Chicano producer and filmmaker. - Rodolfo Acuña
Rodolfo Francisco Acuña, Ph.D., (born May 18 1932) in Boyle Heights was raised in Los Angeles. He is an historian, professor, and perhaps the foremost scholar of Chicano Studies, which he teaches at California State University, Northridge. He is the author of the seminal work of Chicano history, "Occupied America: A History of Chicanos", which approaches the history of the Southwestern United States from the point of view of Mexican Americans. - Julian Nava
Julian Nava (born June 19, 1927) is an American educator and diplomat. Nava was born to Mexican immigrants in 1927 in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in the barrio of East L.A. In 1945, he volunteered the Air Corps of the United States Navy. Upon his return to Los Angeles, Nava studied at East Los Angeles College before transferring to Pomona College, one of the prestigious Claremont Colleges. - Judy Baca
Judith Francisca Baca (born September 20, 1946) is an American artist, activist, and University of California, Los Angeles professor of fine arts. She is the founder and executive director of the Venice, California-based Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), a community arts center, and is best known as the director of the mural project that created one of the largest murals in the world, the "Great Wall of Los Angeles". - Kid Frost
Arturo Molina Jr. (born May 31, 1964 in East Los Angeles, California), better known as Kid Frost, is a Mexican American rap artist, who is regarded as one of the most widely recognized Chicano rappers in the hip hop industry. - Guillermo Gómez-Peña
Guillermo Gómez-Peña is a Mexican-born writer, performance artist and educator. He moved to the U.S. in 1978. Most of his work concerns the interface between Mexican and U.S. culture. His interdisciplinary projects and books explore borders, physical, cultural and otherwise, between his two countries and between the mainstream U.S. and Latino cultures in general: the U.S.-Mexican border itself, immigration, cross-cultural identity, … - Cherríe Moraga
Cherríe L. Moraga is an Chicana writer, feminist activist, poet, essayist, and playwright. Moraga was born in Whittier, California. She earned her Bachelor's degree from a college in Hollywood, California and her Master's from San Francisco State University in 1980. Of both Anglo and Mexican American heritage, her writing focuses on her experiences as a Chicana lesbian. Moraga has taught courses in dramatic arts and writing at various universities across the nation, … - Carlos Almaraz
Carlos Almaraz (October 5, 1941-1989) was a Mexican-American artist and an early proponent of the Chicano street arts movement. - Jenni Rivera
Jenni Rivera (also spelled Jenny Rivera) (born July 2, 1969) is a Mexican-American vocalist/songwriter of banda music. Her parents Pedro and Rosa immigrated to the United States from Mexico, but Jenni Rivera was born and raised in Long Beach, California. Rivera's father is from Jalisco and her mother is from Sonora. Her brother is singer Lupillo Rivera. - Jay Hernandez
Jay Hernandez (born February 20, 1978) is an American actor. Hernandez was born Javier Manuel Hernandez, Jr. in Montebello, California to Isis (Maldonado), a secretary, and Javier Hernandez, Sr., a mechanic. He has a younger sister, Amelia, and two older brothers, Michael and Gabriel. Hernandez is a third-generation Mexican American. He attended Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead, California, but transferred to Schurr High School in Montebello, …
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