Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Latinx and Hispanic figures from history who have contributed to the American experience.
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Born Richard Steven Valenzuela, rose to rock ‘n’ roll stardom in the late 1950’s with hits like “Donna” and “La Bamba”. Tragically, at only 17 years old, Valens and fellow musicians Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash that would come to be known as “The Day The Music Died”.
Credit: Alamy -
Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez in 1962. Her organizing led to ground-breaking labor protections and the first law allowing collective bargaining for farmworkers in U.S. history.
Credit: Public Domain -
Born into a Mexican-American family of migrant farm laborers, Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to improving the lives of farmworkers in America, co-founding the National Farm Workers Association with Dolores Huerta and organizing nonviolent protests like the Delano grape strike in 1965.
Credit: National Archives -
Puerto Rican-born actress Rita Moreno was the third person ever—and first Latina—to achieve the coveted “EGOT” status, winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards for her remarkable career on stage and screen.
Credit: National Archives -
In 1993, Astronaut Dr. Ellen Ochoa made history as the first Hispanic woman in space. Twenty years later, Ochoa was named the first Hispanic and second female director of Johnson Space Center.
Credit: NASA -
Sonia Sotomayor was appointed Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States in 2009. She is the third woman, first Hispanic and first Latina member of the Court.
Credit: U.S. Supreme Court -
Juan Felipe Herrera is a Chicano poet, educator and activist who served as the United States’ first Latino Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017.
Credit: Oregon State University
Explore our new collection featuring a selection of films documenting the U.S. Latino Experience — along with articles and original features exploring America’s continued struggle with democracy, inclusion and justice for Hispanics and Latinos, and celebrating their contributions to the American story.
Explore nuestra nueva colección: una selección de películas que, documentan experiencias latinas en los Estados Unidos, junto con artículos y videos originales que exploran la lucha continua de los Estados Unidos por la democracia, la inclusión y la justicia de los latinos y que, celebran sus aportes a la historia del país.
