by 
Share On Social!
It’s Hispanic Heritage Month and we are honoring the pioneers, activists, silver screen darlings, and songstresses who put their unique stamp on Hispanic historia and the lasting impact they’ve had on Latino community.
Here are 9 icons who influenced Latino culture and inspired future generations to continue their legacy.
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno danced and sang her way into our hearts with her role in the movie musical West Side Story.
Before stepping into the spotlight, there was no one that looked or sounded like her on screen.
“I had no real role model. There was nobody that I could look up to and say that’s somebody like me. There was no such person. Which is probably why I’m now known in my community as La Pionera, ‘the pioneer,’” said Rita.
Filling the void for Latinas portrayed in cinema, earned her a Grammy, Tony, Emmy, and Oscar, making her one of 22 individuals, and the first Latina, to reach EGOT status.
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez
Dubbed the Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a formidable powerhouse singer whose music endured long after her tragic and unexpected death.
Selena’s career spiked when she was awarded the Grammy for best Mexican American album for 1993’s Selena Live!
Her career in a male-dominated music genre is a testament to dreamers everywhere that perseverance and talent transcend borders and languages.
“Selena’s music expanded the audience for Texan-Mexican music, and contributed to a rise in Latin music popularity across the United States,” according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Leonardo “Flaco” Jiménez
Before his passing in July 2025, Jiménez dazzled audiences for decades as one of the most well-known Tex-Mex musicians.
Jiménez helped popularize conjunto music, a genre “developed by Texas-Mexican working-class musicians, who adopted the accordion—the main instrument in conjunto music—and the polka from nineteenth-century German settlers in northern Mexico,” according to the Texas State Historical Commission.
His legacy continues on through his music and distinct sound that he pioneered and shared with millions of people not only in Texas, but across the globe.
Isabel (Belle) Ortiz
Belle was known as the “Godmother of Mariachi.”
As a pioneer of mariachi music, Isabel introduced young musicians to the art of mariachi.
She ultimately inspired over 2,500 school districts, colleges, and universities worldwide to offer their students mariachi education.
Belle passed away in 2023 at age 90, but her legacy and teachings live on.
“I think that music and the impact that she had by sharing her gift and then mentoring others will last generation after generation,” Letitia Van De Putte, Belle’s oldest daughter, told KSAT. “The best way to honor her, to honor our mother, is to continue the work of educational access and the arts for children.”
Franklin Chang Diaz
Chang Diaz’s dream of traveling amongst the stars was realized in 1986 when he became the first Latino American in space.
In 1989 he went on his second space mission and even was part of the 2002 flight crew of the Endeavor and helped repair the robotic arm of the International Space Station.
His career spans seven missions where he logged more than 1,500 hours in space, including 19 hours of spacewalks.
Chang Diaz hopes to contribute to a better future for humans.
“My dream or my vision is a future for humanity where we will be completely free to pursue activities outside of our planet. The Earth will then become sort of humanity’s national park, a protected area where our children and their children can all come back and know and enjoy the beauty of where their ancestors came from,” said Chang Diaz, according to APS.org.
Nina Otero-Warren
Nina Otero-Warren paved the way for women and Latinos in leadership.
She was an American woman suffrage in New Mexico and became the first female Superintendent of Public Schools in Santa Fe County, stimulating political change and helping to improve public health.
Otero-Warren was also the first Latina to run for Congress. She ran as a Republican candidate in New Mexico’s at-large district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1922 but lost the election.
However, her impact paved the way for dozens of Latinas to run local, state, and national government offices.
Her achievements were later commemorated with her image stamped in the US quarter.
Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral was a prestigious educator and the first female Latina author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Heavily inspired by unfairness suffered by overlooked groups, including women, children, the impoverished, and those in her Latino community, Mistral let their circumstances seep through the pages of her poetry.
Through her poetry, the profound artist brought attention and awareness to issues plaguing these groups and rallied for change.
She died in 1957, but her work lives on to inspire generations of activists fighting similar issues that impact our world today.
Ellen Ochoa
In 1993, Ellen Ochoa became the first Latina person in space.
She logged nearly 1,000 hours in orbit across four space missions, studying the Earth’s ozone layer.
She would later become the NASA Johnson Space Center’s first Latina director and only its second female director.
Her legacy endures today, and she dedicates her life empowering and advocating for more girls and underserved populations in STEM fields.
“I know that role models make a difference, and I take seriously that part of my career and life,” Ochoa told the National Women’s History Museum.
“For young Hispanic women, there are few well-known women in STEM fields so it’s even more important to let them know about the interesting and rewarding careers that they can pursue.”
Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta was the voice behind the rallying cry for Latino farm workers’ rights during the farmworker’s movement in the 1970s.
For too long, farm workers were underpaid and taken advantage of, and Huerta helped organize and lead strikes in hopes of spurring change.
Her efforts helped bring about better wages and working conditions for farm workers.
She even helped co-found the United Farm Worker’s Union.
“A lot of people don’t realize that they actually can make a difference. That’s what we have to do when we’re organizing, make them understand that not only do they have that right, but they have that responsibility and that we need them,” Huerta told Glamour.
She continues to fight and advocate for Latino working poor, women, and children.
Read about all our Salud Heroes who are inspiring change and creating healthier communities for Latinos and all people!
Explore More:
Healthy Families & SchoolsBy The Numbers
142
Percent
Expected rise in Latino cancer cases in coming years
This success story was produced by Salud America! with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The stories are intended for educational and informative purposes. References to specific policymakers, individuals, schools, policies, or companies have been included solely to advance these purposes and do not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation. Stories are based on and told by real community members and are the opinions and views of the individuals whose stories are told. Organization and activities described were not supported by Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and do not necessarily represent the views of Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
