ADELANTE
Moving Ahead. Advancing Forward. Prospering.
nventors, teachers, entrepreneurs, politicians, leaders,
I
innovators, scientists, astronauts, athletes and much more,
within these pages are the achievements of individuals,
Hispanic Americans, whom have made a positive impact and
difference in America and the American Culture.
They are examples of the true spirit of Adelante.
Adelante W ith Visionaries
Dr. Antonia Novello
First Latina U.S.
Surgeon General
César Chávez
Labor Leader
Dolores Huerta
First Latina President of
the United Farm Workers
José A. Cabranes
Federal Judge
Carolina Herrera
Fashion Designer
Linda Alvarado
Entrepreneur
Hilda Solis
First Hispanic
Secretary of Labor
Carlos Santana
Grammy Award Winning
Musician
Joseph A. Unanue
Entrepreneur
Dr. Severo Ochoa
Nobel Prize Winner in
Physiology or Medicine
Dioniso “Dennis” Chávez
U.S. Senator
Laura Elena Herring
First Latina to win
Miss USA back in 1985
Adelante With Patriotism
Adelante With The Arts
Edward D. Baca,
became the first Hispanic to head the National
Guard Bureau. At the time of his retirement in
Judy Baca
1998, Baca was the highest ranking Hispanic
Artist
military officer.
Brigadier General Angela Salinas
On August 2, 2006, Salinas became
the first Hispanic female to become a United
States Marine Corps General Officer, and the
sixth female in the Marine Corps
to reach the rank of Brigadier General
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Artist
Franck de Las Mercedes
Painter
Antonio Roybal
Painter and Sculptor
Captain Marion Frederic
Ramirez de Arellano
(August 5, 1913-May 15, 1980),
was a submarine commander
in the United States Navy
and the first Hispanic
submarine commanding
officer.
Richard Serra
Sculptor
John August Swanson
Painter
Harry Gamboa, Jr.
Artist
Captain Linda Garcia Cubero
is a former United States Air
Force officer. In 1980 Cubero
was a member of the first class
of women to graduate from the
United States Air Force
Academy, and thus became
the first Hispanic woman to
graduate from any service
academy.
Soraida Martinez
Artist, Creator of Verdadism
Jaime Escalante
Los Angeles
Motivation and teaching
techniques in mathematics resulted
in extraordinary results, moving
Latino students forward to higher
education and instilling in them self
confidence and an attitude
of “si se puede”.
Adelante wi th Education
u cation
Richard Alfred Tapia
is a renowned American mathematician and
champion of under-represented minorities in the
sciences. In recognition of his broad contributions,
in 2005, Tapia was named “University Professor”
at Rice University in Houston, Texas, the
University’s highest academic title.
“Students will rise to the level of expectations“
Jaime Escalante
Adelante With Science
& Technology
Ellen Ochoa
In 1991, Ms. Ochoa
became the first
Latina astronaut.
Adelante With Fashion
Carolina Herrera, is a fashion designer and
entrepreneur who founded her eponymous
company in 1980.
Herrera was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Based
in New York City since 1981, throughout the
1970s and 1980s she was named one of the
Franklin R. Chang-Díaz
The first Hispanic
person to enter the space
program becoming an
astronaut in 1981.
best dressed women in the world. Her empire
grew rapidly and steadily and she went on to
dress Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for the last
12 years of her life.
Oscar de la Renta is one of the world’s leading
fashion designers.
Gisele Caroline Bündchen is a Brazilian model
Lydia Villa-Komaroff spent more than twenty years of her life
studying genes, cell development and growth mutations. She was
the third Mexican-American woman in the U.S. to receive a
doctorate in the sciences.
and occasional film actress. According to
Forbes, she is one of the highest-paid models
in the world.
Marisol Deluna - American Fashion Designer
“Although science is an exhausting and arduous profession, it is also
an exciting, enriching and rewarding endeavor”
Christy Nicole Turlington is an American
model best known for representing Calvin Klein.
Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez- Marine Biologist, studies
the ecology and behavior of dolphins and whales.
Michael Cordúa is a Nicaraguan-born
American restaurateur, entrepreneur,
owner of Cordúa Restaurants, and award
winning self-taught chef. Cordúa is the
owner and executive chef of 6 restaurants
in the Houston, Texas area. He was the first
to introduce Houston to Latin American
cuisine that was not Mexican.
Hispanic American entrepreneur
Linda Alvarado broke new ground in
the construction industry in the 1970s as
one of a pioneering handful of women
in her field, and later as an owner of the
Colorado Rockies, Denver’s Major League
Baseball team.
Adelante With Eco nomic Empowerment
Arturo “Arte” Moreno is an American
billionaire of Mexican descent.
On May 15, 2003, he made history
by becoming the first Hispanic
to own a major sports team in the United
States when he purchased the Anaheim
Angels baseball team from the
Walt Disney Company.
Jennifer Lopez is the highest paid
Latina actress in history, one of the
most successful singers and dancers
in the world, and also owns a thriving
fashion design and perfume company.
She has created an empire worth
almost $300 million.
A d e l a n t e W i t h Fa m i ly
“It is through family that we find
strength, learn about
our past, and prepare for the future. “
Oscar De La Hoya - Boxing
Thomas Jesse Fears - Football
Nancy Lopez - Golf
An American professional golfer.
She became a member of the LPGA Tour
in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events
during her LPGA career, including three
major championships.
Adelante With Sports
Roberto Clemente
Baseball
1st Latino to be
inducted into the
Baseball Hall
of Fame
Richard Steven “Ritchie”
Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 –
February 3, 1959),
better known by his stage name
Ritchie Valens, was an American
singer, songwriter and guitarist.
A rock and roll pioneer and a
forefather of the Chicano rock
movement.
Adelante With Music
Marc Anthony is an American & Latin Grammy awardwinning singer/songwriter, actor and the biggest
selling salsa music artist of all time, according to the
Guinness Book of World Records.
Selena - Singer
Gloria Estefan is a Grammy Award-winning singer
and songwriter. She has won seven Grammy Awards,
placing her among the most successful crossover
performers in Latin music to date.
Adelante With
Entertainment
Dolores del Río was a star of
Hollywood films during the silent era
and in the Golden Age of Hollywood,
becoming an important actress in
Mexican films later in her life. She was
generally thought to be one of the
most beautiful actresses of her generation. Dolores del Río was the first Latin
American movie star with international
appeal, and she made an extraordinary
career in 1920s and 1930s Hollywood.
Rita Moreno is one of only
two female performers ever
to be given all four of
entertainment’s biggest
awards. She has won a Tony,
for theater; a Grammy, for
music; an Emmy, for
television; and an Oscar for
her role in the musical
West Side Story.
Desi Arnaz was a musician, actor and
television producer. He gained international renown for leading a Latino
music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra.
But arguably, he is best known for his
role as Ricky Ricardo on the classic
American TV series I Love Lucy.
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán
y Merino was an American radio,
television, theatre and film actor.
He had a career spanning seven
decades and multiple notable roles.
During the mid-to-late 1970s.
He starred as Mr. Roarke in the television
series Fantasy Island. He won an
Emmy Award in 1978, and a Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Screen
Actors Guild in 1993.
Mr. Lizarraga founded TELACU, a model
that supports service, empowerment,
advancement and the creation of
self-sufficiency. He provides his expertise
to organizations that will enable them to gain
results. His work has resulted in rejuvenation
of ailing communities. He also serves as
Chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce – the preeminent advocate for
the nation’s nearly 3 million Hispanic-owned
businesses.
Joel Ayala,
President & CEO, California Hispanic
Chambers of Commerce
Hon. Sylvia R. Garcia,
President, National Association of Latino
Elected and Appointed Officials
David C. Lizárraga, LHD
President & CEO, TELACU /
Millennium Chairman, U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
A d el a n t e W i t h C o m m un i t y De v elop m en t.
As someone who has experienced the promise of the American Dream firsthand, Janet
Murguia has devoted her career in public
service to opening the door to that dream to
millions of American families. Now, as a key
figure among the next generation of leaders
in the Latino community, she continues this
mission as President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR),
the largest national Hispanic civil rights and
advocacy organization in the United States.
Janet Murguia
President & CEO National
Council of La Raza
Adelante With Politics
Linda Chavez - The highest-ranking woman in President
Ronald Reagan’s White House, and was the first Latina ever
nominated to the United States Cabinet.
Alberto Reynaldo Gonzales - The 80th
Attorney General of the United States and the first Hispanic and
Mexican-American to serve as United States Attorney General.
Henry Gabriel Cisneros - The first person of Hispanic background
elected as mayor of a large American city, and later served as the 10th
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Rosario Marin – The 41st Treasurer of the United States
adel ante
The Contributions To Ame rica By Hispanic Americans
Hyundai.com
All of the materials offered in this book are for informational and educational purposes only.
Zafar Brooks,
Director, General Affairs,
Government Relations, and Diversity Outreach
Hyundai Motor America
Best Regards,
We trust that you will enjoy this book, share it with others, and
have meaning conversations with family and friends.
We hope that they serve to inspire you to move Adelante in your
own right.
The stories we have presented in this book are few, but a powerful
reminder of the many accomplishments of Latino Americans. The
individuals you have read about represent some of the great contributions of Latinos to American society, in various facets. These
are brave individuals, creative minds, groundbreaking thinkers.
Their stories shall live on in the minds of those whose lives they’ve
touched and through the acts of Latinos whom they inspire.
July 2009