7 Most Glamorous, Alluring Famous Spanish People in TV and Movies

As German aviator Dieter F. Uchtdorf once said, “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.”

Creative people are the ones who are willing to push beyond the status quo to challenge systems and the way people perceive the world. As a consequence of daring to be different, they manage to make an everlasting impression on the human collective memory.

Today, we’ll discover some of the most creative, innovative, and iconic Latin American and Spanish people in history. They show originality, perseverance, and even controversy! Their achievements have impacted many industries, from chemistry and cuisine to fashion and literature. Let’s check them out!

Creative Latin American and Spanish People

The following Latin American and Spanish people showed the world how thinking outside the box can change the world. Find out who they are, what they’ve done, and the huge impacts they’ve made throughout history!

Luis Ernesto Miramontes (1925 – 2004)

This Mexican chemist was a member of various scientific societies, such as the American Chemical Society, the Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the National College of Chemical Engineers. He’s best known as the creator of the contraceptive pill in the 1960s, when he was 26. While his original goal was to find a substance to prevent abortions and help fix the embryo in the uterus, instead he found the substance that created the contraceptive pill.

This product is one of the most controversial in human history, and even more for Latinxs and Spanish people because of their conservative cultures. Miramontes even received death and excommunication threats. Some people say he detonated the sexual revolution with this product.

However, over the years, the Pill gained popularity and many women began to take it. The health industry saw a great opportunity and created more and safer options. The Pill has helped women around the globe be responsible and conscious. Who would’ve thought that a male chemist could cause such an impact by experimenting a little bit?

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Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954)

Frida is the most famous Mexican female artist in history. With her unique talent, she’s become an icon of feminism, struggle, resilience, and even fashion. Today she’s positioned as one of the most recognized painters in Latin America. When Frida was 19, she was injured in a bus accident and her spine was fractured in three parts. It’s a miracle that she could walk again. After this, she started to paint. She also suffered due to her husband Diego Rivera’s infidelities and had various unstable relationships with both men and women. All of these events inspired her art to portray her deep suffering.

At first, her art wasn’t acclaimed by Mexicans or Spanish people(or anyone), it was categorized as surreal. People said that what she painted was based on dreams or fantasies, while she assured that it was based on her real life and pain. Also, during Frida’s era in the early 20th century, most women’s voices were muted. Meanwhile, Frida painted 150 remarkable artworks during her career. It wasn’t until her death that her work became valuable to the world and famous people like Madonna bought her collections.

Her style, feminism, and paintings now influence art, music, literature, fashion, medicine, and even cooking. Frida was a woman who fought for what she wanted all her life and showed to the world that suffering can open the door to creativity and beauty.

Rigoberta Menchú (1959 –)

This Guatemalan indigenous leader has been a prominent defender of human rights (especially indigenous rights) since the 1990s, when she began to speak out to the world for the injustices, abuses, and mistreatment of the Maya in Guatemala. This is something no indigenous person had done before. She decided to take the risk, step up, and change the reality of her entire community. She’s been accused of publishing inaccuracies and exaggerations in her autobiography Yo, Rigoberta Menchú.

Although Rigoberta faced many obstacles, her creative mind was always seeking solutions. She managed to get important interviews so her voice could be heard. She confronted the opinions of those who were attacking her, always defending indigenous rights. All her hard work earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992. She is the only indigenous person to have achieved this feat so far. She also won the Price of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in 1998 and became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2006.

Rigoberta continues to be one of the voices in the fight to help those most in need. She raises awareness of issues related to social justice and the need for ethnocultural reconciliation in Latin American countries. Now, she’s an icon of human rights defense!

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648 – 1695)

The Mexican religious nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a self-taught scholar who challenged the privileges of men and became one of the most prolific writers of the 17th century. She revolutionized literature by empowering the role of women in universal letters with a liberal perspective that caused major scandals in her time.

Three hundred years after her death, her work and legacy are still recognized nationally and internationally. Her plays, prose, verse, and sonnets are some of the most beautiful in the history of Spanish literature. Her work has been the subject of analysis and study at the most prestigious universities in the world and is exemplary of feminism and forbidden passions.

Things turned difficult in Ines’ life because she went against society’s standards. She empowered women and gave them self-worth, which was something Spanish people didn’t do back then. Sor Juana proclaimed that women could study and educate themselves. She herself was proof that women could learn and fulfill their potential as writers, teachers, theologists, or any other profession. Her hard work was the start of an era of powerful women!

Gastón Acurio (1967 –)

This incredible Peruvian chef put his country’s food on top of the world through his own restaurants, with his books – such as Perú, una aventura culinaria – and other projects like the Peruvian Society of Gastronomy.

Acurio has also helped raise awareness of the richness and value of Peruvian cuisine around the world. He has become an inspiration to other chefs, not only in Peru but across the continent and the world. Thanks to his hard work and creativity, he’s become one of the most emblematic chefs in Latin America!

Acurio realized that Peruvian food had great potential, so he began to experiment. He and his wife opened a restaurant in Chile called Astrid & Gastón, which is considered the best Peruvian restaurant in the country and has won multiple awards. With a lot of effort, sacrifice and perseverance, he accomplished what at first seemed impossible. Acuario has shown the world that it’s never too late to try something new.

Carolina Herrera (1939 –)

Venezuelan Carolina Herrera’s brand has been equated with elegance for years. María Carolina was first married to Guillermo Behrens Tello, and later to Venezuelan aristocrat Reinaldo Herrera, editor of the magazine Vanity Fair. Later in life, she turned her love for design and her ability to understand elegance into a profession and create her own pieces. Carolina has not only succeeded as a designer but also as a businesswoman and socialite. As we all know, the most famous and influential women in the world wear her designs.

Although her designs are a total success now, her journey hasn’t been all roses. In fact, last year the Mexican government accused her of cultural appropriation for her most recent collection. The Secretary of Mexican Culture wrote a letter to Carolina’s company claiming the use of patterns and drawings exclusive to certain regions of the country and its indigenous people, and they threatened to sue her for plagiarism. However, she proved that the collection wasn’t a copy of the weaving process, so Mexico decided to drop the charges.

Despite the obstacles she has faced, Herrera has become a fashion icon and a great example to women (and men) in the world because of her hard work and creativity.

Gabriel García Márquez (1927 – 2014)

Born in Aracataca, Colombia, Gabriel García Márquez is the greatest among the greats of contemporary letters. He’s the author of acclaimed novels such as One Hundred Years of Solitude and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. His magical prose and fantastic realism led him to win tons of awards, including the Nobel Prize, Rómulo Gallegos Award, and the Honoris Causa of Columbia University, among others.

As a genius and indisputable figure, he became an example for entire generations around the world. He also defended political values of communism and equality among people throughout his life, but above all he left an eternal and immortal literary legacy.

However, this recognized writer had difficulties, too. He was criticized for his book, Memories of My Melancholy Whores, where he despised women and expressed how “easy” they were. He was trying to create something different and harsh, but as a consequence, many people felt offended by this and stopped admiring him as an author.

Although this author caused many controversies, he’s still one of the most iconic literary figures from a Spanish-speaking country.

What Can We Learn From Them?

All of these Latin American and Spanish people are amazing and accomplished different things. Although they had to face challenges and criticism, they were resilient. Fighting for what you believe in can change things.

If you want to be more creative, follow these Latinx and Spanish people’s examples! If you’re stuck in the kitchen and don’t know what to cook for your special date, take a tip from Gastón Acurio and get out of your comfort zone! Go check recipes from other countries and cook something you never imagined before; different is good! If you’re having trouble writing a manuscript, follow Gabriel García Márquez’s idea of deeply understanding a culture. Write facts about a culture you’re thinking about and create a parallel world of it in your writing, just like he did!

On the other hand, if you want to create an artwork or a fashion design but don’t know where to start, Frida Kahlo and Carolina Herrera’s careers can inspire you. You can try to reflect on your life experiences and your suffering through your work, just like Frida did, or think of powerful colors and patterns from different countries to express how beautiful cultures are in your designs, like Carolina Herrera. In the end, there are countless opportunities to be creative and think differently, you just have to take a leap of faith!

Learning about Latin American and Spanish history can open our eyes in ways we never imagined! These 7 Latinx and Spanish people are proof of it!

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Want to learn more about Latin American entertainment? Check out these posts!

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Mariana Gómez

Freelance writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Native Spanish speaker and Industrial Psychology student in Guatemala, I love studying the nuances of Latin culture, its family values, and the Spanish language. Writing is my passion; it's my avenue for connecting ideas and sharing important information with readers. My goal is to make of this world a better place with far more multilingual people!

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