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This is a list of notable Cubans
Additional lists
For Cuban-Americans please see List of Cuban Americans
Art and entertainment
Actors
Ana de Armas , actressAna Margarita Martínez-Casado , actress and singerAndy García , actorRoberto Escobar , actorCésar Évora , actorDaisy Fuentes , actressDesi Arnaz , actorEmiliano Díez , actorEnrique Molina , actorFaizon Love , actor and comedianFrancisco Gattorno , actorJulio Oscar Mechoso , actorLuis Oquendo , actorLuisa Martínez Casado (1860–1925), actressManela Bustamante , actressMaría Conchita Alonso , actressMario Cimarro , actorMario Ernesto Sánchez , actor and founder of Teatro Avante Renny Arozarena , actorSteven Bauer , actorVelia Martínez , actress and singerWilliam Levy , actorNobel Vega , actor, "Tio Nobel"
Architects
Agustín Cárdenas , sculptorAlberto Korda , photographerAlexandre Arrechea , painter, sculptorAmelia Peláez , painterBaruj Salinas , painterCarlos Enríquez , painterFidelio Ponce de León , painterHerman Puig (born German Puig Paredes), photographerHumberto Jesús Castro García , painterJosé Bernal , painterJosé Vilalta Saavedra , sculptorJosignacio , creator of plastic paint medium, contemporary painterJuan José Sicre , sculptorJuan T. Vázquez Martín , painterLourdes Gomez Franca , painterLuis Castaneda , photographerMario Perez , painterMiguel Fleitas , painter, photographerMiguel Rodez , painter, sculptorPedro Álvarez Castelló , painterRafael Consuegra , sculptorRaúl Corrales , photographerRaúl Martínez , pop artist, painterRene Mederos , poster artist and graphic designerRené Portocarrero , painterTomas Sanchez , painterVictor Manuel , painterWaldo Diaz-Balart , painterWifredo Lam , painter
Authors and poets
Alejo Carpentier ,[ 1] Antonio Benitez-Rojo , authorBrígida Agüero , poetDaína Chaviano , authorCarilda Oliver Labra , poetDomitila García de Coronado , writer and journalistDulce María Loynaz , authorEdmundo Desnoes , authorGertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda , author, poetGuillermo Cabrera Infante ,[ 1] Heberto Padilla , poetHéctor Zumbado , writer, journalist, humorist, criticJosé Ignacio Rivero , author and journalistAntonio Rodríguez Salvador , poet, authorJosé Lezama Lima ,[ 1] José María Heredia y Campuzano , poetJosé Martí , author, poet, journalistJulián del Casal , 19th-century poetLeonardo Padura Fuentes , novelist, journalistMariano Brull , authorNancy Morejón , authorJosé Gómez-Sicre , art critic and authorNicolás Guillén ,[ 1] Norberto Fuentes , authorPedro Juan Gutiérrez , author, poet, painterPedro Luis Boitel , poetRaúl Rivero , poet and journalistReinaldo Arenas ,[ 1] Severo Sarduy ,[ 1] Virgilio Piñera , author, playwright, poet, short-story writer and essayistZoé Valdés , authorCirilo Villaverde
Composers
Alejandro García Caturla , symphonic composerMariá Álvarez Rios , composerAurelio de la Vega , composer, lecturer, essayist and poetAntonio María Romeu , composerArsenio Rodríguez , developer of the rumbaDidier Hernández , singer, composer; former member of Menudo and MDO Ernesto Lecuona , often regarded as the greatest Cuban composerEsteban Salas y Castro , 18th century Cuban baroque composerGonzalo Roig , often regarded as one of the greatest composers of Cuba, "Quiere me mucho"/ Cecilia ValdezIgnacio Cervantes , Chopinesque piano composerJosé White Lafitte , violinist and composerLeo Brouwer , guitarist and composerYalil Guerra , composerAmadeo Roldán , composer and violinistDámaso Pérez Prado , developer of the mamboArmando Rodriguez-Gonzalez , composerAntonio Rodríguez Ferrer , composerRené Touzet , composer, bandleader and pianistFlores Chaviano , guitarist and composerDanilo Avilés , composerMagaly Ruiz , composerJosé Ardévol , composerHarold Gramatges , composerCarlos Fariñas , composerRoberto Valera , composerJulián Orbón , composerMargarita Lecuona , singer and composer
Chess
Musicians
Aida Diestro , pianist, arrangerAlbita , singerAlfredo de la Fé , musicianAdalberto Álvarez , pianist, director, composerÁngel Reyes , violinistAJ McLean , singer, member of American boyband The Backstreet Boys Armando Peraza , percussionistArturo Sandoval , trumpeterArsenio Rodríguez , composerBenny Moré , singer, songwriter, conductor, arrangerBola de Nieve , singer, pianistCamila Cabello , musician, songwriter, actressCándido Fabré , musician, singer-songwriterCarlos Manuel Pruneda , singerCarlos Varela , singer-songwriterCelia Cruz , singerCelina González , singer-songwriterCesar "Pupy" Pedroso , pianist, musicianChristina Milian , singerChucho Valdés , pianist, bandleader, composer, arrangerCompay Segundo , musician, songwriterConchita Espinosa , pianist, teacherCuban Link , rapperCubanito 20.02 , hip-hop bandDave Lombardo , drummerDavid Calzado , musicianDidier Hernández , singer-songwriterDonna Maria Martinez , guitarist and singerEddy Zervigon , flautist and bandleaderElena Burke , singerEl Medico , timba musicianEliades Ochoa , guitarist and singerEmilio Estefan , producer, composerErnesto Lecuona , pianist, composerEsther Borja , singerEusebio Delfín , singerFrancisco Aguabella , percussionistGerman Nogueira Gomez , songwriter, composer, producerGloria Estefan , singer, composerGonzalo Rubalcaba , pianistGuillermo Portabales , singer, songwriterGuillermo Rubalcaba , musicianHarold Lopez Nussa , jazz pianistHoracio Gutiérrez , concert pianistHubert de Blanck , pianist, composerIgnacio Piñeiro , composerIbrahim Ferrer , musicianIssac Delgado , singerJacobo Rubalcaba , musicianJorge Bolet , concert pianistJuan Croucier , bassistJuan Formell , composerJuan de Marcos González , musicianLa Lupe , singerLena , singerLissette , singerMalena Burke , singerManuel Barrueco , classical guitaristMaría Teresa Vera , composer, guitarist, singerMayra Verónica , singerMiguel Matamoros , singer, composerMoisés Valle , musicianMoisés Simons , composerMongo Santamaría , jazz musicianMoraima Secada , singerNelson Martinez , baritoneÑico Saquito , composer, singerOlga Guillot , singerOmara Portuondo , singerOrlando "Cachaito" López , bassistPablo Milanés , singer-songwriterPío Leyva , singerPitbull , rapperRaul Paz , singerRey Ruiz , singerRita Montaner , singerRoberto Faz , singer, conductorRubén González , pianistRudy Sarzo , rock bassistSen Dog , rapperSilvio Rodríguez , singer-songwriterTico Torres , drummer, percussionistWilly Chirino , singer-songwriterVoltaire (musician) , musicianXavier Cugat , musicianYalil Guerra , producer, musician, composerYotuel Romero , rapper
Film directors
Journalists
Dancers
Alicia Alonso , Prima Ballerina Assoluta, director of the Cuban National Ballet (Ballet Nacional de Cuba)Carlos Acosta , dancerSadaise Arencibia , star dancer with the Cuban National BalletFernando Bujones , dancerJose Manuel Carreño , American Ballet Theatre principal dancerLydia Diaz Cruz , prima ballerinaMiguel Campaneria , ballet dancer, currently artistic director of the National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico Vida Guerra , video dancerYat-Sen Chang , principal dancer, English National Ballet
Other entertainment
Alvarez Guedes , comedian and authorAna María Polo , television personality and lawyerAlina María Hernández , "Cachita", television personalityCristina Saralegui , magazine editor, talk show host (Cristina ) and actressVida Guerra , model/actressLili Estefan , television personality and former modelMauricio Zeilic , television personalityMayra Verónica , modelNelson Ascencio , comedian (Madtv Pedro Zamora , AIDS activist, featured on The Real World: San Francisco Raúl De Molina , television personalityRaúl Musibay , Food Network chef and authorRosaura Andreu , children's television entertainer
Sport
Baseball
Adeiny Hechavarria , Miami Marlins Adolfo Luque , Cincinnati Reds Alex Fernandez , Chicago White Sox , Florida Marlins Alex Sánchez Ariel Pestano , Cuba national baseball team Ariel Prieto , Oakland Athletics Aroldis Chapman , Cincinnati Reds Aurelio Monteagudo , Kansas City Athletics Barbaro Canizares , Atlanta Braves Bárbaro Garbey , Detroit Tigers Bert Campaneris , Kansas City Athletics Brayan Peña , Atlanta Braves Cristóbal Torriente , Negro leagues, Baseball Hall of Fame Danys Báez , Baltimore Orioles Diego Seguí , Kansas City Athletics Eli Marrero , New York Mets Esteban Bellán , first Latin American professional baseball player to play in the United StatesGermán Mesa , trainer for the Cuban national baseball teamJack Calvo , Washington Senators Jasiel Rivero (born 1993), basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Jorge Soler , Chicago Cubs José Abreu , Chicago White Sox José Canseco , Oakland Athletics José Cardenal , San Francisco Giants José Contreras , Chicago White Sox José Fernández , Miami Marlins José Iglesias , Detroit Tigers José Méndez , Kansas City Monarchs , Baseball Hall of FameJosé Rodríguez , New York Giants José Tartabull , Kansas City Athletics Kendrys Morales , Kansas City Royals Liván Hernández , Arizona Diamondbacks Luis Tiant , Cleveland Indians Martín Dihigo , Negro leagues, Baseball Hall of FameMike Cuellar , Cincinnati Reds Minnie Miñoso , Chicago White Sox Octavio "Cookie" Rojas , Cincinnati Reds Omar Linares , Pinar del Río Vegueros , Cuban national baseball team Orestes Destrade , New York Yankees , ESPN on-air personalityOrlando Hernández , New York Mets Ozzie Canseco , Oakland Athletics Pedro Ramos , Washington Senators Preston Gómez , Washington Senators Rafael Palmeiro , Baltimore Orioles Ray Noble , New York Giants René Arocha , St. Louis Cardinals René Monteagudo , Washington Senators Rey Ordóñez , New York Mets Roberto "Bobby" Estalella , Washington Senators Rolando Arrojo , Tampa Bay Devil Rays Sandy Amorós , Brooklyn Dodgers Tony Fossas , Texas Rangers Tony González , Cincinnati Reds Tony Oliva , Minnesota Twins Tony Pérez , Cincinnati Reds Tony Taylor , Chicago Cubs Yuniesky Betancourt , last played for the Milwaukee Brewers Yasiel Puig , Los Angeles Dodgers Yasmani Grandal , Los Angeles Dodgers Yoenis Céspedes , New York Mets Zoilo Versalles , Minnesota Twins , first Latin American Major League MVP in 1965 Alexei Ramírez , Chicago White Sox Yunel Escobar , Washington Nationals
Boxing
Adolfo Horta , featherweight Olympic boxerAriel Hernández , Middleweight Olympic boxerArmando Martínez , light middle-weight Olympic boxerBenny Paret , boxerEliseo Castillo , boxerFélix Savón , Olympic boxerFlorentino Fernández , boxerGuillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz , amateur boxerJoel Casamayor , boxerJorge Rubio , boxing trainerJosé Nápoles , boxerKid Charol , boxerKid Chocolate , boxerKid Gavilán , boxerLorenzo Aragon Armenteros , Olympic welterweight boxerLuis Manuel Rodríguez , boxerMario César Kindelán Mesa , Olympic gold medal-winning boxerRaúl González , boxerRoberto Balado , Olympic super heavyweight boxerSugar Ramos , world champion boxerTeófilo Stevenson , amateur boxerYan Bartelemí , light flyweight gold medal-winning boxerYanqui Díaz , boxerYudel Johnson Cedeno light-welterweight Olympic boxerYuriorkis Gamboa , flyweight Olympic gold medal-winning boxer
Athletes
Alberto Juantorena , trackAliecer Urrutia , triple jumpAna Fidelia Quirot , 800mAnier García , hurdlerDayron Robles , hurdling athleteEmeterio González , javelin throwerHéctor Herrera , sprinterIoamnet Quintero , high jumperIván García , sprinterIván Pedroso , long jumpJavier Sotomayor , track and field record setterJoel Isasi , sprinterJoel Lamela , sprinterJorge Aguilera , sprinterLázaro Martínez , sprinterLuis Alberto Pérez-Rionda , sprinterOsleidys Menéndez , javelinRoberto Hernández Roberto Moya , discus throwVíctor Moya , high jumperYargelis Savigne , jumpYarisley Silva , pole vaulterYipsi Moreno , hammer throwerYoandri Betanzos , triple jumpYoel García , triple jumperYoel Hernández , hurdlerYudelkis Fernández , long jumperYunaika Crawford , hammer throwerYuniel Hernández , hurdler
Swimming
Other
Deborah Andollo , holds world records in free divingAlberto Delgado , soccerIvan Dominguez , two time gold medalist in the Pan American Games and Cuban national champion in cyclingHéctor Socorro , footballer Ibrahim Rojas , flatwater canoerJuan Tuñas , former Cuban footballerManrique Larduet , gymnastRey Ángel Martínez , soccerTomás Fernández , footballer in the 1938 World CupYanelis Yuliet Labrada Diaz , Olympic silver medallist in TaekwondoMaykel Galindo , soccerJorge Sánchez Salgado , volleyball playerMijaín López , Greco-Roman wrestler
Politics
Poet and writer José Martí
Current
Abelardo Colomé Ibarra , vice president of the Council of State of Cuba Alfonso Fraga-Perez , diplomat, Secretary General of the Organization of Solidarity of the People of Asia, Africa & Latin America (OSPAAAL ), former Head of Cuban Interests Section Carlos Lage Dávila , former executive Secretary of the Council of Ministers of Cuba Felipe Pérez Roque , former Cuban government ministerFidel Castro , previous First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba José Luis Rodríguez García , Cuban government minister José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera , current Minister for Health in CubaJuan Almeida Bosque , third ranking member of the Cuban Council of State Luis Posada Carriles , Cuban paramilitary leader, accused terroristMariela Castro , director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education and daughter of Raúl CastroOscar Elías Biscet , physician and dissident and founder of the Lawton Foundation , currently jailedOswaldo Payá , founder of Proyecto Varela Raúl Castro , current First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Liaena Hernandez Martínez , youngest member of the Cuban National AssemblyRoberto Fernández Retamar , President of the Casa de las Américas Ricardo Alarcón , President of the Cuban National AssemblyRosa Elena Simeón Negrín , former Minister of Science, Technology and the EnvironmentPedro Pablo Prada Quintero , diplomatJuan Valdés Figueroa , diplomat
Historical
Abel Santamaría , Cuban revolutionaryAlcibiades Hidalgo , former ambassador to the UNAna Betancourt , first to campaign for equal rights for Cuban women, in 1868 during the Ten Years' War Andrés Rivero Agüero , Cuba's prime minister from March 1957 to March 1958Anselmo Alliegro , acting president of Cuba for one day (1–2 January 1959) after the departure of General Fulgencio Batista from the countryAntonio Guiteras , politician and revolutionaryAntonio Maceo , revolutionary, military strategistArmando Hart Dávalos , politician and Communist leaderCamilo Cienfuegos , Cuban revolutionaryCarlos Hevia , provisional president of Cuba 1934Pilar Jorge de Tella , suffragistCarlos Manuel Piedra , acting president of Cuba for one day (2 January 1959) after the departure of General Fulgencio Batista from the countryCarlos Prío Socarrás , former President of CubaCelia Sánchez , Cuban revolutionary and Secretary to the Presidency of the Council of MinistersCosme Torres Espinoza , ambassador to Zimbabwe Eduardo Chibás , Cuban politician who used radio to broadcast his political views against Batista's government to the publicFederico Laredo Brú , President of Cuba from 1936 to 1940Fernando Tarrida del Mármol , Cuban anarchistFabio Grobart , Communist leaderFulgencio Batista , former Cuban PresidentFrank País , 20th century revolutionaryGerardo Machado , Cuban president 1920–33Gustavo Arcos , Cuban Revolutionary later became an imprisoned dissidentHuber Matos , Cuban RevolutionaryIgnacio Agramonte , 19th century Cuban revolutionaryJorge Mas Canosa , founder of the Cuban American National FoundationJosé Miró Cardona , President of Cuba in 1959José Martí , poet, philosopher, politician, writer, revolutionaryJuan Carlos Robinson Agramonte , former member of the Cuban politburo and first Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Cuban Communist Party in Santiago de CubaJulio Antonio Mella , founder of the original Cuban Communist PartyJorge Payret , diplomat and academicLeopoldo Cancio , deputy and Sectetary of EducationManuel Piñeiro , first head of the Cuban General Intelligence Directorate Manuel Urrutia Lleó , provisional Cuban President January to July 1959Miguel Mariano Gómez , President of Cuba for seven months in 1936Paul Lafargue , Cuban-born French Communist and son-in-law to Karl Marx Pedro Pablo Cazañas , Cuban judge and politicianRafael Diaz-Balart , Cuban politician and majority leader during presidency of BatistaRamón Grau , Cuban president for two terms 1933, 1940–44Saturnino and Mariano Lora , brothers and 19th century revolutionariesVilma Espín Guillois , President of the Cuban Federation of Women , wife of Raúl CastroVirgilio Paz Romero , anti-Castro paramilitary
Religion
Royalty and nobility
Military
Adolfo Fernández Cavada , captain in the Union Army during the American Civil War who later served as commander-in-chief of the Cinco Villas during Cuba's Ten Year WarAlberto Bayo y Giroud , Cuban military leader of the defeated left-wing Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War Antonio Maceo Grajales , second-in-command of the Cuban army of independenceArnaldo Ochoa , Cuban generalCalixto García , Cuban soldier in the Ten Years' War Carlos Manuel de Céspedes , Cuban general in the war of independence against the SpanishEliseo Reyes Rodríguez , Cuban guerrilleroEmilio Mola Vidal (1887–1937), Nationalist commander during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39); known for coining the phrase "fifth column"Federico Fernández Cavada , colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War ; later commander-in-chief of all the Cuban forces during Cuba's Ten Year WarJesús Sosa Blanco , captain in the Cuban army under Fulgencio BatistaJosé Braulio Alemán , Cuban general in the Spanish–American War José Miguel Gómez , Cuban general in the war of independence against the SpanishJulius Peter Garesché , lieutenant colonel in the Union Army who served as chief of staff, with the rank of lieutenant colonel to Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans Loreta Janeta Velazquez , a.k.a. "Lieutenant Harry Buford", Velazquez was a Cuban-born woman who masqueraded as a male Confederate soldier during the Civil WarManuel Artime , leader of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961Máximo Gómez , 19th-century leader of Cuban forces in the wars of independencePedro Luis Diaz Lanz , chief air force commander and member of Operation 40 Víctor Dreke , Communist leader and a general in the Revolutionary Armed ForcesTomás Diez Acosta , revolutionary soldier and historianVíctor Ivo Acuña Velázquez , military commanderPilar Garcia , pre-revolutionary Chief of National Police
Science
Luis Alvarez , winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physics , worked on the Manhattan Project Agustin Walfredo Castellanos , physicianCarlos Juan Finlay , epidemiologist, proposed the mode of transmission of yellow fever and was instrumental in assisting Walter Reed with his studies in CubaJuan Gundlach , 19th century naturalist and taxonomist Celia Hart , Cuban physicistArnaldo Tamayo Méndez , first Cuban cosmonaut and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the U.S. to travel to spaceHilda Molina , former chief neurosurgeon in CubaFelipe Poey , zoologist
Other categories
Sebastian Arcos Bergnes , human rights activistRosa Castellanos , military nurseRamón Castro , older brother of Fidel and Raúl CastroMirta Diaz-Balart , Fidel Castro's first wifeEnriqueta García y Martín , prominent Cuban socialite, businesswoman and landownerDelfín Fernández , high ranking government official, defected to SpainGregorio Fuentes , Cuban nautical captainElián González , boy who came to the US, leading to a custody battle between his American family and his father in CubaJose Miguel Battle, Sr. , former Godfather of the Cuban MafiaAntonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirven , Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice at the HagueDr. Eduardo J. Padrón , educator and college president
Jesús Permuy , human rights activist, architect, urban planner, community leaderIgnacio José Urrutia (born 1730), historianNitza Villapol , Cuban chef
Non-resident Cubans
References
See also
List of Cuban-Americans
List of Cuban-Mexicans
Dane Bowers
Taismary Agüero
Alex Cabrera
Arturo Miranda
Bárbara Bermudo
Rita Marley
Lenny Martinez
Mariane Pearl
Oscar Isaac
