Mr. Casillas Why do we have a Hispanic Heritage Month? Hispanics make up the largest minority group within the United States. They have influence on art, food, education, government, and the economy. Mr. Casillas

Cesar Chavez Founder of AFL-CIO which helped farm workers in California gain basic human and union rights. He went on several hunger strikes throughout his life that lasted over a month at times. Obama took his “Yes We Can” slogan from Chavez “Si se puede” CESAR CHAVEZ DAY is held every year on March 31 A movie about the grape boycott he organized was just released last year.

Sonia Sotamoyor President Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009. She was the first Hispanic women on the Supreme Court. And only the 3rd women to serve. "I am a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the south Bronx. My test scores were not comparable to my colleagues at Princeton and Yale.” "In every position that I've been in, there have been naysayers who don't believe I'm qualified or who don't believe I can do the work. And I feel a special responsibility to prove them wrong."

Lionel Messi He was detected with a growth hormone deficiency at the age of 11. His parents could not afford his treatment, which was $900 a month. So his boyhood club sold him to Barcelona FC The pride of Argentina. on his verge of scoring his 400th career goal when Barcelona Messi shares his birthplace with the Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevera ; Rosario, Argentina. His hometown recently banned naming newborns “Messi”

Pope Francis First Pope from Latin America He is currently making big changes to the Catholic Church “We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.” "He's probably the most popular guy on the planet right now” First Pope on Twitter @Pontifex But first, let me take a selfie

Robert Rodriguez Influential movie director He got his big break after spending $7,000 dollars to make El Mariachi, the film that would go on to inspire the Desperado Trilogy. Desperado had a 100X bigger budget of $7,000,000 Influential movie director One of the few Hispanic movie directors that has a major say in big budget movie productions. Hires a lot of Hispanic actors including: Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Ricardo Montaban, Michelle Rodriguez and many more. Films Include: From Dusk till Dawn Grindhouse Planet Terror Spy Kids Desperado

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo World Famous Mexican muralist and painters. They were also husband and wife. Their political and personal artwork was spread around the world Their artwork continues a profound influence on artists of all races and walks of life http://www.biography.com/people/groups/frida-kahlo-and-diego-rivera

Our very own Atlanta Hawk, Al Horford is from the Dominican Republic Ginobli (Argentina) and Splitter (Brazil) won the NBA Championship in 2014

Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna This dynamic duo are making waves in the film industry with a wide variety of films. From political, comedy, drama, these pair of writers, producers, and actors are the new blood of Hollywood. Diego Luna recently directed the Cesar Chavez movie Together: Y tu mama tambien Rudo y Cursi Sin Nombre Bernal Filmwork: Motorcycle Diaries Amores Perros La lluvia Tambien The science of sleep Luna’s Filmwork: Milk Elysium

Sara Martinez Tucker – HSF.NET At 40, she was the first and only Hispanic female executive at AT&T. Unfulfilled and bored she left and founded the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. HSF gives $30 million dollars in scholarships EVERY year. By 2010, 1 in 5 high school students will be Hispanic — but if the dropout rate stays the same, only 11% of them will finish college, way below the national average of 27%.  She is trying to change that… "I'd rather be in the business of creating role models than be a role model."

Jorge Ramos Tired of media censorship by the PRI party in Mexico, Ramos moved to the U.S. and has become one of the most eloquent, credible and powerful voices of Hispanic America. Fun Fact: Ramos once got slugged by Fidel Castro's bodyguard for asking Castro if Cuba would ever hold democratic elections.

Carlos “Money” Slim Helu Worth $85.3 Billion Self-made billionarie Flip Flops with Bill Gates as the RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD Made his money in the mobile communications business Mexican-born but of Lebanese descent

Carlos Santana Breakout star at Woodstock, Carlos Santana is a guitarist, composer, singer and band-leader who helped to shape the concept of "world music" by his experiments with blending many styles of music from a multitude of ethnic sources. Inducted in the rock and roll hall of fame in 1998 “First of all, the music that people call Latin or Spanish is really African. So Black people need to get the credit for that.” Scan the QR code and watch Santana play at Woodstock

Ellen Ochoa The first female Hispanic astronaut was Ellen Ochoa, whose first of four shuttle missions was in 1991. Director of the Johnson Space Center co-inventor on three patents for an optical inspection system, an optical object recognition method, and a method for noise removal in image “I tell students that the opportunities I had were a result of having a good educational background. Education is what allows you to stand out.”

Narciso Rodriguez American fashion designer of Cuban descent. He is the go to guy for Michelle Obama and countless other stars. "They wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer or a dentist. But no matter how many times I heard 'No,' I just kept going. I never thought about 'no'. 'No' wasn’t an option."

Alberto Gonzalez 80th Attorney General of the United State. He was the first Hispanic to serve as White House Counsel, and earlier he had been Bush's General Counsel during his governorship of Texas. Appointed by George W. Bush His tenure was marked by controversy regarding warrantless surveillance and the legal authorization of Enhanced interrogation techniques, which were alleged to be torture.

Desi Arnaz Star of a network television show on I LOVE LUCY. Desi Arnaz Hispanic background was resisted by the major studios. But his wife, Lucille Ball made sure his heavy accent would not be a barrier. They were one of the only interracial couples on television.