NOTABLE HISPANICS

Juan "Chi Chi" Rodriguez

The first Puerto Rican inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Juan "Chi Chi" Rodriguez was born in the town of Rio Piedras in 1935. Born into an impoverished family, Rodriguez soon began to work, earning money in the sugarcane fields by the time he was seven years old.

While working in the fields, Rodriguez learned he could earn more money as a caddy at a nearby golf course. During his time spent as a caddy, Rodriguez' natural gifts as a golfer started to come to light.
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Salvador Dali

Among the most recognizable painters the world has ever known, Salvador Dali was born in 1904 in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the tiny town of Figueres, Spain.

As a youngster, Dali attended the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid, gaining recognition rather quickly after his first one-man show in Barcelona in 1925. Shortly thereafter, Dali received international acclaim and notoriety after three of his paintings were shown in the Carnegie International Exhibition in Pittsburgh in 1928.
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Born in a small town in the tropical region of northern Colombia in 1928, Gabriel Garcia Marquez is widely considered one of the most important authors of the 20th century.

Though Garcia Marquez began his career, which includes many notable works on nonfiction, as a journalist, he is most widely known for his novels, including "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera."
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Jaime Escalante

Born in Bolivia in 1930, Jaime Escalante garnered international recognition in 1988, when his story was told in the acclaimed film "Stand and Deliver." The film stars Edward James Olmos as Escalante, a teacher who taught math to troubled students at a tough East Los Angeles school.
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Tito Puente

A musical pioneer known for fusing Latin music with jazz, Tito Puente was born in New York City in 1923. The son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Puente was a professional musician by the time he was 13.
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