Afro-Latinx History
This actress is most recognized for her roles in two of the largest grossing movies of all-time, Avatar and Avengers: Endgame. . . . Maybe she should have been in Titanic, too!
Zoe Saldana
Remember the Alamo? It was a key battle in the Texas Revolution. On one side of the battle were Tejanos and White settlers fighting for independence and on the other side was the Mexican Army. Who won?
Mexico
This singer started his career in his teens as a member of the boy band Menudo. More recently, he was nominated for his role in the film The Assassination of Gianni Versace.
Ricky Martin
Selena like many other performers including Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, and Demi Lovato call Texas home. Although Selena was born in Lake Jackson, her family called THIS Texas city home.
Corpus Christi
These twins must have very proud parents. One twin is a U.S. House representative, and the other was the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and even launched a presidential campaign! Name the twins!
Julián and Joaquín Castro
This Queen of Salsa had a prolific music career earning countless awards including two Grammys and three Latin Grammys. She’s well-known for her flashy and flamboyant fashions like futuristic gravity-defying shoes—some of which happen to be in the Smithsonian collection!
Celia Cruz
The MFLG is soon to open! The gallery located in the American History Museum will showcase how Latinx History is US history. The gallery is named after this doctor and his children. (It’s the M in MFLG)
Dr. Molina/ C. David Molina
This Cuban American singer recorded Timber with Ke$ha and International Love with Chris Brown. Ya tu sabe … no?
Pitbull
Do you remember your first car? You may have had a silly name for your car. Selena sure did. What was the name of the Selena tour bus?
Big Bertha
Gwen Iffil is a celebrated journalist, political analyst, and host of the PBS NewsHour. She moderated presidential debates in 2004 and 2008. In 2020 she was commemorated with this tiny printed collectible which sells for just 55 cents!
Postage stamp
Julia de Burgos, whose poetry touched on feminism, Blackness, and migration, is among one of the most influential Latin American poets of the first half of the 20th century. One of her most notable works titled Río Grande de Loíza, borrows its name from a river in this Caribbean Nation.
Puerto Rico
This agricultural tool is a complicated national symbol for many Puerto Ricans. For some, it conjures images of forced labor in sugarcane fields. And for others it evokes images of rural farmers fighting for independence. What is this symbol?
The machete
Oscar Isaac is a Guatemalan American actor who plays Poe Dameron in this very famous movie franchise. Hey, you can even pick up a Lego set with his character at your local toy store!
Star Wars
‘Omlette-n’ you in on a little secret: Selena loved things that sparkled. In fact, she was a collector of these famous bejeweled tchotchkes.
Eggs/Faberge eggs
Carlos Cooks was born in the early 1900s in the Dominican Republic and would go on to become an influential thinker and activist in the Black Nationalist movement in the US along with others like Marcus Garvey and Malcom X. He coined this two-word phrase, that is still used today, to encourage support for Black-owned businesses.
Buy Black
Arturo Schomburg was a historian, writer and collector of art and writings about the African Diaspora. Want to learn more? Head over to Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research library located in this historically Black and Brown NYC neighborhood.
Harlem
Desi Arnaz—the Cuban American singer, actor, and band leader—co-stared alongside Lucille Ball in a popular 1950’s sitcom. What character did he play on their groundbreaking show?
Ricky Ricardo
Fashion designers dream of being asked to dress the First Lady at a Presidential Inauguration. Cuban American Isabel Toledo created a yellow dress and matching coat for THIS First Fady.
Michelle Obama
Whether we admit it or not, we all have our favorite chain restaurants? What was Selena’s favorite chain restaurant?
Pizza Hut
Between the years 1848 and 1855 hundreds of thousands of people migrated to California from other parts of the US but also from China, Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Nicaragua in search of this precious metal.
Gold
Who was one of the first Puerto Ricans and persons of African descent to receive a medical degree in the US?
Jose Celso Barbosa
Peruvian American musician Clotilde Arias was commissioned by the US Department of State to translate this important song. In Spanish, the title is El Pendón Estrellado.
The Star-Spangled Banner
This actor played Machete in two films by Robert Rodriguez. Fun fact: His character was originally developed for the children’s movie Spy Kids! Who is Machete?
Danny Trejo
Duh, Selena made history. Which Smithsonian museum currently exhibits Selena artifacts?
Museum of American History
With the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States expanded to the Pacific Ocean, and displaced many indigenous and Mexican peoples that inhabited this territory. Name at least three modern-day states that were included in this territory.
Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah (and parts of Wyoming)