Notable Alumni of University of Havana [Sorted List]

1. Emilio Hector Rodriguez

1950-. (aged 76)

artist

Emilio Hector Rodriguez is a Cuban-American artist. His current work is abstract painting and fine art photography. He resides in Miami, Florida, USA. Rodríguez was born in the colonial village of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, in 1950. His family moved to La Habana in 1953. He started drawing and experimenting with oil paint and tempera at the age of 12. While...

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2. Luis Estévez

1930-2014 (aged 84)

fashion designer

Luis Estévez was a Cuban-born American fashion designer and costume designer, active between 1951 until 1997. According to the New York Times, "Luis Estevez always did make a lady look like a vamp", known for his high slits, slinky dresses and dramatic necklines.

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3. Caridad Atencio

1963-. (aged 63)

poet writer

Caridad Atencio is a Cuban poet and essayist.

4. Alexis Mendoza

1972-. (aged 54)

contemporary artist

Alexis Mendoza is a Cuban artist, writer and independent curator, based in New York City. His multidisciplinary work focuses on painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing and installation. His art explores the transitioning and overlapping of colors as a metaphor for the Afro-Cuban customs, rituals and traditions.

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5. Bahia Mahmud Awah

1960-. (aged 66)

journalist

Bahia Mahmud Awah is a Sahrawi writer, poet and journalist. He is a founding member of the group of writers known as the "Sahrawi Friendship Generation".

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6. Mirta Yáñez

1947-. (aged 79)

literary critic novelist short story writer writer poet

Mirta Gloria Yáñez Quiñoa is a Cuban philologist, teacher and writer. She graduated from high school in Raúl Cepero Bonilla Special Pre-university Institute where she was considered a high-performing student. She entered the University of Havana in 1965, graduating five years later. She earned a PhD in philology at the same university, specializing in Latin American and Cuban literature, as...

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7. Eduardo Heras León

1940-2023 (aged 83)

writer

Eduardo Rafael Heras León was a Cuban writer and professor who was awarded with Cuba's National Literature Prize in 2014.

8. Mario Romañach

1917-1984 (aged 67)

architect

Mario Romañach was a Cuban modernist architect, planner, and university professor.

9. Amir Valle

1967-. (aged 59)

literary critic writer journalist

Amir Valle Ojeda, is a Cuban journalist, literary critic and writer. In the aftermath of his criticism of the Fidel Castro regime, he was prevented from returning to Cuba in 2006. He then decided to settle in Berlin, where he continued his professional activities.

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10. Argelia Velez-Rodriguez

1936-. (aged 90)

mathematician

Argelia Velez-Rodriguez is a Cuban-American mathematician and educator. She was the first Black woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics in Cuba.

11. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y García-Menocal

1936-2014 (aged 78)

Catholic priest theologian university teacher writer

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y García-Menocal was a Cuban Roman Catholic priest, theologian and writer.

12. José Gómez-Sicre

1916-1991 (aged 75)

lawyer

José Gómez-Sicre was a noted Cuban lawyer, art critic and writer.

13. Jorge Enrique González Pacheco

1969-. (aged 57)

writer

Jorge Enrique González Pacheco is an international award-winning Cuban poet, film industry professional, and cultural entrepreneur. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Latin American Literature from University of Havana, Cuba, and a Master's Degree in Hispanic Literature from Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.

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14. Lixion Avila

1950-. (aged 76)

meteorologist

Lixion A. Avila is a retired weather forecaster, formerly working at the National Hurricane Center (NHC). He was a hurricane specialist and senior hurricane specialist from 1987 to 2020.

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15. Ramón Zaydín

1895-1968 (aged 73)

lawyer politician

Ramón Zaydín y Márquez Sterling was a Cuban politician and Prime Minister of Cuba.

16. Cosme de la Torriente y Peraza

1872-1956 (aged 84)

diplomat lawyer politician

Cosme de la Torriente y Peraza was a Cuban soldier, politician, lawyer and statesman.

17. Antonio Bachiller y Morales

1812-1889 (aged 77)

lawyer historian journalist librarian bibliographer

Antonio Bachiller y Morales was a Cuban lawyer, historian and bibliographer, the "father of Cuban bibliography".

18. Félix Lancís Sánchez

1900-1976 (aged 76)

politician physician

Félix Lancís Sánchez was a Cuban politician, physician and Prime Minister of Cuba.

19. Mariano Brull

1891-1956 (aged 65)

diplomat poet writer

Mariano Brull Caballero was a Cuban poet usually associated with the French Symbolist movement. Two Symbolists who strongly influenced him were Stéphane Mallarmé and Paul Valéry. Among Cuban poets of the first half of the 20th century he was the most outstanding of those who wrote poetry for poetry's sake, as opposed to poetry that addressed social issues or poetry...

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20. Manuel Antonio de Varona

1908-1992 (aged 84)

lawyer politician

Manuel Antonio de Varona y Loredo was a Cuban lawyer and politician.

21. Wykeham McNeill

1957-. (aged 69)

politician physician

Kenneth Wykeham McNeill, MD, MP, CD is a Jamaican politician and former member of parliament for Westmoreland West, Jamaica. He is a former government minister. He was the Minister of Tourism of Jamaica from 2012 to 2016. He was elected the first vice chair of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization representing Jamaica in 2012 and...

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22. Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz

1956-. (aged 70)

diplomat economist politician

Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz is a Cuban diplomat and politician. Malmierca is the Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (2009–present) as a result of the 2009 shake-up by Raúl Castro. He was the Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations from 2005 to 2009. He is married to Grisell Guadalupe Castano-Rey and they have two children.

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23. Henriette Ekwe Ebongo

1949-. (aged 77)

journalist

Henriette Ekwe Ebongo is a Cameroonian journalist, publisher and political activist. She was awarded the International Women of Courage Award in 2011.

24. Ada Bello

1933-2023 (aged 90)

LGBTQ rights activist

Ada C. Bello was a Cuban-American LGBT rights activist and medical laboratory researcher of Portuguese descent. She was a founder of the Philadelphia Chapter of Daughters of Bilitis and the Homophile Action League. Bello led activism efforts for the LGBT community beginning in the late 1960s and served in advocacy roles including as a board member of the LGBT Elder...

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25. Ena Lucía Portela

1972-. (aged 54)

writer

Ena Lucía Portela is a Cuban novelist, essayist, and short story writer. She focuses on lesbian subjects.

26. Jorge García Montes

1896-1982 (aged 86)

lawyer politician

Jorge García Montes y Hernandez was a Cuban lawyer and politician.

27. Husni Abdel Wahed

1960-. (aged 66)

journalist politician

Husni Muhammad Ahmed Abdel Wahed is a Palestinian journalist, politician and diplomat. He served as the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Argentina from 5 March 2015 until December 2021. He currently holds the position of Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Kingdom of Spain.

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28. Chely Lima

1957-2023 (aged 66)

photographer novelist science fiction writer poet screenwriter

Chely Lima was a Cuban American LGBT writer of novels, poetry, and plays, as well as a photographer, editor, and screenwriter.

29. Abel Prieto

1950-. (aged 76)

writer politician

Abel Prieto Jiménez is a Cuban politician. Abelito, as he was called as a child, is the son of Abel Prieto, a Cuban educator who for several years pre and post Castro ran a preparatory school on Pinar Del Rio. From 1997 to 2012 and from 2016 to the present he has served as Minister of culture. In March 2012...

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30. Lucien Ebata

1969-. (aged 57)

businessperson

Lucien Ebata is a Congolese-Canadian businessman and publisher. He is the founder and CEO of Orion Oil, and publisher of Forbes Afrique.

31. Carlos Rafael Rodríguez

1913-1997 (aged 84)

writer politician

Carlos Rafael Rodríguez Rodríguez was a Cuban Communist politician and economist, who served in the cabinets of presidents Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro.

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32. Manuel Ancízar

1812-1882 (aged 70)

lawyer journalist philosopher writer diplomat

Manuel Esteban Ancízar Basterra was a Colombian lawyer, writer, and journalist. He founded a publishing house and a newspaper before joining the Chorographic Commission in 1850. He also served as the 4th Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Granadine Confederation, and as the first president of the National University of Colombia.

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33. Karen Longaric

1956-. (aged 70)

diplomat civil servant lawyer

Karen Longaric Rodríguez is a Bolivian lawyer, professor, columnist and politician who served as the Foreign Minister of Bolivia during the interim administration of Jeanine Áñez.

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34. Antolín Pulido

1962-. (aged 64)

writer human rights defender

Antolín Pulido Vázquez is a Spanish anarcho-communist writer, broadcaster, conflict mediator and human rights activist. He has worked in several conflict zones as a member of the Peace Brigades International.

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35. María Begoña Yarza

1964-. (aged 62)

physician politician surgeon

María Begoña Yarza Sáez is a Chilean politician and physician who served as Minister of Health.

36. Francisco de Arango y Parreño

1765-1837 (aged 72)

essayist large estate owner politician

Francisco de Arango y Parreño was a Cuban planter and intellectual. He helped to oversee colonial Cuba's transformation into a major sugar and coffee producer in the last decades of the eighteenth century and the first decades of the nineteenth century.

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37. Óscar Elías Biscet

1961-. (aged 65)

physician activist

Óscar Elías Biscet González is a Cuban physician and an advocate for human rights and democratic freedoms in Cuba. He is also the founder of the Lawton Foundation.

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38. Baciro Djá

1973-. (aged 53)

politician minister

Baciro Djá is a Bissau-Guinean politician who was the prime minister of Guinea-Bissau from 20 August 2015 to 17 September 2015 and from 27 May to 18 November 2016.

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39. Fina García Marruz

1923-2022 (aged 99)

essayist poet writer

Josefina García-Marruz Badía, known artistically as Fina García Marruz, was a Cuban poet and literary researcher.

40. Monika Krause-Fuchs

1941-2019 (aged 78)

university teacher sociologist

Monika Krause-Fuchs was a German sociologist and sex educator who lived and worked in Cuba between 1962 and 1990. She was the first director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX) and played a key role in the development and implementation of a modern, scientific and effective national program for sex education and family planning in Cuba.

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41. Carlos Saladrigas Zayas

1900-1956 (aged 56)

diplomat lawyer politician

Carlos Saladrigas Zayas was a Cuban politician and diplomat.

42. Emilio Núñez Portuondo

1898-1978 (aged 80)

diplomat lawyer politician

Emilio Núñez Portuondo was a Cuban politician, lawyer, and diplomat. He was the 13th Prime Minister of Cuba in 1958. He received the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France among other decorations from many countries.

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43. Yusnier Viera

1982-. (aged 44)

mental calculator mathematician

Yusnier Viera is a Cuban American mental calculator. He is well known as "The Human Calendar" for his world record on calendar dates. On October 31, 2005 he broke for first time the World Record for calendar calculations. At the Mental Calculation World Cup in 2010 he won the calendar category. His current record for most amount of calendar dates...

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44. Juan Padrón

1947-2020 (aged 73)

screenwriter film director painter writer film producer

Juan Manuel Padrón Blanco was a Cuban animation director and comics artist, best known as the creator of the comic strip Elpidio Valdés.

45. Guillermo Fariñas

1962-. (aged 64)

human rights defender dissident military personnel politician psychologist

Guillermo Fariñas Hernández is a Cuban doctor of psychology, independent journalist and political dissident in Cuba. He has conducted 23 hunger strikes over the years to protest various elements of the Cuban government and spent more than 11 years in prison. He vowed that he would die in the struggle against censorship in Cuba.

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46. Rubén Martínez Villena

1899-1934 (aged 35)

poet lawyer writer

Rubén Agnelio Martínez Villena was a Cuban writer, lawyer, and revolutionary leader. He was the ringleader of the Protest of the Thirteen, the first protest of the Cuban intellectual class since the country had gained its independence, and signed the "Manifesto of the Group of Thirteen." He was also the founder of the Minorista Group, a group of Cuban intellectuals...

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47. Ricardo Alarcón

1937-2022 (aged 85)

diplomat politician university teacher

Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada was a Cuban politician. He served as his country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) for nearly 30 years and later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1993. Subsequently, Alarcón was President of the National Assembly of People's Power from 1993 to 2013, and because of this post, was considered the third-most...

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48. Rolando Cubela Secades

1932-2022 (aged 90)

physician military personnel revolutionary politician

Rolando Cubela Secades was a Cuban revolutionary leader who played a vital part in the Cuban Revolution, having been a founding member of the Directorio Revolucionario 13 de Marzo and later the military leader of the DR's Escambray Mountain front, achieving the rank of Commander, the highest military rank in the Revolutionary Army. After the Revolution succeeded in 1959, Cubela...

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49. Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun

1954-. (aged 72)

diplomat politician

Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun is a Sahrawi politician and diplomat serving as Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic since 13 January 2020, marking his third term in office. He previously served as ambassador to Algeria.

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50. Nancy Morejón

1944-. (aged 82)

poet writer

Nancy Morejón is a Cuban poet, critic, teacher, and essayist. She was a recipient of the Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath Award and has been called "the best known and most widely translated woman poet of post-revolutionary Cuba".

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51. Efigenio Ameijeiras

1931-2020 (aged 89)

writer military personnel

Efigenio Ameijeiras Delgado was a Cuban military commander affiliated with Fidel Castro from the 1950s. Son of Manuel Ameijeiras Fontelo, a native of Pontevedra (Spain) and the Cuban María de las Angustias Delgado Romo, from Corral Falso, in Matanzas. At the age of four, his father disappeared, so his mother had to take care of her children alone.

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52. Mónica Palencia

1965-. (aged 61)

lawyer consultant university teacher politician

Mónica Rosa Irene Palencia Núñez is a lawyer who was born in Mexico and she emigrated as an adult to Ecuador. She became the Ecuadorian Minister of the Interior and a citizen of Ecuador in 2023.

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53. Antonio Núñez Jiménez

1923-1998 (aged 75)

politician geographer historian anthropologist photographer

Antonio Núñez Jiménez was a Cuban geographer, speleologist, archaeologist, scientist and revolutionary.

54. Andrés Rivero Agüero

1905-1996 (aged 91)

lawyer politician

Andrés Rivero Agüero was a Cuban politician who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Cuba and was elected president of Cuba in the falsified 1958 Cuban presidential election.

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55. María Payá Acevedo

1989-. (aged 37)

human rights defender

Rosa María Payá Acevedo is a Cuban activist for freedom and human rights. The daughter of activist Oswaldo Payá, head of the Christian Liberation Movement, she took up much of his activist work after he was killed by Ángel Carromero on 22 July 2012; Carromero was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but a 2023 ruling by the Inter-American Commission of...

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56. Pedro Luis Boitel

1931-1972 (aged 41)

poet trade unionist

Pedro Luis Boitel was a Cuban poet and dissident who opposed the governments of both Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro. In 1961, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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57. Federico Laredo Brú

1875-1946 (aged 71)

military personnel lawyer politician

Federico Laredo Brú was an attorney and served as President of Cuba from 1936 to 1940. He was married to Leonor Gomez-Montes. Laredo Bru was a Colonel in the Cuban Liberation Army during the Cuban War of Independence.

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58. Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla

1958-. (aged 68)

politician university teacher lawyer diplomat journalist

Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla is a Cuban diplomat and politician. He is a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba, and has served as Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2009.

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59. Guillermo Iván

1981-. (aged 45)

actor television actor writer film actor television producer

Guillermo Iván Dueñas Lazcano is a Mexican actor, director, writer, and producer. Born in Mexico City, Mexico. He is best known for his characters in Mexican and American films. On television he made himself known as part of the main cast of Telemundo's telenovela Al otro lado del muro. Graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Letters at the University...

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60. Daína Chaviano

1957-. (aged 69)

novelist short story writer writer science fiction writer poet

Daína Chaviano is a Cuban-American writer of French and Asturian descent. She has lived in the United States since 1991.

61. Ignacio Agramonte

1841-1873 (aged 32)

military personnel lawyer politician

Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz was a Cuban revolutionary, who played an important part in the Ten Years' War (1868–1878).

62. Dulce María Loynaz

1902-1997 (aged 95)

poet lawyer writer

Dulce María Loynaz Muñoz was a Cuban poet, and is considered one of the principal figures of Cuban literature. She was awarded the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1992. She earned her Doctorate in Civil Law at University of Havana in 1927.

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63. José de Diego

1866-1918 (aged 52)

politician lawyer writer journalist poet

José de Diego y Martínez was a Puerto Rican statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's political autonomy in union with Spain and later of Puerto Rican independence from the United States who was referred to by his peers as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement".

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64. José Antonio Echeverría

1932-1957 (aged 25)

politician

José Antonio Echeverría Bianchi was a Cuban prominent figure in the Cuban Revolution against President Fulgencio Batista. Echeverría was the President of the Federation of University Students (Federación Estudiantil Universitaria - FEU) and a founding member of the militant organization Directorio Revolucionario 13 de Marzo. He is known for his role in the attack on the Presidential Palace and the...

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65. Enrique Lihn Carrasco

1929-1988 (aged 59)

poet literary critic

Enrique Lihn Carrasco was a Chilean writer, literary critic, and cartoonist, mostly known as a poet, but who also wrote essays, short stories, novels, plays, and comic books.

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66. José Miró Cardona

1902-1974 (aged 72)

lawyer diplomat university teacher politician

José Miró Cardona was a Cuban politician. He served as Prime Minister for a period of some six weeks in early 1959, following his appointment by President Manuel Urrutia on 5 January 1959. On 13 February 1959, Miró unexpectedly resigned and was replaced by Fidel Castro.

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67. Heberto Padilla

1932-2000 (aged 68)

university teacher poet writer

Heberto Juan Padilla, was a Cuban poet put to the center of the so-called Padilla affair when he was imprisoned for criticizing the Cuban government. He was born in Puerta de Golpe, Pinar del Río, Cuba. His first book of poetry, Las rosas audaces (The Audacious Roses), was published in 1949. Although Padilla initially supported the revolution led by Fidel...

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68. Minou Tavárez Mirabal

1956-. (aged 70)

diplomat hispanist politician

Minerva Josefina Tavárez Mirabal, known as Minou, is a philologist, professor and politician from the Dominican Republic. Tavárez served as deputy for the National District in the lower House for three terms from 2002 until 2016; she served as deputy minister of foreign affairs from 1996 to 2000.

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69. Gaspar Llamazares

1957-. (aged 69)

politician

Gaspar Llamazares Trigo is a Spanish politician. He was the leader of the leftist coalition United Left (IU) from 2001 to 2008, as the General Coordinator.

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70. Yoani Sánchez

1975-. (aged 51)

human rights defender writer blogger Internet celebrity politician

Yoani María Sánchez Cordero is a Cuban blogger who has achieved international fame and multiple international awards for her critical portrayal of life in Cuba under its current government.

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71. José Ramón Machado Ventura

1930-. (aged 96)

physician military personnel politician

José Ramón Machado Ventura is a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the First Vice President of the Council of State of Cuba from 2008 to 2013. With the election of Raúl Castro as President of the Council of State on 24 February 2008, Machado was elected to succeed him as First Vice President, serving until 2013. He was elected...

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72. Jorge Iván Ospina

1965-. (aged 61)

politician physician

Jorge Iván Ospina Gómez is a former Colombian Senator and former mayor of Santiago de Cali, the third-largest city in Colombia and the economic hub for Southwestern Colombia. Ospina is also a doctor who has worked in the hospital of the University of Valle, known as the Hospital Universitario del Valle Evaristo Garcia. Ospina's father, Ivan Marino Ospina, was a...

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73. Roberto Ampuero Espinoza

1953-. (aged 73)

screenwriter writer novelist politician short story writer

Roberto Ampuero is a Chilean author, columnist, and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, a position he held from March 11, 2018 to June 13, 2019. His first novel ¿Quién mató a Kristián Kustermann? was published in 1993 and in it he introduced his private eye, Cayetano Brulé, winning the Revista del Libro prize of El Mercurio. Since...

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74. Zoé Valdés

1959-. (aged 67)

novelist poet writer

Zoé Valdés is a Cuban novelist, poet, scriptwriter, film director and blogger. She studied at the Instituto Superior Pedagógico Enrique José Varona, but did not graduate. From 1984 to 1988, she worked for the Delegación de Cuba at UNESCO in Paris and in the Oficina Cultural de la Misión de Cuba in Paris. From 1990 to 1995, she was an...

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75. Anselmo Alliegro y Milá

1899-1961 (aged 62)

politician

Anselmo Alliegro y Milá was a Cuban politician who served as Prime minister of Cuba.

76. Félix Varela

1788-1853 (aged 65)

Catholic priest theologian philosopher politician

Félix Varela y Morales was a Cuban Catholic priest and independence leader who is regarded as a notable figure in the Catholic Church in both his native Cuba and the United States, where he also served.

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77. Julio Antonio Mella

1903-1929 (aged 26)

politician

Julio Antonio Mella McPartland was a Cuban political activist, journalist, communist revolutionary, and one of the founders of the original Communist Party of Cuba. Mella studied law at the University of Havana but was expelled in 1925. He had worked against the government of Gerardo Machado, which had grown increasingly repressive. Mella left the country, reaching Central America. He traveled...

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78. José Lezama Lima

1910-1976 (aged 66)

poet lawyer writer thinker jurist poet

José María Andrés Fernando Lezama Lima was a Cuban writer, poet and essayist. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Cuban and Latin American literature. His novel Paradiso is one of the most important works in Spanish and one of the best novels of the 20th Century according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

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79. Javier Heraud

1942-1963 (aged 21)

poet teacher writer

Javier Heraud Pérez was a Peruvian poet and member of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN). In his early life he studied at Markham College and later he continued his studies at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

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80. Leonardo Padura Fuentes

1955-. (aged 71)

screenwriter writer journalist film screenwriter author

Leonardo de la Caridad Padura Fuentes is a Cuban novelist and journalist best known for his Mario Conde detective novels and for El hombe que amaba a los perros (2009). In 2012, Padura was awarded the National Prize for Literature, Cuba's national literary award. In 2015, he was awarded the Premio Principe de Asturias de las Letras of Spain.

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81. Tamara Bunke

1937-1967 (aged 30)

revolutionary translator partisan military personnel journalist

Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider was an Argentine-born East German revolutionary known for her involvement in leftist politics and liberation movements.

82. Nicolás Guillén

1902-1989 (aged 87)

poet writer journalist

Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista was a Cuban poet, journalist and political activist. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.

83. Osvaldo Dorticós

1919-1983 (aged 64)

lawyer politician

Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado was a Cuban politician who served as the president of Cuba from 1959 to 1976. He was a close ally of Cuban revolutionary and longtime leader Fidel Castro.

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84. Ramón Castro Ruz

1924-2016 (aged 92)

farmer politician

Ramón Eusebio Castro Ruz was a Cuban revolutionary, activist and farmer. He was the eldest brother of Fidel and Raúl Castro and a key figure of the early days of the Cuban Revolution. He kept a much lower profile than his brothers throughout his life, focusing on agriculture.

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85. Alberto Granado

1922-2011 (aged 89)

scientist film actor cinematographer screenwriter physician

Alberto Granado Jiménez was an Argentine–Cuban biochemist, doctor, author, and scientist. A youthful friend and traveling companion of Che Guevara during their 1952 motorcycle tour in Latin America, Granado later founded the University of Santiago de Cuba School of Medicine. He authored the memoir Traveling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary, which served as a reference for the...

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86. Mirta Díaz-Balart

1928-2024 (aged 96)

Mirta Francisca de la Caridad Díaz-Balart y Gutiérrez was a Cuban woman who was the first wife of Fidel Castro. They married in 1948, had one son together, and divorced in 1955.

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87. Carlos Prío Socarrás

1903-1977 (aged 74)

lawyer politician

Carlos Manuel Prío Socarrás was a Cuban politician. He served as the President of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952, three months before new elections were to be held. He was the first president of Cuba to be born in an independent Cuba and the last to...

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88. Juan Almeida Bosque

1927-2009 (aged 82)

composer poet military personnel politician

Juan Almeida Bosque was a Cuban politician and one of the original commanders of the insurgent forces in the Cuban Revolution. After the rebels took power in 1959, he was a prominent figure in the Communist Party of Cuba. At the time of his death, he was a Vice-President of the Cuban Council of State and was its third ranking...

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89. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo

1819-1874 (aged 55)

composer military personnel lawyer politician

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo was a Cuban revolutionary hero and First President of Cuba in Arms in 1868. Céspedes, who was a plantation owner in Cuba, freed his slaves and made the declaration of Cuban independence in 1868 which started the Ten Years' War (1868–1878). This was the first of three wars of independence, the third of which,...

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90. Ramón Grau

1887-1969 (aged 82)

university teacher physician politician

Ramón Grau San Martín was a Cuban physician who served as President of Cuba from 1933 to 1934 and from 1944 to 1948. He was the last president (other than Carlos Manuel Piedra who was interim president for one day) born during Spanish rule. He is sometimes called Raymond Grau San Martin in English.

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91. Celia Sánchez

1920-1980 (aged 60)

military personnel politician

Celia Sánchez Manduley was a Cuban revolutionary, politician, researcher and archivist. She was a key member of the Cuban Revolution and a close colleague of Fidel Castro.

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92. Delia Fiallo

1924-2021 (aged 97)

writer screenwriter

Delia Fiallo was a Cuban author and screenwriter who lived in Miami, Florida. She was born in Havana, Cuba and raised in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba. She was one of the most distinguished representatives of the contemporary romance novel, dabbling in various genres which appeared in her literary output.

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93. Fidel Castro

1926-2016 (aged 90)

revolutionary lawyer partisan statesperson politician

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as prime minister from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011. Under his administration,...

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94. Mijaín López

1982-. (aged 44)

amateur wrestler

Mijaín López Núñez is a Cuban retired Greco-Roman wrestler. Widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, López is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, for a total of 10 world gold medals (second highest, behind Aleksandr Karelin's twelve), and a five-time Pan American Games champion. He is the younger brother of Michel López Núñez, a...

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95. La Lupe

1939-1992 (aged 53)

singer composer singer-songwriter

Guadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond, better known as La Lupe, was a Cuban singer of boleros, guarachas and Latin soul known for her energetic, sometimes controversial performances. Following the release of her first album in 1961, La Lupe moved from Havana to New York and signed with Tico Records, which marked the beginning of a prolific and successful career in the...

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96. Fernando Pérez

1944-. (aged 82)

film director screenwriter

Fernando Pérez is a Colombian physicist, software developer, and free software advocate. He is best known as the creator of the IPython programming environment, for which he received the 2012 Free Software Award from the Free Software Foundation and for his work on Project Jupyter for which he received the 2017 ACM Software System Award. He is a fellow of...

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97. José Fernández Madrid

1789-1830 (aged 41)

politician writer diplomat journalist physician

José Luis Álvaro Alvino Fernández Madrid was a Neogranadine statesman, physician, scientist and writer, who was President of the interim triumvirate of the United Provinces of New Granada in 1814, and President of the United Provinces of the New Granada in 1816. After the Spanish retook New Granada, he was barred from the country and was exiled in Havana, where...

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98. Felipe Kast

1977-. (aged 49)

economist consultant politician

Felipe José Kast Sommerhoff is a Chilean economist, researcher, consultant, and politician who has served as parliamentary and minister in his country. He is the nephew of President José Antonio Kast.

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99. Argeliers León

1918-1991 (aged 73)

university teacher musicologist composer

Argeliers León Pérez was a Cuban composer and musicologist.

100. Dipuo Peters

1960-. (aged 66)

politician minister

Elizabeth Dipuo Peters is a South African politician who is the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development of the Republic of South Africa from 7 March 2023. She was previously the Minister of Transport from 10 July 2013 until 30 March 2017, in the Zuma administration, and former Minister of Energy from 2009 to 2013 having served as successor to...

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