This is a list of notable Cubans , ordered alphabetically by first name within each category.
Additional lists For Cuban-Americans please see List of Cuban Americans
Art and entertainment Actors Ana de Armas, actress Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado , actress and singer Andy García , actor Roberto Escobar, actor César Évora , actor Daisy Fuentes, actress Desi Arnaz, actor Emiliano Díez , actor Enrique Molina, actor Faizon Love, actor and comedian Francisco Gattorno, actor Julio Oscar Mechoso, actor Luis Oquendo, actor Luisa Martínez Casado (1860-1925), actress Manela Bustamante, actress María Conchita Alonso , actress Mario Cimarro, actor Mario Ernesto Sánchez , actor and founder of Teatro Avante Renny Arozarena , actor Steven Bauer , actor Velia Martínez , actress and singer William Levy, actor Nobel Vega , actor, "Tio Nobel" Architects Artists, photographers and fashion designers Agustín Cárdenas , sculptor Alberto Korda , photographer Alexandre Arrechea , painter, sculptor Amelia Peláez , painter Baruj Salinas , painter Carlos Enríquez , painter Fidelio Ponce de León , painter Herman Puig (born German Puig Paredes), photographer Humberto Jesús Castro García , painter José Bernal, painter José Vilalta Saavedra , sculptor Josignacio , creator of plastic paint medium, contemporary painter Juan José Sicre , sculptor Juan T. Vázquez Martín , painter Lourdes Gomez Franca , painter Luis Castaneda , photographer Mario Perez, painter Miguel Fleitas , painter, photographer Miguel Rodez , painter, sculptor Pedro Álvarez Castelló , painter Rafael Consuegra , sculptor Raúl Corrales , photographer Raúl Martínez, pop artist, painter Rene Mederos , poster artist and graphic designer René Portocarrero , painter Tomas Sanchez , painter Victor Manuel , painter Waldo Diaz-Balart , painter Wifredo Lam , painter Authors and poets Alejo Carpentier ,[1] novelist Antonio Benitez-Rojo , author Brígida Agüero , poet Daína Chaviano , author Carilda Oliver Labra , poet Domitila García de Coronado , writer and journalist Dulce María Loynaz , author Edmundo Desnoes , author Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda , author, poet Guillermo Cabrera Infante ,[1] author Heberto Padilla , poet Héctor Zumbado , writer, journalist, humorist, critic José Ignacio Rivero , author and journalist Antonio Rodríguez Salvador , poet, author José Lezama Lima ,[1] author, poet José María Heredia y Campuzano , poet José Martí , author, poet, journalist Julián del Casal , 19th-century poet Leonardo Padura Fuentes , novelist, journalist Mariano Brull , author Nancy Morejón , author José Gómez-Sicre , art critic and author Nicolás Guillén ,[1] poet Norberto Fuentes , author Pedro Juan Gutiérrez , author, poet, painter Pedro Luis Boitel , poet Raúl Rivero , poet and journalist Reinaldo Arenas ,[1] author Severo Sarduy ,[1] poet Virgilio Piñera , author, playwright, poet, short-story writer and essayist Zoé Valdés , author Cirilo Villaverde Composers Alejandro García Caturla , symphonic composer Mariá Álvarez Rios , composer Antonio María Romeu , composer Arsenio Rodríguez , developer of the rumba Didier Hernández , singer composer Ernesto Lecuona , often regarded as the greatest Cuban composer Esteban Salas y Castro , 18th century Cuban baroque composer Gonzalo Roig , often regarded as one of the greatest composers of Cuba, "Quiere me mucho"/ Cecilia Valdez Ignacio Cervantes , Chopinesque piano composer José White Lafitte , violinist and composer Leo Brouwer , guitarist and composer Yalil Guerra , composer Amadeo Roldán , composer and violinist Dámaso Pérez Prado , developer of the mambo Armando Rodriguez-Gonzalez , composer Antonio Rodríguez Ferrer , composer René Touzet , composer, bandleader and pianist Flores Chaviano , guitarist and composer Danilo Avilés , composer Magaly Ruiz , composer José Ardévol , composer Harold Gramatges , composer Carlos Fariñas , composer Roberto Valera , composer Julián Orbón , composer Margarita Lecuona , singer and composer Chess Musicians Aida Diestro , pianist, arranger Albita , singer Alfredo de la Fé , musician Adalberto Álvarez , pianist, director, composer Ángel Reyes , violinist AJ McLean , singer, member of American boyband The Backstreet Boys Armando Peraza , percussionist Arturo Sandoval , trumpeter Arsenio Rodríguez , composer Benny Moré , singer, songwriter, conductor, arranger Bola de Nieve , singer, pianist Camila Cabello , musician, songwriter, actress Cándido Fabré , musician, songwriter, singer Carlos Manuel Pruneda , singer Carlos Varela, singer, songwriter Celia Cruz , singer Chocolate MC, el rey del Reparto Celina González , singer-songwriter Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso , pianist, musician Christina Milian , singer Chucho Valdés , pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger Compay Segundo , musician, songwriter Conchita Espinosa , pianist, teacher Cuban Link , rapper Cubanito 20.02 , hip-hop band Dave Lombardo , drummer David Calzado , musician Didier Hernández , singer, songwriter Donna Maria Martinez , guitarist and singer Eddy Zervigon , flautist and bandleader Elena Burke , singer El Medico , timba musician Eliades Ochoa , guitarist and singer Emilio Estefan , producer, composer Ernesto Lecuona , pianist, composer Esther Borja , singer Eusebio Delfín , singer Francisco Aguabella , percussionist German Nogueira Gomez , songwriter, composer, producer Gloria Estefan , singer, composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba , pianist Guillermo Portabales , singer, songwriter Guillermo Rubalcaba , musician Harold Lopez Nussa , jazz pianist Horacio Gutiérrez , concert pianist Hubert de Blanck , pianist, composer Ignacio Piñeiro , composer Ibrahim Ferrer , musician Issac Delgado , singer Jacobo Rubalcaba , musician Jorge Bolet , concert pianist Juan Croucier , bassist Juan Formell , composer Juan de Marcos González , musician Juana Zayas, concert pianist La Lupe , singer Lena , singer Lissette , singer Magali del Valle, opera singer[2] Malena Burke , singer Manuel Barrueco , classical guitarist María Teresa Vera , composer, guitarist, singer Mayra Verónica , singer Miguel Matamoros , singer, composer Moisés Valle , musician Moisés Simons , composer Mongo Santamaría , jazz musician Moraima Secada , singer Nelson Martinez, baritone Ñico Saquito , composer, singer Olga Guillot , singer Omara Portuondo , singer Orlando "Cachaito" López , bassist Pablo Milanés , singer, songwriter Pío Leyva , singer Pitbull, rapper Raul Paz , singer Rey Ruiz , singer Rita Montaner , singer Roberto Faz , singer, conductor Rubén González, pianist Rudy Sarzo , rock bassist Sen Dog , rapper Silvio Rodríguez , singer, songwriter Tico Torres , drummer, percussionist Willy Chirino , singer, songwriter Voltaire (musician), musician Xavier Cugat , musician Yalil Guerra , producer, musician, composer Yotuel Romero , rapper Film directors Journalists Dancers Alicia Alonso , Prima Ballerina Assoluta, director of the Cuban National Ballet (Ballet Nacional de Cuba) Carlos Acosta , dancer Sadaise Arencibia , star dancer with the Cuban National Ballet Fernando Bujones , dancer Jose Manuel Carreño , American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Lydia Diaz Cruz , prima ballerina Miguel Campaneria , ballet dancer, currently artistic director of the National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico Vida Guerra , video dancer Yat-Sen Chang , principal dancer, English National Ballet Other entertainment Alvarez Guedes , comedian and author Ana María Polo , television personality and lawyer Alina María Hernández , "Cachita", television personality Cristina Saralegui , magazine editor, talk show host (Cristina ) and actress Vida Guerra , model/actress Lili Estefan , television personality and former model Mauricio Zeilic , television personality Mayra Verónica , model Nelson Ascencio , comedian (Madtv ) Pedro Zamora , AIDS activist, featured on The Real World: San Francisco Raúl De Molina , television personality Raúl Musibay , Food Network chef and author Rosaura 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 Biaiedo,チュニドラ 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 Desupaine,便器 Eli Marrero , New York Mets Esteban Bellán , first Latin American professional baseball player to play in the United States Germán Mesa , trainer for the Cuban national baseball team Jack 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 Fame José 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 Fame Mike 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 personality Orlando 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 boxer Ariel Hernández, Middleweight Olympic boxer Armando Martínez, light middle-weight Olympic boxer Benny Paret , boxer Eliseo Castillo , boxer Félix Savón , Olympic boxer Florentino Fernández, boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz , amateur boxer Joel Casamayor , boxer Jorge Rubio, boxing trainer José Nápoles , boxer Kid Charol , boxer Kid Chocolate , boxer Kid Gavilán , boxer Lorenzo Aragon Armenteros , Olympic welterweight boxer Luis Manuel Rodríguez , boxer Mario César Kindelán Mesa , Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Raúl González, boxer Roberto Balado , Olympic super heavyweight boxer Sugar Ramos , world champion boxer Teófilo Stevenson , amateur boxer Yan Bartelemí , light flyweight gold medal winning boxer Yanqui Díaz , boxer Yudel Johnson Cedeno light-welterweight Olympic boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa , flyweight Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Athletes Alberto Juantorena , track Aliecer Urrutia , triple jump Ana Fidelia Quirot , 800m Anier García , hurdler Dayron Robles , hurdling athlete Emeterio González , javelin thrower Héctor Herrera, sprinter Ioamnet Quintero , high jumper Iván García, sprinter Iván Pedroso , long jump Javier Sotomayor , track and field record setter Joel Isasi , sprinter Joel Lamela , sprinter Jorge Aguilera , sprinter Lázaro Martínez, sprinter Luis Alberto Pérez-Rionda , sprinter Osleidys Menéndez , javelin Roberto Hernández Roberto Moya , discus throw Víctor Moya , high jumper Yargelis Savigne , jump Yarisley Silva , pole vaulter Yipsi Moreno , hammer thrower Yoandri Betanzos , triple jump Yoel García , triple jumper Yoel Hernández, hurdler Yudelkis Fernández , long jumper Yunaika Crawford , hammer thrower Yuniel Hernández , hurdler Swimming Other Deborah Andollo , holds world records in free diving Alberto Delgado , soccer Ivan Dominguez , two time gold medalist in the Pan American Games and Cuban national champion in cycling Héctor Socorro , footballer Ibrahim Rojas , flatwater canoer Juan Tuñas , former Cuban footballer Manrique Larduet , gymnast Rafael A. Lecuona, gymnast Rey Ángel Martínez , soccer Tomás Fernández, footballer in the 1938 World Cup Yanelis Yuliet Labrada Diaz , Olympic silver medallist in Taekwondo Maykel Galindo , soccer Jorge Sánchez Salgado , volleyball player 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 minister Fidel 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 Cuba Juan Almeida Bosque , third ranking member of the Cuban Council of State Luis Posada Carriles , Cuban paramilitary leader, accused terrorist Mariela Castro , director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education and daughter of Raúl Castro Oscar Elías Biscet , physician and dissident and founder of the Lawton Foundation , currently jailed Oswaldo 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 Assembly Roberto Fernández Retamar , President of the Casa de las Américas Ricardo Alarcón , President of the Cuban National Assembly Rosa Elena Simeón Negrín , former Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment Pedro Pablo Prada Quintero , diplomat Juan Valdés Figueroa , diplomat Historical Abel Santamaría , Cuban revolutionary Alcibiades Hidalgo , former ambassador to the UN Ana 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 1958 Anselmo Alliegro , acting president of Cuba for one day (1–2 January 1959) after the departure of General Fulgencio Batista from the country Antonio Guiteras , politician and revolutionary Antonio Maceo , revolutionary, military strategist Armando Hart Dávalos , politician and Communist leader Camilo Cienfuegos , Cuban revolutionary Carlos Hevia , provisional president of Cuba 1934 Pilar Jorge de Tella , suffragist Carlos Manuel Piedra , acting president of Cuba for one day (2 January 1959) after the departure of General Fulgencio Batista from the country Carlos Prío Socarrás , former President of Cuba Celia Sánchez , Cuban revolutionary and Secretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Cosme Torres Espinoza , ambassador to Zimbabwe Eduardo Chibás , Cuban politician who used radio to broadcast his political views against Batista's government to the public Federico Laredo Brú , President of Cuba from 1936 to 1940 Fernando Tarrida del Mármol , Cuban anarchist Fabio Grobart , Communist leader Fulgencio Batista , former Cuban President Frank País , 20th century revolutionary Gerardo Machado , Cuban president 1920–33 Gustavo Arcos , Cuban Revolutionary later became an imprisoned dissident Huber Matos , Cuban Revolutionary Ignacio Agramonte , 19th century Cuban revolutionary Jorge Mas Canosa , founder of the Cuban American National Foundation José Miró Cardona , President of Cuba in 1959 José Martí , poet, philosopher, politician, writer, revolutionary Juan Carlos Robinson Agramonte , former member of the Cuban politburo and first Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Cuban Communist Party in Santiago de Cuba Julio Antonio Mella , founder of the original Cuban Communist Party Jorge Payret , diplomat and academic Leopoldo Cancio , deputy and Sectetary of Education Manuel Piñeiro , first head of the Cuban General Intelligence Directorate Manuel Urrutia Lleó , provisional Cuban President January to July 1959 Miguel Mariano Gómez , President of Cuba for seven months in 1936 Paul Lafargue , Cuban-born French Communist and son-in-law to Karl Marx Pedro Pablo Cazañas , Cuban judge and politician Rafael Diaz-Balart , Cuban politician and majority leader during presidency of Batista Ramón Grau , Cuban president for two terms 1933, 1940–44 Saturnino and Mariano Lora , brothers and 19th century revolutionaries Vilma Espín Guillois , President of the Cuban Federation of Women , wife of Raúl Castro Virgilio 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 War Alberto 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 independence Arnaldo Ochoa , Cuban general Calixto García , Cuban soldier in the Ten Years' War Carlos Manuel de Céspedes , Cuban general in the war of independence against the Spanish Eliseo Reyes Rodríguez , Cuban guerrillero Emilio 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 War Jesús Sosa Blanco , captain in the Cuban army under Fulgencio Batista José Braulio Alemán , Cuban general in the Spanish–American War José Miguel Gómez , Cuban General in the war of independence against the Spanish Julius 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 War Manuel Artime , leader of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 Máximo Gómez , 19th-century leader of Cuban forces in the wars of independence Pedro Luis Diaz Lanz , chief air force commander and member of Operation 40 Víctor Dreke , Communist leader and a general in the Revolutionary Armed Forces Tomás Diez Acosta , revolutionary soldier and historian Víctor Ivo Acuña Velázquez , military commander Pilar 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 , physician Carlos Juan Finlay , epidemiologist, proposed the mode of transmission of yellow fever and was instrumental in assisting Walter Reed with his studies in Cuba Juan Gundlach , 19th century naturalist and taxonomist Celia Hart , Cuban physicist Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez , first Cuban cosmonaut and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the U.S. to travel to space Hilda Molina , former chief neurosurgeon in Cuba Felipe Poey , zoologist Other categories Sebastian Arcos Bergnes , human rights activist Ramón Castro, older brother of Fidel and Raúl Castro Mirta Diaz-Balart , Fidel Castro's first wife Enriqueta García y Martín , prominent Cuban socialite, businesswoman and landowner Delfín Fernández , High ranking government official, defected to Spain Gregorio Fuentes , Cuban nautical captain Elián González , boy who came to the US, leading to a custody battle between his American family and his father in Cuba Jose Miguel Battle, Sr. , former Godfather of the Cuban Mafia Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirven , Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice at the Hague Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón , educator and college president Jesús Permuy , human rights activist, architect, urban planner, community leader Ignacio José Urrutia (born 1730), historian Nitza Villapol , Cuban chef Non-resident Cubans References ^ a b c d e f Bloom, Harold (1994). The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages . NY/San Diego/London: Harcourt Brace & Company. pp. 559–560. ISBN 978-1-57322-514-4 . ^ "Cuban Senoritas, Winners of Radio Contest, Arrive: Tampa Tribune, July 17, 1938". The Tampa Tribune . 17 July 1938. p. 24. ^ "LORD MANDEVILLE'S WEDDING.;". The New York Times . 23 May 1876. Retrieved 12 July 2015 . , Retrieved 5 December 2012. See also Cuba portal