Famous Latinx Birthdays

Photo from elliberal.com.ar, 2012. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Sabrina Garciarena! (1982-     ) An Argentinian actress who most recently was one of the protagonists on the Argentinian telenovela Los ricos no piden permiso,  Garciarena has  appeared in many television series and movies. In 2009 she was nominated for three Premios Goya for her work in the movie Pagafantas, and in 2010 she won a Premio Cóndor de Plata for her work in the movie Felicitas . Garciarena has a son (León, 2014) with journalist Germán Paoloski. For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK

Photo from 2018.miamifilmfestival.com. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a Dolores Fonzi! (1978-     ) An Argentinian actress who has appeared in many critically acclaimed films (see the trailer for 2017's Paulina HERE ), Fonzi began her career on the television series La Nena in 1996. She has since appeared in many television shows, as well as many movies, such as  Plata quemada (2000), Esperando al mesías (2000), El fondo del mar (2003), El Aura (2005), Truman (2015), Paulina (2015) and El futuro que viene (2017). Fonzi has two children with Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, Lázaro, born in 2009, and Libertad, born in 2011.  Fonzi and García Bernal split in 2014.  For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.  

Photo from arte-online.net. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Cristian Mac Entyre! (1968-      ) A well-known Argentinian artist who has exhibited his work in Argentina, the United States, and Russia, Mac Entyre is the son of Eduardo Mac Entyre (1929-2014), founder of the Generative Art movement. He was born in Barracas, Buenos Aires and graduated from Colegio Cardenal Cisneros before attending the University of Buenos Aires, where he studied graphic design. Because of his mother's love for music, he also learned to play the guitar and cello, which has become an important part of his work. Click HERE for more information (in Spanish) and HERE to see some of his work. For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.

Photo from biography.com. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Lionel Messi (Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini)! (1987-       ) An Argentinian soccer star who plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentinian national team, Messi is often considered the best in the world. He has a record five European Golden Shoes and a record-tying five Balon D'Or awards.  He has won 9 La Liga titles with FC Barcelona and holds the record for most official goals scored in La Liga. Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina, the third of four children. His father was a steel factory manager, and his mother worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop. His maternal grandmother, Celia, had a huge influence on his life and often took him to training and matches. She died when he was 11, and since then he has looked up and pointed to the sky after his goals in a tribute to her. At age 13 Messi enrolled in Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia. He stayed with his father while his mother move...

Photo from clarin.com. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Javier Pastore! (1989-      ) A soccer player from Argentina who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germaine and the Argentina national team, Pastore lives in Paris with wife Chiaria Piccone, an Italian model and television host, and their two children (Martina, 2015, and Santiago, 2018). Pastore was born in Córdoba, Argentina to a middle class Italian-Argentinian family. He got his nickname, "El Flaco" (Skinny), in childhood. After he started playing soccer for his school, his coach noticed his talent and encouraged his parents to get him involved in Argentina's youth soccer system. He started playing for Talleres soon after. Little by little he rose through the ranks. In 2008 he turned down several prestigious clubs to play for Palermo, in Italy, so that he could be near extended family. He moved to Pari's Saint Germaine in 2011 for a reported 39.8 million euros. In November of 2015, Pastore lost two f...

Photo from clarin.com. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Liz Solari! (1983-      ) An Argentine actress who began her career as a model after winning an International Competition in 2001, she is currently a UNICEF ambassador for Argentina as well as host of the travel show El Resto del mundo (click HERE for the promo video). As noted in the video, she was born in Colombia, raised in Argentina, and has lived around the world due to her career. In 2008 she was in El Desafío , the Argentinian version of High School Musical (click HERE ). In 2010, her boyfriend, model Leonardo Verhagen, died in her arms from cardiac arrest. She processed her grief and trauma by getting into meditation, yoga, and other spiritual exercises (read more, in Spanish, HERE ).  In 2018 she collaborated on the book Meditaciones para un viaje interior with her meditation teacher Cher Chevalier (click HERE ). For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.

Image from YouTube video of Mascherano's best tackles. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Javier Mascherano! (1984-      ) A soccer player from Argentina, Javier "El Jefecito" Mascherano won five La Liga Championships, two UEFA Champions League Titles, and two FIFA World Cup titles with FC Barcelona. He joined the team in 2010 after playing for several other clubs. Mascherano has also made 143 appearances for Argentina's National Team and won two gold medals with them, at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. He was the captain of that team from 2008 to 2011. Mascherano and wife Fernanda have three children, Lola (July 2006), Alma (July 2009), and Bruno (April 2017). He currently plays for a league in China. To see a highlights video of Mascherano playing for FC Barcelona, click HERE . **Sad footnote: Mascherano was sentenced to a year in prison in 2016 for not paying $1.5 million in taxes in Spain in 2010-2011, though he never had to serve the time and instead...

Photo from news.sky.com. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Sergio "Kun" Aguero! (1988-       ) Sergio "Kun" Aguero (nicknamed Kun, after his favorite cartoon character, by his grandparents many years ago in his native Argentina) is considered one of the best strikers in professional soccer today. In 2003, at 15 years old and 35 days old, he was the youngest player to debut in the Argentine Primera División, breaking the record previously set by Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona in 1976. In 2006, he moved to Europe to play for Atlético Madrid, and he turned heads by scoring 101 goals in 234 appearances. Aguero moved to England to play for Manchester United in 2011. He has played in many Copa América tournaments and won gold with Argentina in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Aguero and former wife Gianinna Maradona, the youngest daughter of Diego Maradona, have a son, Benjamín, born in 2009 (see young Benjamín's soccer skills in a 2010 video HER...

Click HERE for Emanero's website.  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Emanero (Federico Andrés Giannoni)! (1987-     ) An Argentinian rapper who started performing when he was 15, Emanero released his first demo, Mi Primer Maqueta , in 2004. He attracted the attention of Sigla Music , an independent label, who then helped him turn his demo into an album, Bienvenidos a Mi Mundo , which sold over two million copies in two years. His second album, Arjé , produced by independent label Benditas Producciones , included socially conscious songs such as Más tenemos, Más Queremos and Miedos   (which includes the line "La Argentina sangra y todos bailan por un sueño.") In 2013 Emanero released Si no haces nada sos parte , which became the theme song of Argentina's national anti-bullying campaign. Emanero's third album, Tres , was released in 2014. As the host of the show AcciónArte , produced by FWTV, Emanero investigates different social issues (the show premiered last year...

¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Luis Scola! (1980-     ) Scola at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Río, from an article in The Boston Globe about their win over Brazil. Click HERE .  A professional basketball player from Argentina, Scola was 15 when he made his professional debut with Club Ferro Basquet in Buenos Aires. When he was 17, he moved to Gijon, Spain to play in a small club there. Though picked late in the 2nd round of the 2002 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, he continued playing in Spain for five more years (with the Spurs happy to let him stay there and develop as a player) until he was finally signed as a 27-year-old rookie by the Houston Rockets in 2007. He was then voted to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. During his NBA career, which only ended in 2017, Scola also played for the Phoenix Suns, the Indiana Pacers, the Toronto Raptors, and the Brooklyn Nets. He also played for Argentina in multiple Olympics, winning gold in 2004 (the U.S. won bronze that ye...