Eunice Kim, staff writer
Meet the Celebrities
1.Dara Torres is a Cuban-American Olympic swimmer from Beverly Hills, Calif. She started competing internationally when she was 14. At 41, she became the oldest swimmer in the Olympics when she competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. She is the first U.S. swimmer to compete in five Olympics and to hold the U.S. record in 50m freestyle, and winning a total of 12 medals, including a gold medal at the U.S. Nationals in 2009.
2. Freddie James Prinze Jr. is a Puerto Rican actor from Los Angeles, Calif. In 2000, he was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in People magazine. He has appeared in many movies, including Scooby Doo(2004) and Mutant-X(2001).
3. Allison Iraheta is a Salvadoran-American singer from Glendale, Calif. She later moved to Los Angeles, where she auditioned for American Idol at age 16 and won a golden ticket to Hollywood. There she passed in the top four with her “mature,” as stated in her website, singing voice. She is currently touring with the American Idol crew and preparing to record her first album.
4. Ana Menéndez is a Cuban-American writer and journalist from Los Angeles, Calif. She won many prizes, including a Pushcart Prize in 2001, and is most noted for her book “In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd”, which was written in 2001, for winning the New York Times Notable Award in 2001. “The Last War”, written in 2009, was chosen as one of the top 100 books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Menéndez is also a prize-winning columnist for The Miami Herald.
5. Mark Vallen is a Mexican-American painter from Los Angeles, Calif., who popularized the slogan “No human being is illegal” on campaign posters to secure the rights of undocumented Central American war refugees in the U.S.
6. Rigoberta Menchú Tum, from Guatemala, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for her work for Indian rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation in the Western Hemisphere. She is the youngest person to earn the prize. She was born on Jan. 9, 1959, and started her role as an activist at age 10.
Interested in learning about the history of Hispanic Heritage Month? Check out https://beverlyhighlights.com/2013/10/01/understanding-…heritage-month/ .
