7 strong and successful Latina women who have really made history

During her first space flight, Ellen conduced important research into the Earth’s ozone layer. Later she went on three more space flights, spending 1,000 hours in space in total. Ochoa also became the first Hispanic director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Joan was a passionate human right activist and never stopped her fight against war. Her performance at the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963 made it into history. “We are not afraid today, oh deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome someday”, she sang.

Dolores Huerta did an excellent job to improve social conditions for farm workers. She became the co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which would later become the United Farm Workers. In 1965, Dolores helped to organize the Delano grape strike in California. Today she continues to speak out on such social issues as discrimination and income inequality.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen succeeded at being first. The list of her accomplishments is truly inspiring: she became the first Latina to serve in the Florida house, the first Latina in the Florida senate, the first Latina to serve in the US House of Representatives, the first Latina and the first Cuban-American in Congress, and the first woman to ever be chair of a regular standing committee of the House. Today Ileana remains the most senior Republican woman in the U.S. House and in Congress.

Born in 1914, Julia became a talented and influential poet. Her poems were mostly about the beauty of her native country, reflecting her sustainable fight for Puerto Rican independence. Julia de Burgos was also a civil rights activist for women and African/Afro-Caribbean writers.

Maria Elena Salinas is definitely one of the most recognized Hispanic female journalists in the US. In 2012, Maria was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Emmy. She founded the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and is constantly helping Latino youth into journalism.

Selena brought Mexican Tejano music to the masses and became one of the most influential Latin artists in history. She won a Grammy award in 1993 and a gold record in 1994 with Amor Prohibido. Selena was widely known as the "Queen of Tejano Music". In 1995, Selena was killed by the president of her fun club.