Famous People

Famous People of the Valley and South Texas

Over the years, South Texas has produced a variety of talented people that have made an impact in their fields. Whether they are writers, athletes, actors, or educators, all these individuals are representative of the spirit of Texas.

Gloria Anzaldua, writer Leo Araguz: NFL sports Ramon Ayala: musician/composer Aida Barrera: creator of "carascolendas," syndicated TV children program Freddy Gonzalez: Vietnam hero Federico Peña: U.S. Dept. of Transportation Jovita Idar: founder Primer Congreso Femenil Harlon Block: Iwo Jima Memorial hero Kika De La Garza: U.S. House of Representatives	Ramon Ayala
Gonzalez	Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza: Hero of Batalla de Puebla, 5 de Mayo Freddy Fender: singer/actor Pat Hingle: actor Amanda McBroom: singer/composer/actor Selena: singer Hector Garcia: founder American GI Forum Juan Nepomuceno (Cheno) Cortina: Lydia Mendoza: singer/composer, "la golondrina del valle Lloyd Bentsen: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Narciso Martinez: "Father" of Conjunto music
Gregorio Cortez Juanita Valez Cox: Director United Farm Workers, South Texas Ruben Hinojosa: U.S. House of Representative Coy Detmer: professional football Jaime Garza: World Champion Feather Weight Genaro Gonzalez: writer/psychologist Jovita Gonzalez: writer/educator Carlos Guzman: singer Rolando Hinojosa: writer Trish Hinojosa: singer/composer Nicasio Idar: Newspaper publisher Kris Kristofferson: actor/singer Tom Landry: Dallas Cowboys coach	Narciso Martinez
Iwo-Jima	Jose Lopez: Congressional Medal of Honor Rachel McLeash: bodybuilder/actor MAZZ: music group Sunny Ozuna: "Sunny and the Sunliners" Americo Paredes: "father" of Mexican American folklore Jody Ramsey: UTPA baseball player Cornelio Reyna: singer/composer Valente Rodriguez: actor Niki Rowe: Vietnam hero Trini Silva: actor David Spielberg: actor Ted Uhlander: professional baseball

If we left out someone, please let us know so that individual can be recognized. Just E-mail me at jegarza@panam.edu with the name and contribution that that individual made.

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