List of Nicaraguans

Art

Omar D'Leon (b. 1929), painter and poet.

Claudia Fuentes de Lacayo (b. 1938), painter.

Edith Grøn (1917-1990), sculptor.

Helio Gutiérrez (b. 1965), sculptor.

Franck de Las Mercedes (b. 1972), painter.

Armando Morales (1927–2011), painter.

Denis Nuñéz (b. 1954), painter.

José Ortiz Bracamonte, painter, sculptor.

Hugo Palma-Ibarra (b. 1942), painter.

Rodrigo Peñalba (1908-1979), painter.

Róger Pérez de la Rocha (b. 1949), painter.

Javier Valle Pérez (b. 1973), painter.

Business

Harry Brautigam (1948–2008), economist, banker and academic.

José Cardenal (b. 1940), businessman.

Michael Cordúa (b. 1961), restaurateur, entrepreneur, businessman, award winning self-taught chef.

Carlos Reynaldo Lacayo (b. 1950), businessman.

Carlos Pellas Chamorro (b. 1953), businessman, entrepreneur, Nicaragua's first billionaire.

Alfonso Robelo (b. 1939), businessman, politician, diplomat who served as ambassador to Costa Rica.

Education

Elena Arellano Chamorro (1836–1911), reform pedagogue, a pioneer for education of women.

Mariano Fiallos Gil (1907–1964), rector of UNAN-León.

Josefa Toledo de Aguirre (1866–1962), reform pedagogue, general director of education in the 1920s.

Herman Van de Velde (b. 1956), basic and cooperative education pedagogue.

Fashion, models and beauty queens

Xiomara Blandino (b. 1984), Miss Nicaragua 2007, model.

Nastassja Bolivar, Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011 - Miss Nicaragua 2013 - and Top 16 in Miss Universe 2013 -The Best National Costume.

Dolly Castro, model.

Erielda Casaya, model, dancer, most notable role includes the one in Mas Flow: Los Benjamins.

Deyra Corrales, model

Cristiana Frixione (b. 1984), Miss Nicaragua 2006, model.

Regina Gonzalez Bolaños, international model.

Iva Grijalva Pashova (b. 1986), Miss Earth Nicaragua 2007.

Jade Jagger (b. 1971), model.

Shantall Lacayo, third place project runway Latinoamerica.

Thelma Rodríguez (b. 1989), Miss Nicaragua 2008.

Government and politics

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Lila T. Abaunza (1929–2008), First Lady of Nicaragua from 2002 to 2007.

Fernando Agüero (b. 1920), politician.

Arnoldo Alemán (b. 1946), former President of Nicaragua from 1997–2002. Mr. Aleman has been one of the most corrupt Presidents Nicaragua ever had. He stole more than US $200,000,000 from the Nicaraguan Treasury.

Leonardo Arguello Barreto (1895–1947), former President of Nicaragua (1947).

Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann (b. 1933), former Foreign Minister of Nicaragua (1979–1990), President of the 63rd UN General Assembly (2008–2009) and leading liberation theologian.

Juan Bautista Sacasa (1874–1946), former President of Nicaragua from 1933–1936.

Claudia Bermúdez (b. 1954), Nicaragua-American politician and entrepreneur; first Nicaraguan American to be the nominee of a major party for a seat in the United States Congress.

Enrique Bolaños (b. 1928), former President of Nicaragua from 2002 to 2007.

Róger Calero (b. 1969), Nicaraguan American who ran for U.S. President in the 2004 elections.

Adolfo Calero (b. 1931), leader of the Contra-Revolutionary Movement.

Emiliano Chamorro (1871–1966), former President of Nicaragua from 1917–1920 and part of 1926.

Fruto Chamorro (1804–1855), first President of Nicaragua 1854–1855.

Manuel Coronel Kautz, vice minister of foreign relations.

Arturo Cruz (b. 1923), politician and diplomat.

Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Alfaro (1875–1879), former President of Nicaragua from 1875–1879.

Violeta Chamorro (b. 1929), first female president in Latin America, second in North America and 48th President of Nicaragua.

Adolfo Díaz (1875–1964), President of Nicaragua in 1911–1917 and 1926–1929.

George William Albert Hendy (1879–1888), Hereditary Chief of Miskito Nation.

Edmundo Jarquín (b. 1946), politician, candidate for president of Nicaragua in 2006.

Máximo Jerez (1818–1881), politician, lawyer, and military leader in 19th century Nicaragua.

Herty Lewites (1939–2006), politician.

Eduardo Montealegre (1955), politician, businessman.

Oldman (d. 1687), King of the Miskito Nation from 1625–1687.

Daniel Ortega (b. 1945), current President of Nicaragua, leader of the FSLN.

Edén Pastora (b. 1937), politician.

Mariano Prado (1776–1837), lawyer and a four-time, liberal chief of state of El Salvador.

Sergio Ramírez (b. 1943), Vice President of Nicaragua during the Junta, writer, intellectual.

Jorge Salazar Argüello (1939–1980), a Nicaraguan coffee grower and popular leader of UPANIC (Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua – Unión de Productores Agropecuarios de Nicaragua), seemed poised to become the leader of the opposition to the Sandinista government, until his death at the hands of State Security forces.

José Santos Zelaya (1853–1919), president of Nicaragua from 1893–1909.

Hilda Solis (b. 1957), U.S. congresswoman.

Anastasio Somoza García (1896–1956), brutal dictator, 34th and 39th President of Nicaragua

Anastasio Somoza Debayle (1925–1980), brutal dictator, 44th and 45th President of Nicaragua from 1967 to 1972 and from 1974 to 1979.

Luis Somoza Debayle (1922–1967), dictator, 40th President of Nicaragua from 1956–1963, but was effectively dictator from 1956 until his death.

Journalism

Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal (1924–1978), editor of La Prensa daily newspaper, assassinated.

Xavier Chamorro Cardenal (1932–2008), co-founder, director and editor of El Nuevo Diario.

Enrique Gottel (1831–1875), journalist, music composer, and historian.

Mari Ramos, weather anchor for CNN.

Literature

Claribel Alegría (b. 1924), poet, she received the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2006.

Emilio Álvarez Lejarza (1884–1969), writer.

Emilio Álvarez Montalván (1919–2014), political writer.

Eugenio Batres Garcia (b. 1941) noted newscaster and journalist, writer, author and poet.

Gioconda Belli (b. 1948), poet and writer.

Yolanda Blanco (b. 1954), poet and translator.

Tomás Borge (1930–2012), writer, poet, politician and essayist.

Omar Cabezas (b. 1950), writer.

Ernesto Cardenal (b. 1925), poet.

Blanca Castellón (b. 1958), poet.

José Coronel Urtecho (1906–1994), poet, translator, essayist, critic, narrator, playwright and historian.

Alfonso Cortés (1893–1969), poet.

Arturo Cruz (b. 1954), writer.

Pablo Antonio Cuadra (1912–2002), poet.

Pablo Alberto Cuadra Arguello (b. 1971), poet, theologian.

Rubén Darío (1867–1916), poet, referred to as The Father of Modernism.

Karly Gaitán Morales (b. 1980) film historian, writer, journalist.

Salomón Ibarra Mayorga (1887–1985), poet and lyricist of "Salve a ti, Nicaragua", the Nicaraguan national anthem.

Erwin Krüger (1915–1973), poet and composer.

Danilo López (b. 1954), poet.

Rigoberto López Pérez (1929–1936), poet and writer.

Francisco Mayorga (b. 1949), writer.

Christianne Meneses Jacobs (b. 1971), writer, editor, and publisher.

Rosario Murillo (b. 1951), poet.

Azarías H. Pallais (1884–1954), poet.

Rafael Pallais (b. 1952), writer.

Joaquín Pasos (1914–1947), poet.

Horacio Peña (1946), writer and poet.

Sergio Ramírez (b. 1942), writer.

Mariana Sansón Argüello (1918), poet.

Arlen Siu (1955–1972), essayist.

Julio Valle Castillo (b. 1952), poet, novelist, essayist, and a critic of literature and art.

Daisy Zamora (b. 1950), poet.

Military and police

Enrique Bermúdez (1932–1991), military and political leader of the Nicaraguan Contras from 1979–1991.

Fernando Chamorro Alfaro (1824–1863), General and member of the governing junta of Nicaragua (1860–1863).

Aminta Granera (b. 1952), police chief of Nicaragua.

Aristides Sánchez (d. 1993), key figure among the Contras.

Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero (b. 1951), former commander of the National Guard.

Movies and TV entertainment

Maurice Benard (b. 1963), actor on American soap operas All My Children and General Hospital

Jhonny Block, actor whose notable roles include Land of the Dead and Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

Barbara Carrera (b. 1951), film, TV actress, former model.

Oswaldo Castillo, actor, most notable role includes the one in The Hammer.

Jose Alberto Torres (b. 1986), actor, most notable role includes André for '11-11 En mi cuadra nada cuadra' for Nickelodeon and several other for Telemundo Internacional.

Edward'O, notable astroanalyst and co-host of Telemundo's dating show, 12 Corazones.

Gabriel Traversari (b. 1963), actor, director, writer, singer, songwriter and painter.

Music

José Areas (b. 1946), percussionist, former drummer for Santana.

Lya Barrioz, singer and actress.

Katia Cardenal (b. 1963), singer/song writer from Duo Guardabarranco.

Dimension Costeña, musicians.

DJ Craze (Aristh Delgado) (b. 1977), only DJ in history to win 3 consecutive World DMC Champion titles.

DJ Carnage, Trap/EDM Producer.

José de la Cruz Mena, (1874–1907), composer and conductor.

Luis Abraham Delgadillo Rivas (1887-1961), classical music composer and conductor.

Norma Helena Gadea (b. 1955) singer (latinamerican song).

Erwin Krüger (1915–1973), singer and Nicaraguan folklore poet.

Luis Enrique Mejía López (b. 1962), salsa singer and music composer.

Carlos Mejía Godoy (b. 1943), musician, composer, singer.

Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy (b. 1945), musician, composer, singer.

Alfonso Noel Lovo (b. 1951), composer and guitarist.

Tony Melendez (b. 1962), guitar player, singer and Christian rock songwriter who was born without arms.

Maria Mena, Norwegian/Nicaraguan Pop Singer.

Otto Benjamín de la Rocha López (b. 1933), singer, songwriter and radio actor.

T-Bone (b. 1973), rapper.

Torombolo (b. 1985), reggaeton and hip hop singer.

Raúl Traña, (1921–2013) band leader and composer.

J Smooth, bilingual hip hop and Reggaeton singer.

Donald Vega (b. 1974), jazz musician and composer.

Alejandro Vegas Mates (1875–1937), classical music composer and conductor.

Pablo Vega y Raudes (1850–1919), maestro de capilla at the León cathedral.

Hernaldo Zúñiga (b. 1955), singer and music composer.

Non-Governmental Organizations

Reinaldo Aguado Montealegre (b. 1960), President of the International Society for Human Rights in Nicaragua.

Aubry Campbell Ingram (1903–2000), former baseball player who helped found the Asociación de Scouts de Nicaragua.

Myrna Cunningham, Miskita indigenous rights activist and physician.

Joseph A. Harrison (1883–1964), Moravian Pastor who helped start the first scout troop in Nicaragua.

Bianca Jagger (b. 1945), social and political activist, former wife of Mick Jagger.

Religion

Leopoldo Brenes (b. 1949), Archbishop of Managua, cardinal.

Ernesto Cardenal (b. 1925), Catholic priest and liberation theologian.

Fernando Cardenal (b. 1934), jesuit priest, director at the Fe y Alegría organization in Managua.

Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann (b. 1933), Roman Catholic priest, former foreign minister of Nicaragua, received the Lenin Peace Prize in 1985.

José de la Jara, priest.

Uriel Molina Oliú (b. 1932), Franciscan priest.

Pablo Antonio Vega Mantilla (1919–2007), Roman Catholic bishop and bishop Emeritus.

Maria Romero Meneses (1902–1977), Salesian nun, beatified in 2002.

Miguel Obando y Bravo (b. 1926), archbishop emeritus of Managua, cardinal.

Jesus Rojas (1950–1991), jesuit priest.

César Bosco Vivas Robelo (b. 1941), bishop of León.

Revolutionaries, heroes and martyrs

Patrick Argüello (1943–1970), martyr of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Nora Astorga (1948–1988), Sandinista revolutionary, lawyer, politician, judge and Nicaraguan ambassador to the UN.

Antonio Cardenal Caldera (1951–1991), also known by the nom de guerre Jesus Rojas, major leader of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front.

Armandito Castillo, Sandinista, lives in Canada.

Arturo Cruz, Jr. (b. 1954), revolutionary, writer, professor and diplomat.

Rigoberto Cruz (d. 1967), one of the founders of the FSLN.

Ajax Delgado (1941–1960), student activist, martyr of the Sandinista revolution.

José Dolores Estrada (1792–1869), national hero, famed for his part in the battle Hacienda San Jacinto in 1856.

Idania Fernandez (1952–1979), Martyr of the Sandinista Revolution.

Carlos Fonseca (1936–1976), teacher, founder of FSLN.

Maximo Jerez (1818–1876), lawyer, politician, general, president.

Augusto César Sandino (1895–1934), revolutionary, symbol of the FSLN.

Arlen Siu (1955–1972), martyr of the Sandinista revolution.

Dora María Téllez (b. 1947), Comandante during the Sandinista revolution, founded the MRS, historian.

Jose Santos Zelaya (1853–1919), president.

Science

Aurora Aragón, UNAN-León, epidemiologist, occupational health.

Marianela Corriols (b. 1965), UNAN-León, epidemiologist, expert on the effect of pesticides on human health.

Graziella Devoli, Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales, geologist, landslides specialist.

Jorge Alberto Huete Pérez, UCA, molecular biologist researching infectious diseases.

Luis Javier Cuadra Cea, (1885–1975), statistician and historian.

Leonor Martínez de Rocha, archeologist, founder of the Ancient footprints of Acahualinca museum.

Jean Michel Maes (b. 1958), entomologist, founder of the Museo Entomológico de León.

Armando José Matute Moreno, UNAN-León, medical scientist, infectious diseases and anti-microbial resistance.

Antonio Mijail Perez (b. 1964), taxonomist, expert on biodiversity and quantitative analysis.

Manuel Ortega Hegg (1947–), UCA, sociologist, analyzing sociocultural aspects of religion and politics.

Milagros Palma (b. 1949), Caen University, anthropologist

Rodolfo Peña, UNAN-León, demographer and epidemiologist, researching sexual and reproductive health.

Clodomiro Picado Twight (1887–1944), Pasteur Institute, biologists whose work on molds was a precursor to the formal discovery of penicillin.

Miguel Ramírez Goyena (1857–1927), botanist, author of Flora Nicaragüense

Ricardo Rueda Pereira (b. 1960), UNAN-León, botanist

Wilfried Strauch, Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales, geologist, expert on earthquakes and volcanoes.

Javier Sunyer, UNAN-León, herpetologist

Carlos Alberto Zúniga González, UNAN-León, agricultural economist.

Baseball

Porfirio Altamirano (b. 1952), former Major League Baseball player.

Marvin Benard (b. 1970), former Major League Baseball player.

Tony Chévez (b. 1954), Major League Baseball player.

David Green (1960), former Major League Baseball player.

Devern Hansack (b. 1978), current Major League Baseball player.

Oswaldo Mairena (b. 1975), Major League Baseball player.

Dennis Martínez (b. 1955), first Nicaraguan to play in Major League Baseball, pitched the 13th perfect game in major league history.

Vicente Padilla (b. 1977), current Major League Baseball player.

Boxing

Román González (b. 1987), boxer, world champion.

José Alfaro (b. 1983), boxer, world champion.

Rosendo Alvarez (b. 1970), boxer, former world champion, only person to hold the undefeated flyweight champion to a draw.

Alexis Argüello (b. 1952), boxer, former world champion.

Julio Gamboa (b. 1971), lightweight boxer.

Eddie Gazo (b. 1950), super welterweight boxer.

Ricardo Mayorga (b. 1973), boxer, former WBA/WBC Welterweight champion and WBC Junior Middleweight world champion.

David Obregon (b. 1978), professional boxer.

Juan Palacios (b. 1980), professional boxer, reigning WBC Interim Minimumweight World Champion.

Luis Alberto Pérez (b. 1978), boxer, current IBF world junior-bantamweight champion.

Adonis Rivas (b. 1972), boxer, former world champion.

Football (Soccer)

Armando Collado (b. 1985), professional soccer player.

Denis Espinoza (b. 1983), professional soccer player.

Shawn Hasani Martin (b. 1987), professional soccer player.

Lester Meléndez (b. 1981), professional soccer player for the University of Miami.

Emilio Palacios (b. 1982), professional soccer player, Nicaraguan to score a hat-trick in an international competition.

Wilber Sanchez (b. 1979), professional soccer player.

Samuel Wilson (b. 1983), professional soccer player who currently plays for Atletico Olanchano.

Martial Arts

Diana López (b. 1984), Olympic bronze medalist in the sport of taekwondo.

Mark López (b. 1982), Olympic silver medalist in the sport of taekwondo.

Steven López (b. 1978), first official Olympic gold medalist in the sport of taekwondo.

Swimming

Claudia Poll (b. 1972), swimmer, won the Gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Silvia Poll (b. 1970), swimmer, won the silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Other sports

Jessica Aguilera (b. 1985), a track and field sprint athlete, competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Karla Moreno (b. 1988), weightlifter, competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Emil Amador, flag football champion.

Eriel Casaya, track and field, USATF MastersWorld Ranking.