September 15th marked the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. (It starts in the middle of the month, as September 15th is independence day for five Latin American countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. September 16th is when Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence.) Because we know the importance of role models, let’s take a few minutes to check out some incredible Latino/a individuals.

Dolores Huerta

Born in 1930, Dolores Huerta is a truly amazing woman. She is a strong feminist, largely due to the independence and social awareness that her own role model — her mother — exhibited. After college, Huerta began teaching, but her passion turned toward economic injustice when she realized the poverty in which so many of her students were living. She subsequently left the field of education and became a community activist — and with Cesar Chavez, founded the National Farm Workers Association. Together, they organized many boycotts, which led to improved wages and working conditions as well as federal legislation. In 2012, President Obama bestowed her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Today, at the age of 87, Huerta continues her work as an organizer, activist, and champion for civil rights.

“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Born and raised in New York City, Lin-Manuel Miranda developed a love for hip-hop at an early age and went to Wesleyan University where he studied theater. After graduation, he taught high school English, prior to writing and starring in his first musical, In the Heights — that won four Tonys, including Best Musical. In 2015, his masterpiece Hamilton opened on Broadway, with Miranda starring as Alexander Hamilton himself amidst a black and Latino cast and a musical score of hip-hop and R&B numbers. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2016, was nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards that same year, and is sold out almost everywhere. In addition to his Tonys, Miranda has also won two Grammys and an Emmy as well as an Oscar nomination. Through his writing, performing, and acting, his “words have the potential to inspire, heal, and engender change and dialogue.”

“To engender empathy and create a world using only words is the closest thing we have to magic.”

Gina Rodriguez

Born to Puerto Rican parents in 1984, Gina Rodriguez grew up in Chicago, Illinois, where she was a salsa dancer with Fantasia Juvenil. When she was a teenager, she won acceptance to a prestigious theater program at Columbia University, and from there, her acting career took off, landing her roles in Law and Order, 10 Things I Hate About You, and the titular role in Jane the Virgin. In 2015, Rodriguez won a Golden Globe for that role, and in 2016, she was nominated again. Rodriguez has noted that she will turn down roles that portray Latinos in a negative light (such as Devious Maids, for which she was offered a part) and that she will only accept roles that serve as role models for young Latinas, roles that celebrate her cultural background. She found her own production company — I Can and I Will Productions — focuses on just that.

“Get an education. The one thing that nobody can take away from you is your education. I’m here, I’m present, I’m a contributor to society, I deserve to be part of this conversation, I have an opinion, listen to me roar.”

Guillermo del Toro

Born in Mexico in 1964, Guillermo del Toro is a prolific director, screenwriter, producer, and filmmaker whose creativity and propensity toward the macabre started at a young age. By high school, he was creating short films, and post-secondary, he attended film school prior to founding his own effects company — Necropia — focusing on the Mexican film market. Each of del Toro’s films — like Hellboy, Pacific Rim, and Crimson Peak — hosts incredibly unique creatures, including humanoids, gargantuan bugs, mechanical warriors, robots, and aliens. Pan’s Labyrinth, arguably del Toro’s best work, was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three (Cinematography, Production Design, and Makeup).

“I’m really a freak in every place I go. I don’t quite fit in the independent scene, I don’t quite fit in the art scene, and I don’t fit in the Hollywood scene. […] ‘ll tell you this: I plan to stay that way, because there is something to be said. I think when you get comfortable, you start growing old. You are doing something wrong.”

Sonia Sotomayor

Born in the South Bronx in 1954, Sonia Sotomayor’s first interest in the justice system came from watching Perry Mason. Her father died when Sotomayor was in elementary school, and she and her siblings were raised by her mother who placed a strong emphasis on higher education: she made all of her children learn English and made great sacrifices to ensure they had the resources (like a set of encyclopedias) to succeed in school. As a result, she attended Princeton University, where she was heavily involved with Puerto Rican groups on campus, and graduated summa cum laude; she then attended Yale Law School. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush nominated her as the youngest judge for the U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York City, and in 1997, President Clinton nominated her for the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2009, she became the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in United States history when she was appointed by President Barack Obama.

“It really takes growing up to treasure the specialness of being different. Now I understand that I’ve gotten to enjoy things that others have not, whether it’s the laughter, the poetry of my Spanish language — I love Spanish poetry because my grandmother loved it — our food, our music. Everything about my culture has given me enormous education and joy.”

Julian Castro

Born in 1974, Julian Castro has been called the “Latino Obama.” Reared in San Antonio by activist parents (his father was a community organizer, and his mother founded La Raza Unida, the Chicano political party), Castro excelled academically, even skipping tenth grade. He and his twin brother — Joaquin Castro — attended Stanford University, studying political science and communications, followed by Harvard Law School. Castro was elected the youngest city councilman, and in 2009, he was elected the fifth Latino mayor of San Antonio. In 2010, he was named to the World Economic Forum’s list of Young Global Leaders, and in 2011, he was named one of “40 Under 40” in Time magazine’s list of up-and-coming politicians. In 2012, Castro was the first Latino to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

“The American dream is not a sprint, or even a marathon, but a relay. Our families don’t always cross the finish line in the span of one generation. But each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor. My grandmother never owned a house. She cleaned other people’s houses so she could afford to rent her own. But she saw her daughter become the first in her family to graduate from college. And my mother fought hard for civil rights so that instead of a mop, I could hold this microphone.”

Our history books and our media often omit the narratives of marginalized individuals. Take it upon yourself — throughout Hispanic Heritage month and beyond — to educate yourself about the incredible individuals who have shaped the United States and made it a better, richer, more beautiful society.