Celebrating a Birthday this January

Which famous Hispanic has a birthday this January?

by Jhon G. Lindarte

Various figures of Hispanic culture have their birthday this January. These are some personalities who, through their work, have raised the value of being Hispanic, and this 2022 they add one more candle to their birthday cake.

Laura Restrepo

This month one of the most emblematic Latin American writers of our time turns 72 years old on January 1st. It is about Laura Restrepo, a Colombian writer and journalist who won the renowned Alfaguara Literature Prize for her novel Delirio.

Restrepo was very close to the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, who acted to some extent as her literary mentor. Laura Restrepo dedicated part of her life to the political struggle in her country, with a strong inclination for leftist ideologies. She currently lives in Mexico.

Carolina Herrera

The famous Venezuelan designer María Carolina Josefina Pacanis Niño, better known as Carolina Herrera, is one of the most influential Latin figures in the world and turns 83 on January 8, 2022.

Carolina Herrera has made an impeccable career as a fashion designer of international stature, dressing women of great political and social relevance such as the former first ladies Jackie Kennedy, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump. The current vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, has also used her designs, as has Queen Letizia of Spain.

Rigoberta Menchú

One of the most representative figures in the struggle for human rights in Latin America is the Guatemalan Rigoberta Menchú Tum, who was awarded the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle for social justice and respect for the rights of the indigenous population.

Menchú also received the 1998 Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation and served as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. This January 9, she turns 63 years old.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Born in New York, and of Puerto Rican origin, Lin-Manuel Miranda has become one of the most recognized composers, actors and singers in recent years. This January 16, this protagonist of the musicals In The Heights and Hamilton turns 42 years old.

Miranda is responsible for the libretto, lyrics, and music for the Broadway show ‘Hamilton’, a musical that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Grammy for best musical theater album. This is estimated to be one of the best musicals of the last seven years. Lin-Manuel Miranda has also acted in several plays and films, one of the most recognized being Mary Poppins Returns.

Luis Suárez

Uruguayan Luis Suárez, who plays as a forward for Spain’s Club Atlético de Madrid, turns 35 on January 24. The footballer is considered one of the best strikers in recent years. Not in vain the F.C. Barcelona paid 81 million euros for him, the most expensive transfer in history for a Uruguayan footballer. In this last team he managed to win the League, the King’s Cup and the Champions League.

In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Suárez starred in an unfortunate incident: during a match against the Italian team, the Uruguayan striker bit his opponent Giorgio Chiellini, a foul rejected by fans of this sport and an act that remained in the press permanently.

Maluma

The Colombian singer of urban music Maluma, whose original name is Juan Luis Londoño Arias, will reach 28 candles this January 28. The young man born in the city of Medellín has had rapid growth as an artist, sharing musical productions with singers of the stature of Shakira and Madonna.

About the author: Jhon Gonzalez Lindarte has been working as a journalist since 2012 in the media: newspapers, television, radio and websites. He usually writes about literature, books and authors. He also did illustrations professionally. Jhon graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Central University of Venezuela with a BA in Journalism in 2015. His hobbies are literature, drawing, art, culture, cinema and theater.