Famous people from Chile
Here is a list of famous people from Chile. Curious if anybody from Chile made it our most famous people in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.
Pablo Neruda
Diplomat
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after the Czech poet Jan Neruda. In 1971 Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Neruda became known as a poet while still a teenager. He wrote in a variety of styles including surrealist poems, historical epics, overtly political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and erotically-charged love poems such as the ones in his 1924 collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair. He often wrote in green ink, which was his personal symbol for desire and hope. The Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez once called him "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language." Harold Bloom included Neruda as one of the 26 writers central to the Western tradition in his book The Western Canon. On July 15, 1945, at Pacaembu Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, he read to 100,000 people in honor of the Communist revolutionary leader Luís Carlos Prestes. During his lifetime, Neruda occupied many diplomatic positions and served a term as a senator for the Chilean Communist Party. When President González Videla outlawed communism in Chile in 1948, a warrant was issued for Neruda's arrest. Friends hid him for months in the basement of a house in the Chilean port of Valparaíso. Later, Neruda escaped through a mountain pass near Maihue Lake into Argentina. Years later, Neruda was a close advisor to Chile's socialist President Salvador Allende. When Neruda returned to Chile after his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Allende invited him to read at the Estadio Nacional before 70,000 people.
Augusto Pinochet
Politician
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet, was an army general and dictator of Chile from 1973 until transferring power to a democratically elected president in 1990. He was the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army from 1973 to 1998 and president of the Government Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981. He assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973, supported by the American Central Intelligence Agency, that overthrew the Unidad Popular government of Salvador Allende and ended civilian rule a week before its 48th anniversary. By early 1972, Pinochet was General Chief of Staff of the Army. On 23 August 1973, he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army by President Allende. On 11 September 1973, Pinochet joined a coup d'état, which overthrew Allende's elected socialist government. In December 1974 the military junta appointed Pinochet as President by a joint decree, with which Air Force General Gustavo Leigh disagreed. From the beginning, the government implemented harsh measures against its political opponents. According to various reports and investigations 1,200–3,200 people were killed, up to 80,000 were interned, and up to 30,000 were tortured by his government including women and children.
Alexis Sánchez
Soccer
Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez is a Chilean footballer who plays for La Liga club FC Barcelona and the Chile national team, as a forward or winger.
Salvador Allende
Politician
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician, known as the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country through open elections. Allende's involvement in Chilean political life spanned a period of nearly forty years. As a member of the Socialist Party, he was a senator, deputy and cabinet minister. He unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in the 1952, 1958, and 1964 elections. In 1970, he won the presidency in a close three-way race. He was elected in a run-off by Congress as no candidate had gained a majority. As president, Allende adopted a policy of nationalization of industries and collectivization; due to these and other factors, increasingly strained relations between him and the legislative and judicial branches of the Chilean government – who did not share his enthusiasm for socialization – culminated in a declaration of a "constitutional breakdown" by the parliament. A centre-right majority including the Christian Democrats, whose support had managed Allende's election, denounced his rule as unconstitutional and called for his overthrow by force. On 11 September 1973 the military moved to oust Allende in a coup d'état. As troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, Allende gave his last speech vowing not to resign. He committed suicide later that day.
Michelle Bachelet
Politician
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Chilean Socialist politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010. She resigned from UN Women in March 2013 to run for a second term as President of Chile, now with the support of the Communist Party in additional to the parties that supported her previous presidential term. Bachelet won the 2006 presidential election in a runoff, beating center-right and former senator Sebastián Piñera with 53.5% of the vote. She campaigned on a platform of continuing Chile's free-market policies. Bachelet, a physician with studies in military strategy, served as Health Minister and Defense Minister under her predecessor, President Ricardo Lagos. She is a separated mother of three and describes herself as an agnostic. As well as her native Spanish, she speaks English, German, Portuguese and French, with varying levels of fluency.
Nicole Polizzi
Actor
Nicole Elizabeth "Snooki" Polizzi is an American reality television personality who is best known for being a cast member of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore and currently stars in Snooki & JWoww. Since the show's debut in 2009, Polizzi has gained popularity by appearing on talks shows including The View, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Show with David Letterman and The Wendy Williams Show, as well as the wrestling program WWE Raw. She is also one of the highest paid reality stars, earning $150,000 per episode as of season five.
Cote de Pablo
Actor
María José de Pablo Fernández, better known as Cote de Pablo, is a Chilean-American actress and recording artist. Born in Santiago, Chile, she moved to the United States at the age of 10, where she studied acting. De Pablo co-hosted episodes of the Latin American talk show Control with former Entertainment Tonight host, Carlos Ponce, at the age of 15 before attending Carnegie Mellon University to study music and theatre. After appearing in a number of small television roles, she was cast to portray main character Ziva David in the CBS television series NCIS in 2005. De Pablo won an ALMA Award for the role in 2011, and NCIS became the most watched television program in America during its tenth season in the 2012–13 year. She performed a portion of Tom Waits's song "Temptation" for a 2008 episode of NCIS. Outside of the series, she has acted as a vocalist for songs in Roberto Pitre's Vivo En Vida CD.
Manuel Pellegrini
Soccer
Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti is a Chilean football manager and former footballer, who is the manager of English Premier League side Manchester City. As a coach, he has managed teams mostly in Spain, Argentina and Chile. A qualified civil engineer and a competent footballer, after retiring as a player, he moved into coaching in his native Chile and subsequently Argentina. Pellegrini moved to Europe in 2004 to take the manager's post at Villarreal, a small club near Valencia with little notable history. Under Pellegrini, Villarreal achieved a third place finish in the Spanish Liga in 2004–05, a Champions League semi-final in 2005–06 and broke the big two in 2008 by securing a second place finish in La Liga in 2007–08. Pellegrini's consistent record at Villarreal attracted the attention of Real Madrid and he was appointed manager there in 2009. He amassed a total of 96 points, a club record until it was surpassed by José Mourinho in the 2011–12 season, but lost the title to Barcelona by 3 points. He was dismissed after one season and later lamented the Galácticos policy employed at Real which prevented him from building a balanced team. Pellegrini took up the manager's role at Málaga in November 2010. He led Málaga to a fourth place finish in his first full season and to qualification for the UEFA Champions League. He made it to the quarter-finals of the 2012–13 Champions League, becoming the only coach to take two different teams to the Champions League quarter-finals in their debut seasons in the competition. On 22 May 2013, Pellegrini confirmed he would leave Málaga at the end of the 2012–13 La Liga season. On 14 June 2013 he was appointed manager of Manchester City on a three year contract.
Víctor Jara
Andean Artist
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez was a Chilean teacher, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter, political activist and member of the Communist Party of Chile. A distinguished theatre director, he devoted himself to the development of Chilean theatre, directing a broad array of works from locally produced Chilean plays, to the classics of the world stage, to the experimental work of Ann Jellicoe. Simultaneously he developed in the field of music and played a pivotal role among neo-folkloric artists who established the Nueva Canción Chilena movement which led to a revolution in the popular music of his country under the Salvador Allende government. Shortly after the Chilean coup of 11 September 1973, he was arrested, tortured and ultimately shot dead. His body was later thrown out into the street of a shanty town in Santiago. The contrast between the themes of his songs, on love, peace and social justice and the brutal way in which he was murdered transformed Jara into a symbol of struggle for human rights and justice worldwide.
Marcelo Ríos
Tennis Player
Marcelo Ríos is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Chile. Nicknamed El Chino and El zurdo de Vitacura, he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals singles rankings in 1998. He held the World No. 1 ranking for six weeks. He has held the top ranking in both juniors and seniors. He was the first player to win the three clay-court Masters Series tournaments since the format began in 1990. He is the only male player in the open era to have been World No. 1 while never managing to win a Grand Slam singles tournament in his career. He did reach the 1998 Australian Open final, losing to Petr Korda. He retired prematurely in 2004, after being overtaken by a back injury. He played his last ATP level tournament while only 27 years old at the 2003 French Open.
Arturo Vidal
Soccer Midfielder
Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo is a Chilean footballer who plays as a midfielder for Juventus and Chile. A versatile player who played several different roles in his early years, Vidal eventually found his position at Juventus as a world class box-to-box midfielder capable of assisting his teammates in both defense and attack. It was these displays for Juventus that led him to be nicknamed Il Guerriero by the Italian press for his hard-tackling and tenacious style of play. In 2013, Vidal was ranked as the eleventh-best footballer in the world by Bloomberg.
Fernando González
Tennis Player
Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a retired professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra. The English-language media has labeled him "Gonzo". González reached at least the quarterfinal round of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He played his only major final at the 2007 Australian Open, losing to top-ranked Roger Federer. He is the fourth male tennis player in history to have won each Olympic medal. Throughout his career, González has defeated many past and present top players, including Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moyà, Gustavo Kuerten, Marat Safin, Juan Martín del Potro, Andy Murray and Pete Sampras. González qualified twice for the year-end Masters Cup event and was runner-up at two Masters Series tournaments.
Gabriela Mistral
Diplomat
Gabriela Mistral was the pseudonym of Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, a Chilean poet, educator, diplomat, and feminist who was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945. Some central themes in her poems are nature, betrayal, love, a mother's love, sorrow and recovery, travel, and Latin American identity as formed from a mixture of Native American and European influences. Her portrait also appears on the 5,000 Chilean peso bank note.
Violeta Parra
Andean Artist
Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval was a Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. She set the basis for "Chilean' New Song", the Nueva canción chilena, a renewal and a reinvention of Chilean folk music which would absorb and extend its influence far beyond Chile. In 2011 Andrés Wood directed a biopic about her, titled Violeta Went to Heaven.
Iván Zamorano
Soccer
Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora is a retired Chilean football striker. Along with Marcelo Salas and Elias Figueroa he is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers. He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998 World Cup and four Copa América tournaments. He played for several clubs, notably Spanish clubs Sevilla and Real Madrid C.F. as well as Italian club Internazionale. He won the 1994-95 La Liga title and was the season's top scorer with Real Madrid. He also won the UEFA Cup with Internazionale. In 2004, Zamorano was selected among the FIFA 100, a list of the best living football players in the world compiled by Pelé.
Nicolás Massú
Tennis Player
Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried, nicknamed Vampiro, is a former Chilean tennis player, a former world no. 9 in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the only male player to have won both the singles and doubles gold medals during the same games in modern Olympic tennis. Massú also reached the final of the 2003 Madrid Masters and won six singles titles.
David Pizarro
Soccer Midfielder
David Marcelo Pizarro Cortés is a Chilean football midfielder who currently plays for Fiorentina in the Serie A. He is known for his vision, passing, dribbling skills and set piece ability. He plays for the Chile national team, for which he won the Bronze medal at 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney. Pizarro is a central midfielder, who can operate in a holding position or an attacking position in the hole behind the strikers. During Pizarro's stay in Italian football, he won one Serie A title, three Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. Pizarro's Italian nickname is "Pek", diminutive of "pequeño", meaning "small" in Spanish, because of his short height.
Gary Medel
Soccer Midfielder
Gary Alexis Medel Soto, known as Gary Medel, is a Chilean football player who plays for Premier League club Cardiff City as a defensive midfielder. His first name was chosen in honour of the English footballer Gary Lineker. His nickname is "Pitbull" or also "The Chilean Gattuso", due to his playing style resembling that of Italian midfielder Gennaro Gattuso. Medel was named Chilean Footballer of the Year in 2008, ahead of the Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios. Medel was member of the Chile U-20 that finished in third place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007. He has 56 senior caps, and played at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2011 Copa América.
Roberto Bolaño
Poet
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos was a Chilean writer, author of novels, short-stories, poems, and essays. In 1999, Bolaño won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel Los detectives salvajes, and in 2008 he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his novel 2666, which was described by board member Marcela Valdes as a "work so rich and dazzling that it will surely draw readers and scholars for ages." He has been described by the New York Times as "the most significant Latin American literary voice of his generation."
Alejandro Amenábar
Film Director
Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos, commonly known as Alejandro Amenábar, is a Spanish-Chilean writer, composer and director. He has won 9 Goyas and one Academy Award. He has written the screenplays to all five of his movies and made almost all of the sound tracks.
Cristián de la Fuente
Actor
Cristián de la Fuente Sabarots is a Chilean-American actor.
Mauricio Isla
Soccer Midfielder
Mauricio Aníbal Isla Isla is a Chilean footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus and for the Chilean national team. He plays mainly as a right wing-back but he can also play in numerous other positions, including as a right full-back, right winger or centre midfielder.
Marcelo Salas
Soccer
José Marcelo Salas Melinao, better known as El Matador, Shileno or simply Marcelo Salas, is a former football player from Chile. He has played in Chile, Argentina and Italy and has won titles for whom he has played, and was voted South American Footballer of the Year in 1997. Well known his deft touch with his left foot and aerial ability, Salas had a prolific goalscoring record, including two in a 2-0 win for Chile against England at Wembley Stadium right before the 1998 World Cup. As well as that World Cup, Salas played for Chile at two Copa América tournaments.
Ángelo Henríquez
Soccer
Ángelo José Henríquez Iturra is a Chilean footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Zaragoza, on loan from English club Manchester United.
Eduardo Vargas
Soccer Midfielder
Eduardo Jesús Vargas Rojas is a Chilean footballer. He currently plays for Grêmio, on loan from Napoli as a forward.
Humberto Suazo
Soccer
Humberto Andrés Suazo Pontivo, nicknamed Chupete, is a Chilean football player, who currently plays as a striker in Monterrey. In 2006 he was awarded by IFFHS as the world's top goal scorer of the year. According to his 2010 FIFA World Cup profile, Suazo is known for his "keen positional sense and ability to finish with either foot,."
Tom Araya
Heavy metal Artist
Tomás Enrique "Tom" Araya Díaz is a American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Araya is ranked fifty-eighth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. Araya was employed as a respiratory therapist in the early 1980s and used his earnings to finance Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy. Much of Araya's lyrical content is about serial killers, a subject he finds interesting, first making his lyrical contribution to 1985's Hell Awaits with the track "At Dawn They Sleep".
Myriam Hernández
Latin pop Artist
Miriam Raquel Hernández Navarro, popularly known as Myriam Hernández, is a Chilean singer-songwriter and television presenter. She is known throughout Latin America for her romantic ballads.
Ricardo Villalobos
Minimal techno Artist
Ricardo Villalobos is a Chilean-German electronic music producer and DJ. He is well known for his work in the minimal techno and microhouse genres, and is one of the most significant figures in today's minimal techno scene. Villalobos was born in Santiago, Chile in 1970. In 1973 he moved to Germany with his family to escape the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who had seized power that year. When Ricardo was around 10 or 11 he started to play conga and bongos. Though he loved music, he could never see himself as a musician. He began making electronic music in the late 80s. From a very young age he has been a big fan of Depeche Mode, even following their tours around Europe to listen to them. Villalobos began to play his music at parties while he was studying at university, but this was only for his own enjoyment. He started a label, Placid Flavour, in 1993 but this was unsuccessful. His first record was released on the German Playhouse label in 1994 and he began DJing as a professional in 1998. At the end of 2008 and 2010, he came 1st in Resident Advisor's Top 100 DJs of the year.
Sebastián Piñera
Politician
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean politician whose career included stints as an economics professor, businessman and politician, before he was elected President of Chile in January 2010. He took office in March 2010 running a successful presidential term.
Leonor Varela
Actor
Leonor Varela Pilme is a Chilean actress and model. She played the title role in the 1999 television film Cleopatra, and vampire princess Nyssa Damaskinos in the 2002 film Blade II.
Felipe Camiroaga
Presenter
Felipe Humberto Camiroaga Fernández was a Chilean television presenter, one of the most popular in his country. Camiroaga hosted many shows for Chilean television station TVN, including the morning talk show Buenos Días a Todos and a late-night talk show Animal Nocturno. He also acted in several TV series, such as Jaque Mate and Rojo y Miel, and in two films. Camiroaga twice hosted the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in 2009 and 2010. He was nicknamed "Halcón de Chicureo" because he bred falcons in his residence in Chicureo, a rural area north of Santiago. Camiroaga died on 2 September 2011 after the military plane which was taking him and twenty others to Juan Fernández Archipelago crashed in the sea. Camiroaga's death was officially announced seven days later, and after a funeral oration at TVN's headquarters, he was buried in Santiago. He has been posthumously awarded several prizes, including the "Social Communicator Special Award" by the National Council of Television in 2011.
Raúl Ruiz
Screenwriter
Raúl Ernesto Ruiz Pino was an experimental Chilean filmmaker, writer and teacher whose work is best known in France. He directed over 100 films.
Roberto Matta
Painting Artist
Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren, better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art.
Horatio Sanz
Comedian
Horatio Sanz is an American actor and comedian best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998-2006. Sanz most recently starred alongside his former SNL castmate Chris Parnell in the Comedy Central series Big Lake.
José Miguel Carrera
Politician
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo was a Chilean general, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the Patria Vieja. After the Spanish Reconquista, he continued campaigning from exile. His opposition to the leaders of independent Argentina and Chile San Martin and O'Higgins respectively made him to live in exile in Montevideo. From Montevido Carrera traveled to Argentina where he joined the struggle against the unitarians. Carreras small army was eventually left isolated in the Province of Buenos Aires from the other federalist forces. In this difficult situation Carrera decided to cross to native-controlled lands all the way to Chile to once for all overthrow Chilean Supreme Director O'Higgins. His passage to Chile, which was his ultimate goal, was opposed by Argentine politicias and he engaged together with indigenous tribes, among the Ranquels, in a campaign against the southern provinces of Argentina. After the downfall of Carreras ally, the Republic of Entre Ríos, and several victories against the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata Carrera's men were finally defeated by numerically superior forces near Mendoza. Carrera was then betrayed by one of his Argentine helpers, this led to his capture, and execution, in that city. José Miguel Carrera was of Basque descent.
DJ Méndez
Pop Artist
Leopoldo Méndez Alcayaga is a Chilean-Swedish DJ, singer and producer, known by his stage name Méndez, formerly DJ Méndez. He won the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica Awards for Best Southwest New Artist.
Ricardo Lagos
Politician
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar is a lawyer, economist and social democrat politician, who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. He won the 1999-2000 presidential election by a narrow margin in a runoff over Independent Democrat Union candidate Joaquín Lavín. Lagos was the third president from the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy to have ruled Chile since 1990. He was succeeded on March 11, 2006 by Socialist Michelle Bachelet, from the same coalition. Since May 2007 he has served as a Special Envoy on Climate Change for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He teaches political and economic development at Brown University in the United States. He is also the former president of the Club of Madrid.
Vicente Huidobro
Poet
Vicente García-Huidobro Fernández was a Chilean poet born to an aristocratic family. He was an exponent of the artistic movement called Creacionismo, which held that a poet should bring life to the things he or she writes about, rather than just describe them. Huidobro was born into a wealthy family in Santiago. After spending his first years in Europe, he enrolled in a Jesuit secondary school in Santiago where he was expelled for wearing a ring, which he claimed, was for marriage. He studied literature at the University of Chile and published Ecos del alma in 1911, a work with modernist tendencies. The following year he married, and started to edit the journal Musa Joven, where part of his later book, Canciones en la noche appeared, as well as his first calligram, "Triángulo armónico". In 1913, along with Carlos Díaz Loyola, he edited the three issues of the journal Azul, and published both Canciones en la noche and La gruta del silencio. The next year, he gave a lecture, Non serviam, which reflected his aesthetic creed. In another work of the same year, he explained his religious doubts and criticized the Jesuits, earning himself the reproach of his family.
Paul Capdeville
Tennis Player
Paul Gerard Capdeville Castro is a Chilean tennis player. Since mid-2011 is the highest ranked Chilean in the ATP. Capdeville was born in Santiago, Chile. On 18 May 2009, he achieved a career-high singles ranking of 76. At the 2006 French Open, Capdeville had a shoving incident with Mario Ančić, at the end of his second round match. The two players had to be separated by the chair umpire. Ančić and Capdeville were each fined US$3,000 for the incident. Capdeville's best showing at an ATP event to date came at the 2009 Estoril Open, where he reached the semifinals. Other notable results include the quarters at Memphis, Washington, Indianapolis and Viña del Mar. Capdeville has won ten challengers, Bogotá, Florianópolis, Binghamton and Aracajú, Binghamton, Guayaquil, Guadalajara, Binghamton and Santiago, and São Paulo. Capdeville is part of the Chilean Davis Cup team. On his first competitive match, he beat Austria's Stefan Koubek in five sets. Again USA Team, he beat John Isner in five sets. In his more than 10 years of professional career, Capdeville has beaten many Top 20 playeres such as David Nalbandian, James Blake, Tommy Robredo, Nicolás Massú, Thomas Johansson, John Isner, Ivo Karlović, and Robby Ginepri.
Mauricio Pinilla
Soccer
Mauricio Ricardo Pinilla Ferrera is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Cagliari Calcio in Italy, as a striker. After beginning his career at Universidad de Chile, he signed for Inter Milan at the age of 19, but never appeared for the club in four years. He went on to play in five countries, without really settling anywhere.
Evelyn Matthei
Politician
Evelyn Rose Matthei Fornet is a Chilean economist and politician who served as Minister of Labor and Social Security under Chilean President Sebastián Piñera until July 2013. She is currently the Independent Democrat Union Party's nominee for President of Chile in the 2013 elections. Matthei began her career as a lecturer at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, before working in management in the private sector. Following Chile's return to democracy in 1989, she successfully ran for Deputy of the 23rd Electoral District the year after. Matthei remained in Congress, serving another term as Deputy and being elected Senator twice before she was appointed to the Cabinet in 2011. Besides her political career, Matthei is also an accomplished pianist.
Américo
Cumbia Artist
Domingo Jonhy Vega Urzúa, commonly known as Américo, is a Chilean singer. He became known when he started leading the band Américo y la Nueva Alegría. He is the son of the boleros singer Melvin "Corazón" Américo.
Don Francisco
Talk show host
Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, better known by his stage name, Don Francisco, is a Chilean television personality, and a popular television personality on the Univision network reaching Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States. He is best known for hosting the variety shows Sábado Gigante and Don Francisco Presenta.
Nicanor Parra
Physicist
Nicanor Parra Sandoval is a Chilean poet, mathematician, and physicist. He is considered an influential poet in Chile and throughout Latin America. Some rank him among the most important poets of Spanish language literature. Parra describes himself as an "anti-poet," due to his distaste for standard poetic pomp and function; after recitations he exclaims "Me retracto de todo lo dicho".
Beto Cuevas
Alternative rock Artist
Luis Alberto Cuevas Olmedo, better known as Beto Cuevas, is a Chilean singer, plastic artist, painter, and actor. He was the lead singer for Chilean band La Ley. In 2008 he launched his solo career with the release of his album, “Miedo Escenico”. In 2012 he released his sophomore album called “Transformación”.
Jean Beausejour
Soccer
Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo, nicknamed Palmatoria, is a Chilean footballer who plays for English club Wigan Athletic. He previously played for Universidad Católica, U. de Concepción, Cobreloa and O'Higgins in the Chilean Primera División, for Servette in the Swiss Super League, for Grêmio in the Brazilian Série A, for América in the Mexican Primera División, and for Birmingham City in the English Premier League and Football League Championship. He has more than 40 caps for the Chilean national team, and represented his country at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Esteban Paredes
Soccer
Esteban Efraín Paredes Quintanilla is a Chilean footballer that currently plays for Liga MX club Querétaro as a striker.
Nicole
Pop Artist
Denisse Lillian Laval Soza, better known by her stage name Nicole, is a Chilean singer-songwriter, based in Santiago and Miami.
Johnny Herrera
Soccer
Johnny Cristián Herrera Muñoz is a Chilean footballer that currently plays for Primera División club Universidad de Chile as goalkeeper.
Humberto Maturana
Philosopher
Humberto Maturana is a Chilean biologist and philosopher. Many consider him a member of a group of second-wave cyberneticians such as Heinz von Foerster, Gordon Pask, Herbert Brün and Ernst von Glasersfeld. Maturana, along with Francisco Varela, is particularly known for creating the term autopoiesis about the nature of reflexive feedback mechanisms in living systems, and concepts such as structural determinism and structure coupling. His work has been influential in many fields, mainly the field of systems thinking and cybernetics. Overall, his work is concerned with the biology of cognition.
Camila Vallejo
Politician
Camila Antonia Amaranta Vallejo Dowling is a Chilean geographer and member of the Chilean Communist Youth. As president of the University of Chile Student Federation and main spokesperson of the Confederation of Chilean Students, she led a movement for better access to quality education at the end of April 2011 – which continues as of April 2012.
Nicolás Canales
Soccer
Nicolás Sebastián Canales Calas is a Chilean footballer that is currently Colo-Colo. He plays as striker.
Alain Johannes
Alternative rock Artist
Alain Johannes Moschulski is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and drums. He has been instrumental as a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven and has been heavily involved with a number of prominent acts such as hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Chris Cornell, Arctic Monkeys, Mark Lanegan, and The Desert Sessions, both as a musician and as a producer. Alain Johannes is nephew of Chilean Nueva ola musician Peter Rock. He was born in Chile.
Arturo Prat
Military Person
Agustín Arturo Prat Chacón was a Chilean lawyer and navy officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor Huáscar at the Naval Battle of Iquique after the ship under his command, the Esmeralda, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor. Prat, as captain of the Esmeralda, was the first to board the Huáscar. During his career, Prat had taken part in several major naval engagements, including battles at Papudo, and at the Battle of Abtao, at the islet of Abtao across from Chiloé Island. Following his death, his name became a rallying cry for Chilean forces, and Arturo Prat has since been considered a national hero. Prat's name is commemorated on numerous plazas, streets, buildings and other structures in Chile. His name has been commemorated by four of Chile's major warships, including a USS Brooklyn class cruiser in the 1950s, a British County class destroyer from 1983 to 2006, and most recently a Dutch Jacob van Heemskerck class frigate transferred to Chile as Capitan Prat in 2006. One of Chile's Antarctic research facilities, Arturo Prat Station, and the Chilean Naval Academy, Escuela Naval Arturo Prat are named after him. His portrait appears on the 10,000 Chilean peso bank note. Also, in 1984 was created Arturo Prat University, with its main campus in Iquique where his heroic deed took place.
Eduardo Frei Montalva
Politician
Eduardo Frei Montalva was a Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the Senate, and the 28th president of Chile from 1964 to 1970. His eldest son, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, also became president of Chile. Frei's Christian Democratic Party supported the Armed Forces intervention to remove his successor Salvador Allende from office in 1973, after the Chamber of Deputies, on August 22, 1973, denounced Allende of violating the Constitution and called for his overthrow. He was later a vocal opponent of the Augusto Pinochet regime, which has been accused of poisoning him with botulimic toxin during a routine surgery.
Luis Sepúlveda
Film Director
Luis Sepúlveda is a Chilean writer, film director, journalist and political activist.
Elías Figueroa
Soccer
Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander is a former football player from Chile. He is considered the best Chilean footballer of all time, as well as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game. He played for several clubs during his long career, notably his hometown club Santiago Wanderers, Brazilian club Internacional and Uruguayan club Peñarol. He also represented Chile 47 times, appearing in three world cups, in 1966, 1974, and 1982. Figueroa was noted for his elegant style of play, his calmness in the centre of defence and his ability to cut out opposition attacks and immediately launch counterattacks from the back. He was also praised throughout his career for being a gentleman on and off the pitch. He was twice awarded the Bola de Ouro, the Brazilian Player of the year award whilst playing for Internacional in 1972 and 1976. He was also awarded the South American Footballer of the Year three times in a row by Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo in 1974, 1975 and 1976. He was designated Best Player in Uruguay in 1967 and 1968 and Best Player in Chile in 1977 and 1978. He has subsequently been voted into the world's 125 best living soccer players and was also voted 8th best South American and 37th best player in the world of the 20th Century by the IFFHS in 1999.
Diego Portales
Politician
Diego José Pedro Víctor Portales y Palazuelos was a Chilean statesman and entrepreneur. As a minister of president José Joaquín Prieto Diego Portales played a pivotal role in shaping the state and government politics in the 19th century, delivering with the Constitution of 1833 the framework of the Chilean state for almost a century. Portales influential political stance included unitarianism, presidentialism and conservatism which led to consolidate Chile as a constitutional authoritarian republic with democracy restricted to include only upper class men. While deeply unpopular during his lifetime the murder of Portales in 1837 during a mutiny has been judged a decisive factor during the War of the Confederation by switching Chilean public opinion to support the war against the Peru–Bolivian Confederation.
Claudio Bravo
Soccer
Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Real Sociedad in La Liga, as a goalkeeper. He spent most of his career with Real Sociedad in Spain, appearing in more than 200 official games with the club. He started playing in 2002 with Colo-Colo. Bravo represented Chile at the 2010 World Cup and three Copa América tournaments.
Cecilia Bolocco
Talk show host
Cecilia Bolocco is a Chilean television entertainer and former Miss Universe 1987. She has worked as a journalist on the Spanish language edition of CNN, on Telemundo and on various programs for Chilean Television and she acted on the soap opera Morelia. Between 2001 and 2011 she was married to former Argentine president Carlos Menem.
Alberto Hurtado
Deceased Person
Saint Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, S.J., popularly known in Chile as Padre Hurtado, was a Chilean Jesuit priest, lawyer, social worker and writer of Basque origin, founder of the Hogar de Cristo foundation. He was canonized on October 23, 2005, by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming his country's second saint.
Eliseo Salazar
Racing driver
Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela is a Chilean racing driver. He participated in 37 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix scoring a total of three championship points. Salazar currently participates in the Chilean national rally championship.
Reinaldo Navia
Soccer
Reinaldo Marcelino Navia Amador is a Chilean footballer who most recently played for North American Soccer League side Atlanta Silverbacks as a Striker. Navia was a member of the Chile national squad that competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, making an offensive duo with the historic Chilean striker Ivan Zamorano and earning a Bronze medal.
Lautaro
Military Person
Lautaro was the young Mapuche military commander in the four-year Arauco War in Chile. His people undertook to expel the Spanish colonizers. The army under Lautaro's command inflicted crushing defeats and huge death tolls on Spanish forces despite having far inferior weaponry. He was close to final victory when he was killed in battle at around 23 years of age.
Patricio Aylwin
Politician
Patricio Aylwin Azócar is a Chilean Christian Democrat politician, lawyer and former senator. He was the first president of Chile after democracy was restored in 1990.
Jena Lee
French pop Artist
Sylvia Garcia, more commonly known as Jena Lee is a French singer.
Francisco Varela
Philosopher
Francisco Javier Varela García was a Chilean biologist, philosopher, and neuroscientist who, together with his teacher Humberto Maturana, is best known for introducing the concept of autopoiesis to biology, and for co-founding the Mind and Life Institute to promote dialog between science and Buddhism.
Rodrigo Tello
Soccer Midfielder
Rodrigo Álvaro Tello Valenzuela is a Chilean footballer who plays for Eskişehirspor in the Turkish Süper Lig. Left-footed he usually operates as a left midfielder, but can also appear in the middle, and as an offensive left back. He's also known for his long-distance shots, and spent most of his professional career in Portugal with Sporting, where he arrived at only 21. A Chilean international for a full decade, Tello represented the country at the 2010 World Cup and the 2007 Copa América.
Lucho Gatica
Bolero Artist
Luis Enrique Gatica Silva, better known as Lucho Gatica, is a Chilean bolero singer, film actor, and television host. It is estimated that Gatica has released more than 90 recordings. He has toured a vast portion of the world, having made concerts in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Uncle of the record producer Humberto Gatica.
Enzo Andía
Soccer
Enzo Pablo Andía Roco, is a Chilean footballer who plays as Defender for Universidad Católica in Chile's Primera División.
Gabriel González Videla
Politician
Gabriel González Videla was a Chilean politician. He was a deputy and senator in the Chilean Congress and was President of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He also helped draft the current Chilean constitution.
Rodrigo Millar
Soccer Midfielder
Rodrigo Javier Millar Carvajal is a Chilean football midfielder who currently plays for Liga MX club Atlas de Guadalajara. He has been capped in the national team for the FIFA World Cup 2010.
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Politician
Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle is a Chilean politician and civil engineer who was President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He is currently Senator for Los Ríos and was President of the Senate from 2006 to 2008. He attempted a comeback as the candidate of the ruling Concertación coalition for the 2009 presidential election, but was narrowly defeated. His father was Eduardo Frei Montalva who was President of Chile from 1964 to 1970.
Manuel Iturra
Soccer Midfielder
Manuel Rolando Iturra Urrutia is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Granada CF in La Liga, as a midfielder.
Gonzalo Jara
Soccer
Gonzalo Alejandro Jara Reyes is a Chilean footballer who currently plays for Nottingham Forest. He plays for the Chile national team and participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He is a versatile defender and can play in either full-back role or as a centre-back.
Julian
Pornographic actor
Julián Ríos, also known by the aliases Julian, Julián Ruíz, Julian Andretti or Jordan Rivers is a male American pornographic actor.
Marco Enríquez-Ominami
Organization founder
Marco Antonio Enríquez-Ominami Gumucio is a Chilean-French filmmaker and politician. From 2006 to 2010 he was a Socialist Party deputy in Chile's lower chamber. In 2009 he quit the party and ran for President of the Republic as independent, where he finished third with 20% of the vote. He is currently the leader of the Progressive Party, which he founded in 2010. Enríquez-Ominami is the son of Revolutionary Left Movement's historical leader Miguel Enríquez and sociologist Manuela Gumucio. His adoptive father is former senator Carlos Ominami. Enríquez-Ominami is married to the Chilean TV hostess Karen Doggenweiler, and has two children. Because of his long name he is frequently called MEO or ME-O both in writing and in speech.
Claudio Maldonado
Soccer Midfielder
Claudio Andrés del Tránsito Maldonado Rivera is a Chilean footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Corinthians.
Miguel Serrano
Politician
Miguel Serrano was a Chilean diplomat, explorer, and author of poetry, books on spiritual questing and Esoteric Nazism. Serrano's anti-modernist neo-Gnostic philosophy claims to elucidate the extraterrestrial origin of the Hyperborean-descended Aryan race, image-bearers of the Godhead, and postulates a global conspiracy against them by an evil inferior godlet: The Demiurge, worshipped by the Jewish people, lord of planet Earth, spawner of the primitive hominid stocks, and author of all base materiality. Serrano synthesized interpretations of Hindu and Nordic traditions, both of which he considered to be of ancient Aryan-Hyperborean provenance. He is especially indebted to the Jungian theory of collective racial archetypes, borrowed heavily from Julius Evola in supporting a spiritual consideration of race, as opposed to a solely biological one, and followed Savitri Devi in recognizing Adolf Hitler as an avatar who battled against the demonic materialistic hosts of the Kali Yuga.
Luis Antonio Jiménez
Soccer Midfielder
Luis Antonio Jiménez Garcés, more commonly known as Luis Jiménez, is a Chilean footballer. He plays for Al-Ahli Dubai as an attacking midfielder. He was also a member of the Chilean national team.
Waldo Ponce
Soccer
Waldo Alonso Ponce Carrizo is a Chilean football defender who currently plays for Universidad de Chile.
Marcelo Díaz
Soccer Midfielder
Marcelo Alfonso Díaz Rojas is a Chilean footballer that currently plays for Swiss Super League club FC Basel and for the Chilean national team as midfielder. Díaz came through Universidad de Chile youth academy, and was promoted to the first team in 2004, when he was 18. Since then he played 162 matches with the club and won five titles. He was an integral part of the team that won three consecutive national championships and the 2011 Copa Sudamericana, the club's first international title. He made his international debut in January 2005, playing for Chile at the U20 level. He made his adult international debut six years later on 11 November 2011, when the coach Claudio Borghi called-up him for play the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification games against Uruguay at Centenario and Paraguay at Chile. Mainly a Central Midfielder, he can also play as a Defensive Midfielder or Attacking Midfielder. After his stellar play with Jorge Sampaoli as coach in Universidad de Chile, winning the 2011 Copa Sudamericana, and due to similarities in their playing, Díaz earned the nickname of "South American Xavi", as both of them have a great ball control capabilities and excellent passing skills.
Pablo Longueira
Politician
Juan Pablo Longueira Montes is a Chilean right-wing politician and industrial civil engineer who served as Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism of Chile from 2011 to 2013. He is a member of the Independent Democratic Union and served as a Senator before being appointed by President Sebastián Piñera to serve in the Cabinet. He was previously a deputy from 1990 until 2006. In 1981 he was appointed by Augusto Pinochet as the president of the Student Federation of the University of Chile. On March 30, 2007, he launched his candidacy for President in the 2009 presidential election, but cancelled his bid on May 3. On April 29, 2013, Mr. Longueira was nominated by the UDI as its candidate for the 2013 presidential election, replacing Laurence Golborne. On 30 June 2013, Longueira won the primary election of the right-wing coalition Alianza por Chile with the 51.37% of the vote against the candidate of National Renewal, Andrés Allamand, becoming the only candidate of the coalition for the 2013 presidential election. On 17 July 2013, Longueira abruptly withdrew his candidature, citing personal health problems as a reason. He is married to Cecilia Brinkmann Estévez and has seven children. Longueira is a Roman Catholic.
Héctor Mancilla
Soccer
Héctor Raúl Mancilla Garcés is a Chilean footballer, who plays as striker for Liga MX club Monarcas Morelia. A true striker, Mancilla is not "the fastest or most skillful striker but his true threat is his ability to finish the play in short spaces."
Pedro Aguirre Cerda
Politician
Pedro Aguirre Cerda was a Chilean political figure. A member of the Radical Party, he was chosen as the Popular Front's candidate for the 1938 presidential election, and was triumphally elected. He governed Chile until his death in 1941. Pedro Aguirre Cerda was of Basque descent.
Pablo Contreras
Soccer
Pablo Andrés Contreras Fica is a Chilean footballer who plays for Melbourne Victory and the Chilean national football team as centre back. He also can operate as a right back. Contreras began his career at Colo-Colo. He earned his first senior honours in 1997, winning the Chilean Primera División title. He also won an Olympic bronze medal with Chile in the Sydney Games. Contreras moved to Europe, signing with French side AS Monaco in 1999, winning the Ligue 1 in his first season. After his spell in France, he was loaned to Argentine Primera División club Racing Club in 2001, and the next season Contreras joined Spain's La Liga side Celta Vigo for a €4.2 million deal. He was immediately loaned to Osasuna and then to Portuguese giants Sporting CP, playing in the UEFA Champions League, before returning after to Celta. He played over 100 matches with the Galician club until the 2006–07 season, after Celta's relegation to the Segunda División, after which he decided to leave the club. He signed a six-month contract with Sporting Braga in January 2008, before moving in June of that year to Greek Super League side PAOK Thessaloniki. In the middle of the 2011–12 season, Conteras left the club due to the Greek government debt-crisis of the Helenic country, and decided return to Colo-Colo, coached by Ivo Basay at the time.
José Joaquín Prieto
Politician
José Joaquín Prieto Vial was a Chilean military and political figure. He was twice President of Chile between 1831 and 1841. José Joaquín Prieto was of Spanish and Basque descent.
Jorge Alessandri
Politician
Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez was the 27th President of Chile from 1958 to 1964, and was the candidate of the Chilean right in the crucial presidential election of 1970 being defeated by Salvador Allende. He was the son of Arturo Alessandri, who was president from 1920 to 1925 and again from 1932 to 1938.
Nicolás Castillo
Soccer
Nicolás Ignacio Castillo Mora is a Chilean footballer that currently plays at Primera División club Universidad Católica and the Chilean under-20 team as forward.
Junior Fernandes
Soccer
Antenor Junior Fernandes da Silva Vitoria is a Chilean footballer of Brazilian descent who currently plays for Dinamo Zagreb, on loan from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.
Antonio Skármeta
Author
Antonio Skármeta is a Chilean writer, born November 7, 1940 in Antofagasta, Chile. He was born to Croatian immigrants from the Adriatic island of Brač, region of Dalmatia.
José Manuel Balmaceda
Politician
José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández was the 11th President of Chile from September 18, 1886 to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While he was president, his political disagreements with the Chilean congress, led to the 1891 Chilean Civil War, at the end of which he committed suicide.
Manuel Bulnes
Politician
Manuel Bulnes Prieto was a Chilean military and political figure. He was twice President of Chile between 1841–1846 and 1846-1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the age of 16 he was imprisoned as a revolutionary by the Spanish authorities, but was soon released, and in 1818 joined the army of San Martin under whom he served as colonel throughout the Chilean War of Independence. After three years of continuous warfare, he accomplished the temporary conquest of the Arucanian Indians. He was appointed brigadier general in 1831. In 1832 he crossed the Cordillera and defeated decisively the Pincheira brothers in the battle of Epulafquén. Then Bulnes commanded the Chilean army in 1838 against Gen. Santa Cruz in Peru; and, after taking Lima and winning the battles of Huaraz and Puente del Buin, combined his forces with those of Gamarra and defeated Santa Cruz at the Battle of Yungay, thus putting an end to the confederation between Peru and Bolivia.
Pedro Morales
Soccer Midfielder
Pedro Andrés Morales Flores is a Chilean footballer who currently plays for Spanish club Málaga CF as an attacking midfielder. He began his professional career with Huachipato. He first represented Chile in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, where he helped Chile qualify to the U-20 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.
Felicia Montealegre
Actor
Felicia Cohn Montealegre was a Costa Rica-born American stage and television actress. From 1951 until her death, she was the wife of American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.
Ricardo Baeza-Yates
Man
Ricardo A. Baeza-Yates is a Chilean computer scientist and currently VP for Europe and Latin America leading the Yahoo! Research labs at Barcelona, Spain and Santiago, Chile. His Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo was entitled Efficient Text Searching, supervised by Gaston Gonnet and granted in 1989. His research interests include: ⁕Algorithms and data structures. His contributions include algorithms for string search such as the Shift Or Algorithm and algorithms for Fuzzy string searching, inspiring also the Bitap algorithm; co-author of the Handbook of Algorithms and Data Structures ISBN 0-201-14218-X with his former Ph.D. advisor Gaston Gonnet, ⁕Information retrieval. Co-author of Modern Information retrieval Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-201-39829-X, first edition in 1999 and second edition in 2011, ⁕Web retrieval and mining. Baeza-Yates funded in 2002 and directed until 2005 the Center for Web Research in the Department of Computer Science of the University of Chile, ⁕Information visualization In August 2008, Dr. Baeza-Yates was proposed for the Chilean National Prize in Applied Sciences He was proposed again in 2010 and 2012. He is corresponding member of the Chilean Academy of Sciences and founding member of the Chilean Academy of Engineering. He is a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery. and an IEEE Fellow.