2024, a year with a strong Hispanic identity

Hispanics starred 2024, a year full of achievements within the community in the United States and other parts of the world. Politicians, artists and athletes of Latino origin brought pride to a group that has established itself as the largest minority in the country.

At VOZ, we took a look at the Hispanics who stood out this year:

Marco Rubio: President-elect Donald Trump picked the Republican of Cuban descent to become the first secretary of state of Hispanic origin. Although he has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, being Trump's nominee for the post is already an important step.

Meanwhile, other Hispanics also achieved triumphs in politics, as is the case of Democrat Ruben Gallego in his Senate race. Gallego became Arizona's first Latino senator. In Ohio, Republican businessman Bernie Moreno defeated Democrat Sherrod Brown and will also be the first Hispanic to represent his state in the Senate.

With those two wins, the number of Latino senators reached a record of seven. The group is completed by Ted Cruz, who was reelected, along with the four incumbent senators who did not need to run for reelection: Marco Rubio of Florida, as well as Democrats Alex Padilla of California, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Catherine Cortez Masto, senator from Nevada and the only Hispanic woman in the Senate.

Another Hispanic who stands out in Congress is María Elvira Salazar who was reelected to a third term in the House of Representatives. The Cuban-American will continue to represent Florida's 27th District.

And it was not only politicians who shone. The Hispanic community became a key player in the election. In fact, President-elect Donald Trump, set a record by receiving 46% of the Hispanic vote, the highest for a Republican presidential candidate in exit polls since the 1970s.

In this milestone, some of the most notable voters were the residents of Starr County in Texas, which has a 97% Hispanic population. There, Trump won by 16 points. The triumph was a big surprise because the county usually has a tendency to lean toward Democrats.

Hispanics in sports

In the Major Leagues, Hispanics also made their presence felt. Names like Juan Soto and Kike Hernandez did not fail to make headlines in this 2024. One of the most notable stories was that Dominican star Juan Soto reached an agreement to join the Mets on a record 15-year, $765 million contract.

Soto's contract is by far the largest the Mets have ever awarded, more than double Francisco Lindor's 10-year, $341 million deal. It is the largest in Major League Baseball history and eclipses hands down the $700 million, 10-year contract the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Japanese star Shohei Ohtani to last year.

Another big moment this year was when Spanish-Georgian fighter Ilia Topuria became UFC featherweight champion after defeating a living legend and reigning belt holder Alexander Volkanovski by K.O. "El Matador" was crowned at the Anaheim Center in California with an incredible record of 15 wins and no losses.

This year, there were also those who decided to put an end to their professional careers. This is the case of the great Rafa Nadal, who decided to conclude a 22-year run. On Nov. 19, 2024, the Spanish tennis player ceased to be active and cemented himself as a legend not only of tennis, but of world sports.

In music and film

At the beginning of the year, America Ferrera showed it would be a good year for Hispanics in culture and entertainment, as she was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.

Meanwhile, actress Jenna Ortega, of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, stood out in 2024 with her performance in the second season of the series "Wednesday" on Netflix.

And the list of Hispanics who starred this 2024 is closed by Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican was once again the most played Latin artist on Spotify worldwide, according to the streaming service in its Spotify Wrapped 2024 roundup.