Quiz: 15 Questions That Will High-Key Test Your Knowledge of Latinas in History
This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating in the best way we know how: looking back at the fiercest Latina trailblazers in history.
For one, we’re taking a look back at Mexican painter Frida Kahlo’s poignant self portraits — just as much as we’re singing along to Chavela Vargas’ version of “La Llorona.” Just the same, we’re watching Rita Moreno sashay onto the screen in “West Side Story,” reading about Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor’s come-up, crying-watching Michaela Jaé Rodriguez’s ground-breaking Golden Globe win, and drooling over Carolina Herrera’s fashion designs.
Truly, is there any better way to celebrate Latina magic?
While we could read and talk about Latinas making history all day, we thought it best to take the celebration up a notch. We devised a special International Women’s Day quiz to test your knowledge on some of the fiercest Latina trailblazers to ever pisar tierra.
Each of these women inspire us in a different way, so this is our ode to them. Time to put your knowledge to the test:
1. What actress took a break to enroll in a Master’s program in Chicano Studies at Cal State University in order to inform her charity work?
A. America Ferrera
B. Eva Longoria
C. Zoe Saldaña
D. Salma Hayek
2. What famous Latina poet wrote the lines, “Toda en el mal el alma divertida, pena por pena su dolor sumaba, y en cada circunstancia ponderaba que sobraban mil muertes a una vida”?
A. Gabriela Mistral
B. Ada Limon
C. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
D. Julia De Burgos
3. Sonia Sotomayor might be the first woman of color and first Latina Supreme Court justice in history, but she’s also a baseball fan. What team does she support?
A. Miami Marlins
B. New York Mets
C. Houston Astros
D. New York Yankees
4. Which of these trailblazers made history as the first Hispanic woman to win an Academy Award?
A. Rita Moreno
B. María Félix
C. Dolores del Río
D. María Montez
5. San Juan, Puerto Rico mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier was the first woman to serve as mayor of a capital city in the Americas. What year was she elected?
A. 1953
B. 1929
C. 1946
D. 1965
6. In what Latin American city was world-renowned designer Carolina Herrera born?
A. Buenos Aires, Argentina
B. Caracas, Venezuela
C. Bogota, Colombia
D. Havana, Cuba
7. While iconic artist Frida Kahlo focused on topics like identity, gender, and Mexican folk culture, her paintings are generally associated with this art movement:
A. Modernism
B. Cubism
C. Futurism
D. Surrealism
8. What star once said this quote: “You can be a thousand different women. It’s your choice which one you want to be. It’s about freedom and sovereignty. You celebrate who you are.”
A. Salma Hayek
B. Sofia Vergara
C. Yalitza Aparicio
D. Jennifer Lopez
9. Mexican-American Ellen Ochoa became the first Latina to go to space in 1993. How many hours in space has she spent since then?
A. 200
B. 5,000
C. 1,000
D. 900
10. Apart from her title as the “Queen of Tejano Music” and one of the best-selling Latina singers of all time, what was Selena Quintanilla’s second passion and business venture?
A. Restaurants
B. Fashion boutiques
C. Beauty salons
D. Perfumes
11. Who does Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan count as one of her biggest musical inspirations of all time?
A. Chavela Vargas
B. Joan Baez
C. Shakira
D. Celia Cruz
12. Who was the first Latina inducted into the National Women’s Hall Of Fame for co-founding the National Farmworkers Association and her activism in 1965’s Delano grape strike?
A. Dolores Huerta
B. Sylvia Rivera
C. Rigoberta Menchú Tum
D. Gloria Anzaldúa
13. What Latina writer penned “The House On Mango Street,” a book about a 12-year-old Chicana girl’s experience?
A. Julia Alvarez
B. Sandra Cisneros
C. Isabel Allende
D. Laura Esquivel
14. U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress when she won New York’s 14th congressional district’s election in 2018. How old was she when she took office?
A. 31
B. 27
C. 29
D. 28
15. Virginia Brindis de Salas was the first Black woman writer to be published in Uruguay. What was her primary genre?
A. Magical realism in fiction
B. Poetry
C. Non-fiction
D. Memoir
Ready to find out your know-how on all these trailblazers? Here are the answers:
- B) Eva Longoria
2. C) Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
3. D) New York Yankees
4. A) Rita Moreno
5. C) 1946
6. B) Caracas, Venezuela
7. D) Surrealism
8. A) Salma Hayek
9. C) 1,000
10. B) Fashion boutiques
11. D) Celia Cruz
12. A) Dolores Huerta
13. B) Sandra Cisneros
14. C) 29
15. B) Poetry
