How We Chose the 2026 Latino Leaders

—Cástro: Michael Patrick; Gonzalez: Allan Zepeda; Larroudé: Courtesy of Marina Larroude; German: Eddie Hernandez—LemonAd Media; Alvarado: Nathaniel S. Butler—NBAE/Getty Images; Ramírez: Gr8y Productions; Salgado and Salgado Araujo Jr: Photograph by Harmon Li for TIME; Lopes Lara: Alexey Yurenev—Bloomberg/Getty Images; Valdez: Christopher Polk; Zegler: Evelyn Freja; Carson: Elias Tahan; De La Rocha: Courtesy of AltaMed Health Services

Latinos refuse to be put in a box. “In reality, we are a kaleidoscope of cultures, of talents, of thoughts, of passions,” says actor Sofia Carson, one of TIME’s 2026 Latino Leaders.

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Since 2023, TIME has marked Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting influential Latinos in the U.S. across entertainment, politics, business, sports, science, and more.

Click here to see TIME’s full list of the 2026 Latino Leaders

This year, we selected a group that represents some of the wide range of experiences and backgrounds within the community that makes up a fifth of the U.S. population and continues to grow in economic and cultural influence—from stars of Netflix, like Carson, to champions of the NBA, like the Knicks’ Jose Alvarado; from disrupters of fashion, like Larroudé co-founder Marina Larroudé, to innovators of food, like Michelin- and James Beard-recognized chef and restaurateur Nelson German and leaders of nonprofits, like Mónica Ramírez, advocate and founder of Justice for Migrant Women.

Each has found a way to bring their heritage to their passion and reach new heights as a result, many with an eye toward uplifting others along the way.

Read the full list of 2026 Latino Leaders reshaping their industries and fields—and the country—here.

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