Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born 29 January 1942) is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut. In 1980, as a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Cuban citizen, the first Latin American, the first person of African descent, and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the United States to travel into Earth orbit.
Early life and military service
Tamayo was born on 29 January 1942, in Baracoa, Guantánamo province, into a family of Afro-Cuban descent. Orphaned as an infant, he was adopted at age 1 by Rafael Tamayo and Esperanza Méndez. He began working at age 13 as a shoeshine and vegetable vendor and later worked as a carpenter's assistant.
During the Cuban Revolution he joined the Association of Young Rebels, a group protesting the Batista regime, and later the Revolutionary Work Youth Brigades.
In 1967, Tamayo joined the Communist Party of Cuba and spent the next two years serving with Cuban forces in the Vietnam War, returning in 1969 to study at the Maximo Gomez Basic College of the Revolutionary Forces until 1971.
Upon his return to Earth he was decorated with the Hero of the Republic of Cuba medal, the first person to be so honored. In Moscow he received the Order of Lenin and was also named a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Personal life
thumb|Méndez in 2022
Following his time in the Intercosmos program, Tamayo was made Director of the Military Patriotic Educational Society known as "SEPMI".
He has been honored by the Cuban Government for being the first Cuban, the first Caribbean, and the first Latin American to go into orbit. He was also awarded the title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba and the Order of Playa Girón.